Scan barcode
adventuresofaliterarynature's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book! Review to be posted soon!
marmeelovesbook's review against another edition
4.0
Imagine you wake up to find yourself in a hospital room with the memories of 25 years of your life just missing, gone, kaput. In your mind you are a college student at the beginning of your life ready to pursue your dreams and make a difference. You prefer diet Coke to coffee and want your parents to come to the hospital to see you, not this 50 year old stranger who keeps holding your hand telling you he is your husband. And let’s just say that the shock of seeing your reflection in the mirror is a bit jarring. This is the predicament of Noelle Hueston, the main character in The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren. Only Noelle isn’t a college student, she is a married woman with children and a husband and some tough memories that she cannot recall.
The struggling marriage of Noelle and her husband Eli is simply forgotten by Noelle after suffering an accident where her head is hit incredibly hard causing her to lose all memories from the last 25 years. So while she is struggling to remember her past and the people closest to her, she also discovers that things have not turned out for her as she thought they would. She was an aspiring artist that all but gave up her dreams for others and she feels a bit disappointed to see what her 40-something self did with her life in comparison to what her 20-something self thought she would be doing. What a fascinating perspective for her to see. She’s not too happy with her waist size either. (But then again, who is?) Her husband Eli seeks to have a brand new start with this new wife who doesn’t remember all the heartache of their past and wants to build forward from there. They both learn though that it’s impossible to divorce our past from our present, it’s what grows us and something we need to make peace with in order to move forward. It cannot be ignored. There are some other family dynamic stuff that comes into play with the sons that shows some pretty realistic moments, I believe- people placing blame, the importance of honesty and forgiveness. Very well done here.
I thought the pacing of the novel was good, enjoyed the character development and storyline. I actually thought the ending was good, realistic, although I might say that part felt a little rushed. Overall, I enjoyed what this novel explored, the whole idea of are you happy where you are, is it what you imagined and if not, what can you do to change it? I think we all have that question in our mind to a certain extent. Is my life really what I pictured it would be? My answer is no, it’s not, but I think this alternate route, personally, is better than what I had planned.
4 stars.
I was graciously provided a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
The struggling marriage of Noelle and her husband Eli is simply forgotten by Noelle after suffering an accident where her head is hit incredibly hard causing her to lose all memories from the last 25 years. So while she is struggling to remember her past and the people closest to her, she also discovers that things have not turned out for her as she thought they would. She was an aspiring artist that all but gave up her dreams for others and she feels a bit disappointed to see what her 40-something self did with her life in comparison to what her 20-something self thought she would be doing. What a fascinating perspective for her to see. She’s not too happy with her waist size either. (But then again, who is?) Her husband Eli seeks to have a brand new start with this new wife who doesn’t remember all the heartache of their past and wants to build forward from there. They both learn though that it’s impossible to divorce our past from our present, it’s what grows us and something we need to make peace with in order to move forward. It cannot be ignored. There are some other family dynamic stuff that comes into play with the sons that shows some pretty realistic moments, I believe- people placing blame, the importance of honesty and forgiveness. Very well done here.
I thought the pacing of the novel was good, enjoyed the character development and storyline. I actually thought the ending was good, realistic, although I might say that part felt a little rushed. Overall, I enjoyed what this novel explored, the whole idea of are you happy where you are, is it what you imagined and if not, what can you do to change it? I think we all have that question in our mind to a certain extent. Is my life really what I pictured it would be? My answer is no, it’s not, but I think this alternate route, personally, is better than what I had planned.
4 stars.
I was graciously provided a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
aduchene's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, I want to start by saying that this was not my favorite of the series, but it was much more complex and emotional than the other books, making it worth four stars instead of three. The character development was better than most in this series and the plot lines of different characters left exciting parts to be followed by dramatic and upsetting parts. Well done.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
3.0
The Shadow of Your Smile is a beautifully written story of how tragedy can tear apart a family even though it is the time when you need those you love most. Noelle and Eli's marriage has fractured under the stress of losing their daughter and essentially they are leading separate lives when Noelle is badly injured, losing the memory of the past twenty something years. Noelle is shocked to discover she is unhappily married with near adult sons, has never made use of her art major and lives in a small town. However the accident may well be a blessing, for the family has a fresh slate, a chance to put their hurts and secrets behind them and reconnect... until memories begin to resurface and threaten to devastate them all.
