5.05.2015

Blog Tour & Review: Dear Carolina by Kristy Woodson Harvey

 Dear Carolina by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Published: May 5, 2015
Publisher: Berkley
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Synopsis
A moving debut novel about two mothers—one biological and one adoptive—from a compelling new voice in Southern women’s fiction.
One baby girl.
Two strong Southern women.
And the most difficult decision they’ll ever make.
Frances “Khaki” Mason has it all: a thriving interior design career, a loving husband and son, homes in North Carolina and Manhattan—everything except the second child she has always wanted. Jodi, her husband’s nineteen-year-old cousin, is fresh out of rehab, pregnant, and alone. Although the two women couldn’t seem more different, they forge a lifelong connection as Khaki reaches out to Jodi, encouraging her to have her baby. But as Jodi struggles to be the mother she knows her daughter deserves, she will ask Khaki the ultimate favor…
Written to baby Carolina, by both her birth mother and her adoptive one, this is a story that proves that life circumstances shape us but don’t define us—and that families aren’t born, they’re made…

“Characters with rich, complicated lives…beautifully shows how a family comes to be.”—New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas

"Dear Carolina is Southern fiction at its best. Lovely and lyrical, with the strong voices of the two female narrators taking us deep into the heart of what being a mother is about. It shows us that love is not without sacrifice, and there’s little in life that doesn’t go down easier with a spoonful of jam. Beautifully written."—New York Times bestselling author Eileen Goudge

"Dear Carolina is like the Southern women within its pages and those who will love this book, sweet as sweet tea on the outside and strong as steel on the inside. The dialect of the south is so entwined in these pages the reader is transported to a place where women and children are treasured and family rules all. Kristy Harvey is a natural."—Ann Garvin, Author of On Maggie’s Watch and The Dog Year

       About Kristy
Kristy Woodson Harvey is the author of Dear Carolina. She blogs at Design Chic about how creating a beautiful home can be the catalyst for creating a beautiful life and loves connecting with readers at kristywoodsonharvey.com. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's school of journalism and holds a Master's in English from East Carolina University. She is a regular contributor for The Salisbury Post, Domino magazine and Houzz. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three-year-old son.

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My Thoughts
Simply put this is Southern Lit at its best! This is the story of Carolina and how she brought love and joy to two women. First there's Jodi who gave birth to her but who yearned for more for both Carolina and herself. She didn’t want her little girl to go through what she did and knew she deserved more than a broken down trailer and a teen mom who drank too much. The other woman, Khaki who was family and who wanted so desperately to have another child with her husband but no matter how hard she tried couldn’t. Two women polar opposites but whose lives mirrored each other that it was almost meant to be. Each could help each other in more ways than one.

Jodi was left pregnant by her boyfriend and knew from the start that she didn’t want her child to be like she was with an alcoholic mom and no future to speak of. Her father the only person besides her late grandma that truly cared for her passed away and all she had left was her cousin and his wife Khaki to lean on. They loved and cared for her like their own but no matter how much help she had she knew her baby deserved more than she could give.
Khaki and her husband where old sweethearts but broke up when Khaki was in college. She later met and married another man and had a son who later died before she had her child. Always loving Khaki her ex and her married and he raised her child as his own. She always saw them having a ton of kids so when she couldn’t get pregnant she was beyond words. Along came Jodi who needed her help and then decided she wanted them to adopt Carolina. While Jodi thought Khaki was helping her it was quite the opposite. Through Jodi Khaki learned that while she had money and was a successful business woman, family was in fact the most important thing in life.

This is the most heartfelt and amazing book I’ve read in a while. It shows us that families don’t have to be genetic that home and family lie with those who simply love you unconditionally. So if you want an honest to god great read this summer look no further Dear Carolina it will touch your soul like no other.
Rating: 5/5

2 comments:

  1. Yay! So glad you enjoyed this one, Monica; my review goes up on Thursday, and I really enjoyed it, as well. Great review!!

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  2. Thank you so, so, so much for this gorgeous review! I am so happy that you enjoyed DEAR CAROLINA!! Your support of this book has been amazing! xo Kristy

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