Book Tour and Book Review: Planning To Live

Author: Heather Wardell
Title:Planning To Live
Publisher: Createspace
Publish Date: Aug 31, 2010
Rating: 5 Stars
Book Blurb: Determined to lose weight for her best friend's wedding, goal-obsessed Rhiannon flees her parents' Christmas Day feast to avoid overeating but her car skids off the deserted road into a tree. Trapped and bleeding, with her cell phone out of reach, she struggles to escape, and to accept that she's spent her whole life planning but hasn't ever really lived. Will she get the chance to change that?

Review: Planning To Live is Heather's fourth novel and having finished Planning To Live in a few hours, I have to say, I feel like I was missing out, not knowing her name until now.

Planning To Live is a book for every woman.

Rhiannon is character that readers will fall in love with. She's also the kind of character that you wish were your friend. But lordy she's had it rough.

The love of her life was kidnapped and killed by a crazy ex-girlfriend. Like most women she's battling the scale, and feels that all will be right in the world if the pounds just melt away. In focusing on her weight loss, she loses sight of all the joys of the world around her, and she almost misses out on a second chance at love with her co-worker Andrew. Oh but she's in a car accident on Christmas as she was heading home, but then turned around to go back to her parents house because the roads were bad.

Oh Rhiannon. I wanted to hug you, so many times when I read this. I wanted a second chance for you.

In the 220-ish pages, the reader sees Rhiannon's struggle to survive the accident and also the events of her life up until the moment of the accident.

Heather paints a wonderful picture of a woman who wants to be better, to do better, but ultimately who puts her life on hold until it is just about too late. She's not a character that you pity. As she looks back on her life, you see she has a great boss, a loving family and good friends. If only her priorities weren't so screwed up.

The ending is bittersweet, and I won't give it away, because you have to read this book. Be prepared to cry many times as you read this. Not always because its sad but because there's a part of you in Rhiannon.