Cover Image: A Week of Warm Weather

A Week of Warm Weather

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Member Reviews

This is a story about addiction. The characters are well written and believable some of the dialogue felt like it was unnecessary.

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An intimate look at how we lie to protect not only those we love ; but the life those lies afford us. It’s gripping in its raw depiction of the subtleties of addiction. It compels in its ordinary days 5gat follow the storm. It unnerving in the moments that build to the only conclusion that fits.

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Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of A Week in Warm Weather by Lee Bukowski. This is a story that centers around the past being brought to the present. Tessa has built a wonderful life. Her husband is a successful dentist and they share a baby girl. When something is brought to light regarding her husband, The past is to the present and Tessa begins to question her life. Her husband pushes her to believe that it's not a big deal. Alongside this Tessa makes a friend, who Tessa discovers has some secrets of her own. Definitely a good story and I do recommend it if you are a fan of domestic fiction.

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A Week of Warm Weather is a far too realistic view of addiction and the havoc it brings to all members of the family. Tessa and Ken seemingly have a good life until Ken's addiction starts to increase in its impact on the family. The author does a good job of showing the role of the enabler and the various phases an addict goes through. This one is a good read for those that want a real life tale of a family different than their own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This book is a story of a wife, Tessa, and her child dealing with a husband/father, Ken, falling deeper and deeper into a nitrous oxide addiction (he's a dentist, the gas being available in ready supply).

The story digs into her past dealing with her mother's addiction, her husband hiding this growing addiction from his family while become increasingly erratic and volatile, and how this all comes to a head.

As much as I know this is a sad reality for many families, this story just didn't grip me. Although delving into the family dynamics, Tessa and Ken's past, and the ripple of pain caused by one person's addiction, it really just felt like one book segment that just kept repeating over and over and over. And a storyline concerning a woman Tessa befriends in the park is a little far-fetched.

I think the story could have just delved deeper in the psychological and not just been Tessa and Ken having the same fight 50 times.

(Thank you to NetGalley and SparkPress for a copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest feedback)

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Loved it! Definitely a book I will remember and recommend to others! Thank you to NetGalley for the wonderful arc!

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I could not put this book down! Wow, what a realistic story about a marriage and addiction. So sad, but yet so realistic. A high functioning husband who destroys a marriage. A wife who enables for years until she finally has enough. My emotions constantly were changing as I read this. Hopeful, then angry, then sad. So much to deal with. Again, I could not put the book down

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This is a very realistic and thus very tough read about living life with an addict. Tess enables her husband's addiction and while this is entirely believable and true to life it is also so hard to read, you want to tell her to focus on her own mental health and stop protecting her husband

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I was lucky to receive an ARC of A Week off Warm Weather by Lee Bukowski in exchange for my honest review and opinion I found this to be an absolutely amazing read however parts of it were a difficult read due to the subject matter. I truly found all of the book to be believable as so many people in the world today deal with addiction. I will say there were some twists and turns that I didn't see coming and made me hold my breath. Do yourself a favor and read this!

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A very quick read but not one I particularly liked. A depressing delve into a young family ruined by addiction. I thankfully have not had any experience of this type of problem but Tessa seemed to enable her husband’s behaviour rather than turning to the obviously close family she comes from. So from that respect it seemed quite unrealistic.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. A Week of Warm Weather is a debut novel by Lee Bukowski - and it really hits hard. Tessa and Ken are a couple in their 30's, with one young daughter and, eventually, another baby on the way. Ken starts his own dental practice and Tessa stays home with their little girl. Tessa has a great support system - her father, step-mother, brothers and younger sibling. When Ken starts staying out overnight, Tessa suspects he is having an affair but what she finds is much worse - he is staying at the dental practice and using nitrous oxide to relieve his stress. The story follows the battle of addiction - Tessa's shame and unwillingness to tell her family, Ken's violent mood swings toward Tessa and his employees, Ken's failures to be present for Tessa and their child and family events. Tessa eventually realizes that, despite Ken's threats of telling family and friends about his addiction and the consequences, she must take action to protect herself and her children. This is a gripping debut novel that shines light on an unfortunate true to life situation for many families. I hope to see more of Ms. Bukowski's work in the future.

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This book was just not my cup of tea. The story just seemed silly to me. Tessa is married to dentist husband Ken who is an alcoholic and huffs nitrous oxide in his office. Tessa is hard to like, her BIL called her a fixer but she seemed like an enabler and a doormat to me. Every time she confronts ken about his addictions, he turns it around on her and she buys it, taking the blame herself. She let it go on way too long in my opinion.

The babytalk from toddler Ronnie was annoying but my biggest complaint is the unnecessary details that had nothing to do with the story, i.e the floral comforter, her pink and white flannel pjs, the puffy valances etc. . They ate at a restaurant and was told they have a clown on Tuesday nights and something else on Thursday nights…again, nothing to do with the story. To me, this just slowed the story down.

My father was an alcoholic so i am sympathetic to how families have to deal with addictions. This book just missed the mark for me on all levels.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.

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A Week of Warm Weather was a fictional story about addiction and all the things and people it’s affecting. I’m a Acoa and a former spouse of an alcoholic. Having said that I totally got this book! I was mad as hell at the addicts and then mad at the enabling. Been there done it and have several T-shirts.
For me this was a realistic account of our culture today and how mostly people in addiction are high Functioners. And how well they blend in. I was once asked why I got so upset that my husband drank a case of beer a night, because I should be happy that he’s not an angry person. Really???
Nothing happy in this book but somewhat comforting in the fact that this is a real thing. And it’s easy to hide than anyone thinks. If you want a glimpse of what this looks like then I suggest this book.
The author wrote a believable account of it.
Thanks SparkPress via NetGalley.

