Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly
Published by Sourcebooks Landmark on April 2, 2019
Genres: Domestic Life, Literature & Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Pages: 304
Format: ARC, eBook
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A mother’s chance decision leads to a twist of fate that is every parent’s worst nightmare.
Claire Rawlings, mother of two and medical resident, will not let the troubling signs of an allergic reaction prevent her from making it in for rounds. But when Claire’s symptoms overpower her while she’s driving into work, her two children in tow, she must pull over. Moments later she wakes up on the floor of a gas station bathroom-her car, and her precious girls have vanished.
The police have no leads and the weight of guilt presses down on Claire as each hour passes with no trace of her girls. All she has to hold on to are her strained marriage, a potentially unreliable witness who emerges days later, and the desperate but unquenchable belief that her daughters are out there somewhere.
Little Lovely Things is the story of a family shattered by an unthinkable tragedy. Played out in multiple narrative voices, the novel explores how the lives of those affected fatefully intersect, and highlights the potential catastrophe of the small decisions we make every day.
This is my third tour with a Suzy Approved Blog Tour and I have to say I’m very grateful that they were kindly flexible with their tour dates and I was especially happy they ran as long as they did – February 5 through April 10, 2019. I was very excited when I got the news that I was part of this tour because I had seen some social media postings about Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly, and I just knew that I would need to be reading it soon anyway!
Turns out I had a headache on Friday, March 15. I bent down to pick something up and apparently I had a subarachnoid hemorrhage (I blew a vein and had a blood bleed). I was raced to the hospital by ambulance where I stayed for a week, and now I’m home convalescing. I had originally been scheduled to do my post earlier, but thanks to Suzy Approved Book Tour’s cooperation, I was able to reschedule to today.
The protagonist of Little Lovely Things is Claire Rawlings, a busy mother of two girls. Claire is also a medical resident who finds herself in an overpowering allergic reaction as she’s driving her daughters to work with her. Claire takes the next exit and makes a crazy dash into a bathroom behind a local gas station. Suddenly, Claire wakes up in a gas station bathroom, and her girls are gone.
Claire doesn’t have a happy marriage with her husband, Glen, and doesn’t have a lot of support helping her through this horrific experience. Readers could feel Claire and Glenn’s pain pouring from the pages, and we couldn’t help being totally sympathetic.
Then there’s witness, Jay White. He’s a Native American who supposedly has the gift of sight, feeling and seeing things that have happened to the Rawlings girls that day even though the police don’t believe him. Jay has a big heart and is a kind, lovable guy who always has everyone’s best interests at heart and Claire believes him.
The story is told from multiple perspectives which gives readers a very insightful look at the events of this unfolding situation. The characters were well written and the story line was very engaging, moving at a perfect pace.
Maureen is a former owner of a consulting firm that helped specialty drug companies to develop medications for ultra-rare diseases. Maureen received her Bachelor’s degree in physiology from Michigan State University and her Master’s degree in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University. Her background in science and love of the natural world informs and inspires her writing. LITTLE LOVELY THINGS is her debut as a novelist. She is also an award-winning poet, published in diverse outlets such as Emory University’s Lullwater Review and Yankee Magazine.
Maureen is a foodie and appreciates interesting recipes. She also enjoys painting (especially flowers and sycamore trees), competing in races with her dragon boat team (Go Fierce)!, and reading (of course). She relishes spending time with her three children, her husband and her pets; a ridiculous terrier named Huckleberry, and a plump orange cat, Pumpkin.
