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  • B07TK3CQWD
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The Bend in Redwood Road (Missing Pieces Book 1)
Most days it's manageable. No more than a quiet wondering around the edges of her mind. What has become of the baby she left behind? Smiling through the pain and suffering in silence, Leslie Laudon marches forward. Embracing the life skillfully designed by her husband Paul. Living right could be penance for an impossible choice made with an uneasy heart. Dutiful and anchoring, Leslie poured herself into her other children. Nurturing them through infancy, protecting them as toddlers, guiding them as teens. As her youngest child heads off to college with her suitcases and coordinating dorm room accessories, so goes Leslie’s identity. The chaotic life of a busy working mother threatens to become dangerously quiet. Quiet enough to hear the voices she’s tried to silence for decades. Gwen Fox was adopted by two perfect people. Noel and Millie have always treated her the same as their two biological sons. Her parents love is strong and unwavering, yet a soul-deep ache still lingers. Plagued by an unnamed, hard to explain, longing Gwen could never shake. Riddled with doubt and dragged down by the undertow of unanswered questions, Leslie and Gwen both find their lives suddenly upended. One seeks the truth about the day she was born. The other seeks herself, the woman she was before motherhood. Before she made a choice to leave a piece of her heart lying asleep in the hospital nursery. In this complex journey for answers, blame is abundant. Guilt is thick enough to choke on. Marriages are brought to the brink of disaster. As the ripples of the past vibrate through their lives, Gwen and Leslie realize there is no turning back. What they have put into motion cannot be stopped. The road toward the truth will be littered with casualties.
Reviews
Told in the distinct voices of two very different women, Stewart’s viscerally poignant novel examines the stark realities of pregnancy, adoption, parenthood, and romance. Gwen Fox is a happy 25-year-old graduate student with a loving family, good career prospects, and an ache in her heart: the knowledge that she’s adopted. Her field is genetic counseling, but trying to research her own ancestry sparks a panic attack that makes her realize how desperate she is to find her birth mother. Meanwhile, Leslie Laudon has sacrificed career advancement to support her husband and raise her three children. As her youngest goes off to college and the cracks in her marriage deepen, she can’t stop thinking about the baby she abandoned. Leslie and Gwen, troubled and determined, set out in search of each other, but their quests send shock waves through both their families.

Gwen and Leslie are initially challenging to spend time with, as Gwen covers up her brittleness with brashness and Leslie hides her depression with platitudes, but readers will come to care deeply for both women and sympathize with their struggles. Gwen’s prickly nature is, at first, a stark contrast to Leslie’s confident supermom persona. Yet as the story slowly unfolds, it’s easy to find points of commonality between the two women as they both grapple alone with what they fear are life-altering secrets.

Stewart (the Piper Anderson series) balances the intense emotions with healing balm provided by Gwen’s adoring parents; her irreverent best friend, Griff, who quickly becomes her love interest; Leslie’s best friend, Claudette; and Leslie’s warmhearted 17-year-old daughter, Kerry, whose half-sibling DNA match with Gwen kicks the tension into high gear. There are also hints of mystery involving a sketchy for-profit adoption agency. This deeply moving story and its captivating characters will keep readers enthralled.

Takeaway: Any fan of women’s fiction will be enthralled by this powerful, emotional story of a young woman, her biological mother, and their quest to be reunited.

Great for fans of Nora Roberts, Lori Foster, Bella Andre, Kristen Ashley.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: -
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: B

Formats
Kindle Edition eBooks Details
  • B07TK3CQWD
  • pages
  • $
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