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In A Week of Warm Weather, Tessa's discovery of her husband's addiction brings back demons from her own past. With a young daughter of her own to protect and a new friend with a secret, she must gather the courage to face both.

Author Lee Bukowski writes along the cyclical nature of addiction and enabling, and I connected with Tessa over some past experience as the latter. Although true to topic, I felt that this got a bit repetitive as the story progressed. My other little hang-up was that I found the written-out 'baby talk' of Tessa's daughter to be somewhat grating.

Note: I received a free ebook copy of A Week of Warm Weather from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This story tells the tale of Tessa's struggles with her husband's addiction and trying to make it work for many years before realizing that she has to take care of herself and her children first and if he wants to beat this he has to put in the work.

Tessa is dealing with a lot and it doesn't help that her biological mother left them when they were young due to alcohol addiction. She didn't understand it at the time but she is getting a dose of addiction and the behaviors of those affected by her husband, Ken. He has all of the traits you associate with an addict - lying, secretive, blaming others (especially Tessa) when things don't go right, and violent at times. I have never been around an addict but my heart went out to Tessa and everything she was dealing with on her own. What is worse is that she hasn't told anyone and has no support system.

I was amazed that she put up with everything for as long as she did, for three years. I think the final straw was when he missed their anniversary trip that he planned. But I gave her kudos for going alone. I think it was exactly what she needed to put everything in perspective.

There are a few other curve balls that are thrown her way, but when she is finally able to get the support she needs from family and friends it really makes a difference in her life.

This could be anyone's story, even people we might know. I felt like the story was a true and fair representation of what life would be like with an addict and it opened my eyes to a life that I was not familiar with at this time.

We give this book 4 paws up.

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A Week of Warm Weather, by Lee Bukowski is a story that will at times tug at your heart, make you want to pull your hair out, and educates you on what it is like to be living with an addict. It is both compelling and propulsive which kept me reading, as I was invested in the characters and needed to know how their story ended.

This book is mainly about addiction, and how it becomes a source of chaos, negativity, and emotional upheaval, and even violence for our main characters, Tessa, and her husband Ken who has just opened his dentistry practice. Things escalate quickly for our family, as Ken begins to behave out of character, often not coming home at night, has strange markings on the bridge of his nose, puffy and dilated eyes. Tess has her suspicions, but a baby is born, and Ken continues to place his career and family in peril.

We sit on the sidelines as Ken deals with his addiction, and Tess makes excuse after excuse for him. This was what made the book both compelling and frustrating, as you want to yell at Tessa to stop enabling her husband. This is also what makes for such a fantastic read, you want to engage and interact with the characters.

There are multiple plot lines which are entertaining, such as Tessa's own family drama, with her mother, Caroline, who was an alcoholic, abandoning her family, when they were very young, and the relationship she has built wither father and step mother. We also experience the story from Ken's point of view, and get insight to what he is feeling and thinking.

The characters were real, raw, and I wanted to be friends with Tessa, to support her, and help her to open her eyes, this his how you know that a book is great, that you want to jump within its pages. However, be aware that this can be tough subject matter for some folks. It is a good portrayal of what it must be like living with an addict.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review of this novel. Pub date June 7th 2022

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A Week Of Warm Weather was a very good book. The author did an amazing job exploring what it’s like to be the victim of a spouse with a very big secret/demon they are battling. I would have loved to read more of Ken’s experience. This book was so well written. I actually live in the same area as this book takes place, so that was a very fun aspect of this book that I found interesting. This is a book that would make a fantastic book club pick.
I was a little confused about the timeline and why the author chose the late 90’s as the period to write about. I would love to hope there is a follow up, perhaps?? These were characters I would LOVE to read more about and what happened further down there the line. Side note- I especially loved Mariel and Val. Everyone needs a Mariel in their life as a best friend and a mom like Val.

Overall, this was a great debut novel and extremely well written. Thank you for the advanced readers copy!! I hope to see more from Lee in the future.

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Real. Bold. Splendid.

These are the words that come into mind once I finished reading this book. This book is a celebration of the virtue, boldness, and courage of women. I also commend the brevity and courage of the author to discuss one of the enigmatic issues in society - domestic violence.

It is a story of a wife and a mother who dealt with addiction and other adversaties. The growth and transformation of a woman is like a perfume. It must be crushed and broken for only then the essence will come out. The protagonist here has been crushed and broken but was able to produce the true essence of a woman who come out stronger than before;who was able to rise above every ugly thing life offered her.

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There was a lot in this book that I related to...addiction, family secrets, and abandonment. Being abandoned by a mother is something that I wouldn't wish for anyone but is something that happens way more than most people think. Lee Bukowski did an excellent job of describing this dynamic and the heart wrenching trauma associated with addiction in families. Unfortunately, I found the appearance and then the disappearance of Caroline, Tessa's mother, unbelievable and unfinished. She appeared unexpectedly and then leaves without much explanation.. I felt for Tessa and the circumstances that she found herself in. Living in Pennsylvania, I connected with the setting of the story and loved reading about Sal, the patriarch of the family, and how close they were. All in all, I found A Week of Warm Weather an interesting read.

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A Week of Warm Weather by Lee Bukowski is the compelling, heart-wrenching story of Tessa, a devoted wife and mother whose seemingly perfect husband becomes addicted to the nitrous oxide that he administers to his dental patients. As his addiction spirals out of control, Tessa is forced to make some heartbreaking decisions to protect herself and her family. This is a gripping look at the destruction that addiction can cause.

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