From the publisher:
At long last, the legendary New York Times bestselling author returns with a heartfelt novel of womanhood, a wild heart, and the healing power of love.
Run, run, as fast as you can!
When life throws her one setback too many, midwife and young widow Tess Hartsong takes off for Runaway Mountain. In this small town high in the Tennessee mountains, surrounded by nature, she hopes to outrun her heartbreak and find the solace she needs to heal.
But instead of peace and quiet, she encounters an enigmatic artist with a craving for solitude, a fairy-tale sprite with too many secrets, a helpless infant, a passel of curious teens, and a town suspicious of outsiders, especially one as headstrong as Tess. Just as headstrong is Ian North, a difficult, gifted man with a tortured soul—a man who makes Tess question everything.
In running away to this new life, Tess wonders— Has she lost herself . . . or has she found her future?
It has been way too long since Susan Elizabeth Phillips has graced us with a book, and the book she finally delivered is terrific, albeit different than her usual; no Chicago Stars, not much in the way of laughs either, but strong characters living their lives, no matter how complicated, and taking us along for the ride.
This is a small town romance of sorts. Tess has lost her husband quite young, and when she finds a cottage to rent on Runaway Mountain, she feels like it must be fate. She deals with her grief by blasting her music and dancing like a maniac, in the yard of her cottage. When Ian, the prickly artist living nearby complains, Tess somehow forms a friendship with his wife. Or at least the women who she assumes is his wife, especially since she’s pregnant.
In her former life, before she lost her husband, Tess was a certified nurse-midwife. She has no interest in doing that again so she takes a part-time job as a barista in the small cafe in town. There she meets the odd assortment of townsfolk, and that is where the little bit of humor is derived. But this is a more serious book, and it takes a dark turn. There are difficult subjects explored here; death, grief, abuse, survivalists, and more.
I don’t want to say much more and spoil it, just know that this is not a light and fluffy read in the least, even though there is a happy ending. I hope we don’t have to wait another two years for a new SEP book.
6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
DANCE AWAY WITH ME by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. William Morrow (June 9, 2020). ISBN 978-0062973054. 400 pages.
Kindle
Audible
Related
This entry was posted on Friday, June 19th, 2020 at 8:00 AM and is filed under Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
I loved the review! I am in love with novels and believe that this is very special! Would you know any more stories similar to this one to point me out?
You could try anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Susan Mallery, Erin Hildebrand, or Kristin Hannah. Have fun!
I really enjoyed this book, algghout like you said it wasn’t as fluffy and lighthearted as her older books, but I think I actually enjoyed it more because of the depth and complex story. And yes, let’s not have us wait this long for another of her books.