GENRE: Women's Fiction
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BLURB:
Once an
aspiring young attorney, Josie looked forward to taking on the injustices of
the world—one case at a time. Eleven years later, she’s a stay-at-home mom
and battling demons that don’t require a law degree. Only keeping up pretenses
proves more than she can bear when a bracelet that should have been hers shows
up on the wrist of another woman. Her marriage slowly begins to unravel as an
ex-lover comes back into her life. When he offers her the dreams she thought
she’d lost, Josie must chose between the man she married and the one she let
get away.
John has always known exactly what he wanted. A career as a high-powered attorney, followed by the perfect family of six, and then elected public service. So it was no surprise that the first time he laid his eyes on Josie, he knew she was the one he’d share his dreams with. More than a decade, and one tragic miscalculation later, all he has worked for is slipping through his fingers. Powerless to stem the flow, the one thing he remains certain of: he can’t lose the woman he married.
John has always known exactly what he wanted. A career as a high-powered attorney, followed by the perfect family of six, and then elected public service. So it was no surprise that the first time he laid his eyes on Josie, he knew she was the one he’d share his dreams with. More than a decade, and one tragic miscalculation later, all he has worked for is slipping through his fingers. Powerless to stem the flow, the one thing he remains certain of: he can’t lose the woman he married.
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GIVEAWAY
Julie
N. Ford will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly
drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
My Impressions:
"The Woman He Married" was my first Julie Ford book and I have to say I have mixed emotions about it. I really disliked John and Josie. Its not that the characters were not well written, it was the way Josie was a dumping ground for John. It ticked me off. He cheats, blames her and I felt like she basically grovels for him not to leave while he gets everything he wanted. Hes a self indulgent, hypocritical cheater with Josie being a insecure, self adsorbed drunk and there are so many other issues in this extremely dysfunctional marriage that I felt like I have been on an emotional roller coaster and the ride ended abruptly.
The writing style was good, considering its a first book and it flowed nicely to keep you engaged. The story itself was well written, with my only complaint being how nice, neat and abruptly the story was ended. I like to see these things played out slowly and not as one big dump. Otherwise I enjoyed it and cannot wait to see what this author produces.
"The Woman He Married" was my first Julie Ford book and I have to say I have mixed emotions about it. I really disliked John and Josie. Its not that the characters were not well written, it was the way Josie was a dumping ground for John. It ticked me off. He cheats, blames her and I felt like she basically grovels for him not to leave while he gets everything he wanted. Hes a self indulgent, hypocritical cheater with Josie being a insecure, self adsorbed drunk and there are so many other issues in this extremely dysfunctional marriage that I felt like I have been on an emotional roller coaster and the ride ended abruptly.
The writing style was good, considering its a first book and it flowed nicely to keep you engaged. The story itself was well written, with my only complaint being how nice, neat and abruptly the story was ended. I like to see these things played out slowly and not as one big dump. Otherwise I enjoyed it and cannot wait to see what this author produces.
EXCERPT:
Josie’s first big mistake, as it turned out, was putting
John’s goals, his dreams and wishes, ahead of her own. As with the law,
apparently so went marriage. Once a precedent had been set, it was next to
impossible to overturn.
In this modern age, with so many women balancing career and
family, she hadn’t expected to have to choose between the two. Nor had she
realized there were still men like John who believed his success should be
enough for them both; much less women like herself, who’d willingly exchange
her dreams for the love of one such man.
For the first time in years, tonight she’d caught a glimpse
of her old self, of the woman who had once been too brave for her own good. Who
wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, to fight for what was right. Unfortunately
when John had said he was leaving, that woman had panicked and shamelessly
thrown herself at him . . . An offer he’d flat-out refused . . . That refusal
had struck like a single kill-shot, finishing off what was left of Josie’s
self-worth, and she’d let him go without further argument . . . Where he could
be at this hour, she refused to imagine. Not even in her mind could she stomach
the sight of John’s body wrapped around that of another woman’s, his hands
touching her in places he’d once promised to only touch Josie. With each passing
hour, her hurt and humiliation had slowly been replaced by the numbness she’d
grown much too accustomed to . . . She’d been trying to live this suburban life
for too long, forcing herself to become a brand of woman she didn’t know how to
be. The kind of woman she’d never wanted to be. She needed to stop, to just say
no, but she couldn’t figure out how. How did a mother of three young
children—angels she loved beyond belief—with a beautiful home and a handsome,
successful husband justify not wanting her life anymore?
John had never given much credence to self-help jargon like
doormat, codependent, inner-child. Baggage. But for the sake of argument, he
spared a thought to what so-called baggage he’d been lugging around since his
childhood. The image of a weighty chip, a sarsen that looked a whole lot like
his old man and had been clinging to his shoulder for as long as he could
remember, leapt to mind. How had he failed to recognize that the one person he
loathed most had been the very person dictating his behavior all these years?
Wasn’t life peculiar? The way clarity and perspective came not in moments of
peace and quiet reflection, but in times of turmoil, when one’s world had been
knocked about and was just beginning to settle upright again.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A graduate from San Diego State University with a BA in
Political Science, Julie N. Ford also earned a Masters in Social Work from the
University of Alabama, which has only made her better able to recognize the
unhealthy, codependent relationship she has with writing. Professionally, she
has worked in teaching and as a marriage and family counselor. She is the
author of six women’s fiction novels, including Count Down to Love, a 2011
Whitney Award finalist. When she’s not writing, she entertains delusions of
being a master gardener, that is, when she’s not killing the unsuspecting
plants in her yard with her good intentions. She lives outside of Nashville,
Tennessee, with her husband, two daughters, and the cutest Scottish fold cat
you’ve ever seen.
The Woman
He Married will be $0.99 during the tour.
Amazon:
Website/Blog:
Facebook:
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