Release Date: February 14, 2017
Published by: Three Amigas Press
Genre: Historical Romance, Women’s Fiction
Available from: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Createspace.
I’m happy to host the blog tour for Olivia Folmar Ard’s latest release, This Dread Road, the third book in The Bennet Series. Jump ahead if you’d like to the book summary, my review, excerpts, and about the author!
About the Book:
It’s September 1968, and Howard Knox freshman Annemarie Vanderhorst is happy to be free of her controlling mother’s societal expectations. She vows to spend her time at college wisely in pursuit of her own dreams. But before she can figure out what she wants from life, Henry Eden, the dark and handsome stranger in her philosophy class, takes over every waking thought.
Nearly half a century later, Claire James returns to Bennett after leaving her fiancé, determined to be independent for once in her life. After convincing her father to let her work for the family business, she soon realizes being a responsible adult isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Loathed by her coworkers, neglected by her best friend, and held captive by a terrifying secret, she doesn’t know how much more she can take.
The lives of these two women, decades apart but uncannily similar, finally intersect one fateful night. With broken hearts and hope for the future, will they find the answers they’re looking for?
My Review:
Probably the biggest compliment I can pay to This Dread Road is that the characters became real to me. The characters are complex, multidimensional people who cannot be chalked up as simply “good” or “bad.” They make or have made poor decisions, but to the author’s credit, I never lost sympathy for them. On the contrary, their flaws and their inability to pave themselves a clear path to happiness resonated with me.
The dilemmas of Annmarie (in the twentieth century) and Claire (in the twenty-first century) are connected tangibly and thematically and make for a riveting addition to The Bennett Series that while it examines the brokenness in our lives, never loses heart, or, more importantly, hope.
I’m anxious to see what Olivia Folmar Ard comes up with next!
Excerpts:
An excerpt from Annemarie’s story.
An excerpt from Claire’s story.
About the Author:
Olivia started writing creatively at eight years old. During middle and high school, she attended several writing conferences. Her short story “By Its Cover” placed first in its division in the 2008 District III Alabama Penman Creative Writing Contest. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Montevallo in 2012, married in 2013, and published her first novel in 2014. She received a Readers Favorite five-star review for her holiday novella, ‘Tis the Season, in 2016.
Olivia lives in central Alabama with her husband JD and their cats, Buddy and Lafayette. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys watching quality television, teaching herself how to cook, and playing Pokémon GO.
Connect with the Author:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Pinterest
Advance Praise for This Dread Road:
(Click image for full review.)
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