TLC Book Tours: Echoes of Family

About Echoes of Family

Paperback: 412 pages

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (September 27, 2016)

Sometimes the only way through darkness is to return to where it began.

Marianne Stokes fled England at seventeen, spiraling into the manic depression that would become her shadow. She left behind secrets, memories, and tragedy: one teen dead, and her first love, Gabriel, badly injured. Three decades later she’s finally found peace in the North Carolina recording studio she runs with her husband, Darius, and her almost-daughter, Jade…until another fatality propels her back across the ocean to confront the long-buried past.

In her picturesque childhood village, the first person she meets is the last person she wants to see again: Gabriel. Now the village vicar, he takes her in without question, and ripples of what if reverberate through both their hearts. As Marianne’s mind unravels, Jade and Darius track her down. Tempers clash when everyone tries to help, but only by finding the courage to face her illness can Marianne heal herself and her offbeat family.

“Claypole White’s gift is her ability to put us into the troubled minds of her characters in a way that helps us not only understand them but fall in love with them as well. We discover that while their minds may be different from ours, their hearts are the same.” —Diane Chamberlain, USA Todaybestselling author of Pretending to Dance

“Echoes of Family is a masterfully written novel that is both difficult to put down, and difficult to forget after the final page. In this powerful novel, Claypole White weaves that narrative that draws the reader into a personal relationship with the characters and has you rooting for them, in spite of their many flaws. This book kept my attention until all secrets were revealed in its dramatic conclusion. I look forward to many more from Claypole White.” —Sally Hepworth, bestselling author of The Things We Keep

“Barbara Claypole White has done it again—created a quirky cast of characters and then taken us along as they go on a journey through madness and out the other side. Music, England, love, loss, and nature all collide in this beautiful exploration of how the echoes of our past can sometimes drown out the present. Matthew Quick fans will feel right at home.” —Catherine McKenzie, bestselling author of Spin and Hidden

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Review: There are books that you can really only describe as amazing. This is one of those books. 

I've found that I tend to read books with similar subject matter. Finding Libbie that I read a few weeks ago dealt with mental illness. This book deals with Marianne's bipolar disorder. This lady has a lot of issues.  She's hard to love but easy to root for. I found that a lot of the characters were not ones you fall in love with, or want to be. These characters were messed up, but they were good people. They were family.

Marianne has made a lot of bad choices. She has a mental disorder, but as you read on, you learn, yes, she's messed up, but she's a good person and she wants to help. She wants to help others with similar situations, like Jade and EmJ.

EmJ's story is absolutely heartbreaking. She's only 18 and has already been institutionalized and has done her share of drugs. She bonds with Marianne when she is in a facility in the UK.

I enjoyed getting to know Darius and Jade while Marianne's story unfolds, and even more so, Jade and Gabriel, who begin to have a relationship while trying to help Marianne.

Darius is a bit much at times. He's very over the top in his love for Marianne and his jealousy over Gabriel, but its wonderful how much he loves her and wants to do what he can help her.

This book is not a pretty story by any means, but it was a story that you can't put down because you want to know what is going to happen to the characters. They are all tied together into a strange dysfunctional family that really needs fixing.

I really want a second story continuing with Jade and Gabriel, because Jade definitely has some things in her past that need resolving.

Its the kind of read that keeps your mind engaged. I highly recommend this novel.

Rating 5 flowers

About Barbara Claypole White

A Brit living in North Carolina, Barbara Claypole White writes hopeful family drama with a healthy dose of mental illness. Her debut novel, The Unfinished Garden, won the 2013 Golden Quill Contest for Best First Book, and The In-Between Hour was chosen by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance as a Winter 2014 Okra Pick. Her third novel, The Perfect Son, was a semifinalist in the 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Fiction.

Connect with Barbara

Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Barbara Claypole White’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Sunday, September 25th: Writer Unboxed – guest post, “Ten Tips for Writing Through Family Stress”

Monday, September 26th: BookBub Blog – “Family Crises of the Month Book Club”

Tuesday, September 27th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Wednesday, September 28th: Just One More Chapter

Friday, September 30th: From the TBR Pile

Monday, October 3rd: Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Monday, October 3rd: BookNAround

Wednesday, October 5th: Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books

Thursday, October 6th: Broken Teepee

Friday, October 7th: Not in Jersey

Tuesday, October 11th: Thoughts on This ‘n That

Thursday, October 13th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Friday, October 14th: Books ‘n Bindings

Monday, October 17th: A Chick Who Reads

Tuesday, October 18th: The Baking Bookworm

Wednesday, October 19th: Bibliotica

Monday, October 24th: Mom’s Small Victories