Ruthie Morgan

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, so I could give an honest review.

I liked what the author was trying to do with this story and it wasn't bad by any means. There were a few grammatical errors here and there, but what bothered me the most was when one of the characters was referred to an alcoholic when there wasn't any emotional abuse shown in any of the story. Emotional abuse is one of the classic and must-have symptoms of an alcoholic unless they're a recovering alcoholic. The character portrayed in this story is much more typically depressed with the tendency to drink. Referring to him as an aloholic, though? I don't think so. I think it would actually add a lot more to the story too if there was more acrual drama involved. Everything else about the story was written fairly well without much cause for complaint, but it still felt a bit lacking.… (mais)

Skylark was my favorite Indie book read of last year. The sweeping journey of Evan and Billie Skylark from Paris to Scotland to tiny St. Cloud in the Pacific is lovely, poetic, and gut-wrenching. Therefore, I was extremely excited to see that the sequel, Borrowed Wings, was released this month.
Borrowed Wings continues where Skylark left off. Billie is back in Scotland with her twin toddlers, Sunny and Evie, grieving for all that went wrong in St. Cloud. She misses the friends she made there, especially Jack, her neighbor who was always a solid presence in her life when Evan couldn't support her and the children.
The people in St. Cloud also has their stories. Jack is dealing with his family: his mother has senility issues, there is an ongoing dispute with his father, his oldest brother Saul is trying to deal with their parents and his wife's pregnancy, and his other brother, Raife, is an ongoing grief and sorrow in Jack's life.
Jed and Sadie have secrets, Zoe and Felix are expecting, and Dan is struggling with his place at the core of the islander's lives.
The story is told in multiple POVs: Billie is first person and the rest of the people in St. Cloud in third person. It jumps around but always in a linear fashion that moves the story forward. It is a beautifully written story, one to be savored and slowly digested. I'm a fast reader, but I took my time with this book, dreading the coming ending just as Billie does in the story with The Grapes of Wrath. There is a lot to ponder here.
Ms. Morgan covers diverse topics such as motherhood, grief, aging parents, friendships, and sibling feuds and weaves the strands into the story effortlessly. The ultimate question of the book is one Billie asks herself throughout the book: "Do I deserve two great loves in one short lifetime? Is there room in my packed heart for the love Jack deserves when Evan will always rest there? " Billie yearns for Jack but doesn't want to make the same mistakes that she made with Evan. Jack himself must resolve his family issues before he can move on with Billie.
Borrowed Wings is one of those stories that stay with you for a while, coming back at odd moments as something in your life reminds you of a paragraph in the book. Because isn't life all about love after all?… (mais)

This was such a lovely and intense book. The characters are well-drawn and their love story so well told from all sides. I really liked Billie May and felt I could relate to her struggles with motherhood. I thought that her growth as a woman and how she dealt with Evan was so well written. It would have been easy for me to think her too submissive to Evan, something that I hate in other romance novels. But she never excused his behavior, even when he frustrated her or confused her.

I didn't always like Evan but as the story proceeded, I realized that his behavior was not under his own control, something that I think he desperately wanted. His illness was not his fault nor anyone's and I was just sad that it wasn't recognized earlier, though it probably wouldn't have helped.

I loved the travel and descriptions of the places that lived, from Paris to Scotland to St Cloud. The secondary characters are interesting and fully-fleshed out, adding to the narrative in every way. This is a wonderful first novel and I look forward to more from this author.… (mais)