Connect with Ms. Connolly on social media ~~
WEBSITE // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // INSTAGRAM // GOODREADS
Blog Tour Schedule :
Feb. 5th – Lindas Book Obsession https://www.facebook.com/lindasbookobsession/
Feb. 5th – Cassie’s Book Reviews https://instagram.com/cassies_books_reviews
Feb 6th –Mission To Read https://instagram.com/mission_toread
Feb 7th – Nikki Wilhelm 4 https://instagram.com/nikkiwilhelm04
Feb. 8th – Sue’s Booking Agency https://m.facebook.com/groups/1977460229183119
Feb 13th – The PH Diva Books https://instagram.com/thephdivabooks
Feb 17th – Oh The Books She Will Read https://instagram.com/ohthebooksshewillread
Feb. 19th – Books and Chinooks https://instagram.com/booksandchinooks
Feb. 20th- RW Book Club Goodreads https://www.instagram.com/rwbookclubgoodreads
Feb. 21st- Texan Holly Reads https://instagram.com/texanhollyreads
Feb. 22nd -Reading With Mere- https://instagram.com/readingwithmere?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=n84ht3l16g8n
Feb 24th – One More Paige https://instagram.com/one_more_paige
Feb 25th – Chick Lit Central – https://www.facebook.com/chicklitcentral/
February 27th -Jennifer Tar Heel Reader – http://www.jennifertarheelreader.com/
March 1st – Meet Me In The Stacks https://instagram.com/meetmeinthestacks
March 2nd – Karinas Book Emporium https://www.facebook.com/Karinas-Book-Emporium-1611647995621369/
March 4th – Amy Lynn Lifestyle https://instagram.com/amylynnlifestyle?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=2fmwbzcye6w8
March 8th –Audio Killed The Bookmark – https://www.instagram.com/audio_killed_the_bookmark
https://audiokilledthebookmark.com/
March 8th- Bookapotamus https://instagram.com/bookapotamus?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=1l7y2r4ji4rb0
March 8th- Sue Roberts http://girl-who-reads.com/
March 10th- The Urban BookShelf https://instagram.com/theurbanbookshelf
March 11th – Marisa Gothie – https://www.instagram.com/marisagbooks
March 12th – Novels and Latte Book Club –https://www.facebook.com/groups/357651988042629
https://instagram.com/novelsandlatte
March 14th – A Book Or A Few And Java Too – https://instagram.com/abookorafewandjavato
March 18th– As I Read It https://instagram.com/as_i_read_it
March 19th – Denise Adele K https://instagram.com/deniseadelek
March 20th – Little Book Page https://m.facebook.com/Littlebookpage-192613211319741
https://www.instagram.com/littlebookpage
March 23rd– A Bookworm With Wine https://www.instagram.com/abookwormwithwine/?hl=en
March 23rd- Sweet Honey And Brei https://instagram.com/sweethoneyandbrei
March 24th – Courtney Turns The Page https://www.instagram.com/courtturnsthepage
March 25th – The Book Club Mom https://instagram.com/thebookclubmom
March 27th- Reading With Nicole https://instagram.com/reading_with_nicole?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=pnxqo3poj6iq
March 28th – Nerdy Book Nurse https://instagram.com/nerdybooknurse
March 29th – Heather Frimmer https://www.heatherfrimmer.com/blog/
March 30th – Books & Margaritas– https://m.facebook.com/booksandmargaritasblog
April 2nd- BookWorm Mommy of 3 https://instagram.com/bookwormmommyof3?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=2o3lnr2dk5no
April 2nd- Midwest Ladies Who Lit – http://www.mwladieswholit.wordpress.com/
April 2nd – She Loves The Pages https://instagram.com/shelovesthepages
April 3rd – Comet Readings https://instagram.com/cometreadings
April 3rd – The Salty Bookworm https://instagram.com/thesaltybookworm
April 4th – Reading Is My Passion https://m.facebook.com/groups/readingismypassion
April 4th- Bookworm Becks https://instagram.com/bookwormbecks
April 5th -Traveling With T – https://m.facebook.com/TravelingWithT/
April 5th –2 Girls 1 Library https://instagram.com/2girls1library
April 6th – The Weekend Booker https://instagram.com/theweekendbooker
April 6th – Books And Wine R Lovely https://instagram.com/books_and_wine_r_lovely_bloghttps://m.facebook.com/groups/2185080865058771
April 7th- JKR Murray AKA Bookwyrm https://instagram.com/jkrmurrayakabookwyrm
April 9th – Kristal Loves Books https://instagram.com/krystal_loves_books?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=1gmodeeyd8oa1
April 10th – Elizabeth Silver’s reviews – http://silversolara.blogspot.com/
April 11th – Orange County Reads https://instagram.com/orangecountyreads
April 12th- Mrs. Life Between The Pages https://instagram.com/mrslifebetweenthepages
April 13th – Words With Rach https://instagram.com/wordswithrach
Connect with Suzy Approved Book Tours:
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Thanks to Suzy Approved Book Tours, Maureen Joyce Connolly and Sourcebooks Landmark for my review copy of this book and including me on this book tour!
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