Shadow of a Smile

by Valerie Joan Connors

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.

Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

Pub Date Jul 14 2015 | Archive Date Sep 01 2016

Deeds Publishing

General Fiction (Adult) | Women's Fiction

Description

In 1960, at twenty years old, Anastasia left her parents and the cold mid-western winter behind in Milwaukee and drove her powder blue Ford Fairlane down Route 66 all the way to Los Angeles, certain that’s where all her dreams would come true. Just two years later, she’s forced to retrace her steps, traveling back home with her dreams shattered, a broken heart, and a daughter she would have to raise alone.

Thirty years later, following her mother’s untimely death, that daughter, Meredith, learns the shocking truth about her origins, the father she never knew, and the mother whose life was very different than it appeared. When the attorney who prepared her mother’s will delivers Anastasia’s personal journals along with the keys to a trust fund Meredith never suspected she had, she and her boyfriend Derek retrace Anastasia’s path west, in search of answers.

SHADOW OF A SMILE is a powerful and thought-provoking story about family secrets, the choices we let our hearts make, and living with the consequences.

A Note From the Publisher

Valerie Joan Connors is the author of three other novels, A Promise Made (Deeds Publishing, August 2015), Shadow of a Smile (Deeds Publishing, June 2014) and In Her Keeping (Bell Bridge Books, 2013). She is the Vice-President of Programming for the Atlanta Writers Club, an organization with more than 700 active members and a 100-year history in the Atlanta area. During business hours, she’s the CFO of an architecture, engineering and interior design firm. Valerie lives in Atlanta with her husband and two dogs and is working on her next novel.

Advance Praise

"Connors' latest novel Shadow of a Smile, is about a woman discovering her mother's hidden past....I enjoyed reading this latest book. Connors does a good job writing about complicated relationships."—Readers Unbound

"…Valerie Joan Connor's writing is so vivid, so intimate, that Meredith's travails and triumphs become your own. I miss her already, now that she's gone on with her life and I must go back to my own…"—Linda Hughes, author of Becoming Jessie Belle and What We Talk About

"Shadow of a Smile examines the large price paid for secrets and cover-ups, not just by the perpetrators but also by generations before and after them. Ms. Connors has written a novel for anyone who likes family and relationship stories that are emotional, complex, and altogether satisfying."—George Weinstein, author of Hardscrabble Road and The Five Destinies of Carlos Moreno

“With extraordinary deft, Valerie Joan Connors explores how we take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.”—Rona Simmons, author of The Quiet Room

"Valerie Connors has a distinctive voice. Each scene is filled with secrets and longing. Each character is brave and steady and real."—Nicki Salcedo, author of All Beautiful Things

“A Shadow of a Smile is highly recommended. Just make sure you have a nice block of time set aside to read this because it is so hard to put it down!"—BellaOnline

Available Editions

EDITION	Paperback
ISBN	9781941165195
PRICE	$15.00 (USD)

Additional Information

Average rating from 4 members

Featured Reviews

Laura H, Reviewer

Not set

Meredith has grown up her entire life believing that her mom was a widow and that her dad died when she was a baby. After her dad's death, her mom moved back home to Wisconsin where her mom raised her with the help of her grandparents. When her mom dies suddenly, Meredith learns that she has a secret trust fund and that her mom's past may not be what she was led to think. With a few of her mother's journals in hand, Meredith takes a road trip to California to spread her mother's ashes but to also learn about her mother's past.

This was a very quick and engaging read that looked at the parallels of Meredith's present with her mom's past. It also looks at how the choices that you make effect not only only yourself but those around you.

Not set

Was this review helpful?

Liz D, Reviewer

This was the first book I've read by Valerie Joan Connors & I really enjoyed it. I will be reading more by her in the future. This was a book filled with secrets, mystery, forgiveness, & second chances. The author writes with such an easy style & the story just flows.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Beverly C, Reviewer

As young women we always think we know more than our mothers. When our mothers die we find our mothers had lives before they had us. Sometimes hidden lives.