I really enjoyed The Shadow of Your Smile - the first title I have read by Susan May Warren which is part of a series following characters in the small town of Deep Haven, Minnesota. The rich storyline is handled with sensitivity and depth and I was really impressed with they way in which Warren is able to explore so many facets of such emotive issues from so many perspectives, without ever descending in to melodrama. While it is Noelle and Eli's disintegrating marriage that the story centers around, it is the aftermath of unexpected death that is the true focal element of the story with the author deftly showing how the tragedy impacts on those who are faced with it. Their respective losses are compounded by their own grief, guilt and anger that isolates them from each other creating more losses as they turn away from each other. The theme of forgiveness also plays a large part in the novel as does love and faith.
Despite a reasonably large featured cast, the characters in The Shadow of Your Smile are brought to life by Warren exposing what they think and feel. The characters are likeable and easy to relate to with their emotions and reactions are heartfelt and genuine. I had a huge amount of sympathy for all of the characters and enjoyed getting to know them.
The Shadow of Your Smile is a lovely contemporary read. Emotionally compelling and finely crafted, I may be tempted to read more by this author. To be honest had I known that the book had a strong Christian element I probably would not have chosen to read it. Due to my own beliefs I am uncomfortable with the preaching and bible quotes, particularly near the end of the book, however I chose to disregard them in favour of the story.
I really enjoyed The Shadow of Your Smile - the first title I have read by Susan May Warren which is part of a series following characters in the small town of Deep Haven, Minnesota. The rich storyline is handled with sensitivity and depth and I was really impressed with they way in which Warren is able to explore so many facets of such emotive issues from so many perspectives, without ever descending in to melodrama. While it is Noelle and Eli's disintegrating marriage that the story centers around, it is the aftermath of unexpected death that is the true focal element of the story with the author deftly showing how the tragedy impacts on those who are faced with it. Their respective losses are compounded by their own grief, guilt and anger that isolates them from each other creating more losses as they turn away from each other. The theme of forgiveness also plays a large part in the novel as does love and faith.
Despite a reasonably large featured cast, the characters in The Shadow of Your Smile are brought to life by Warren exposing what they think and feel. The characters are likeable and easy to relate to with their emotions and reactions are heartfelt and genuine. I had a huge amount of sympathy for all of the characters and enjoyed getting to know them.
The Shadow of Your Smile is a lovely contemporary read. Emotionally compelling and finely crafted, I may be tempted to read more by this author. To be honest had I known that the book had a strong Christian element I probably would not have chosen to read it. Due to my own beliefs I am uncomfortable with the preaching and bible quotes, particularly near the end of the book, however I chose to disregard them in favour of the story.
pixieauthoress's review against another edition
4.0
GENRE: CONTEMPORARY
PUBLISHER: TYNDALE HOUSE
PUBLICATION DATE: JANUARY 01, 2012
RATING: 8 OUT OF 10 - VERY GOOD
PROS: Part of a series but each novel is a standalone; made me care enough about the characters that I cried during flashback scenes; unputdownable!
CONS: There was a lot of drama going on for such a small, seemingly peaceful town; it seemed like this family had everything possibly going against them.
Following a trauma that recently rocked their family, Eli and Noelle’s marriage is on the rocks. Eli has no idea what his wife gets up to when he’s out of the house, and now that he’s a retired cop he spends most of his time ice-fishing in order to avoid his family. Noelle is on the brink of making a decision that could tear her family apart when she’s involved in an accident that causes her to forget the last twenty-five years of her life. She wakes up in a hospital bed thinking she’s still at college, and she has no idea who Eli is and no recollection of their marriage or children. Eli realises that God has given him a second chance, the opportunity to get his marriage back on track. But can he make Noelle fall in love with him again before she figures out why their marriage went south in the first place?
I make no secret of the fact that my guilty pleasure when it comes to novels is amnesia plots. Amnesia, snowbound and babies have to be my favourite romantic plot devices; but The Shadow of Your Smile isn’t exactly a romance novel. While Eli gets the chance to reromance his wife, this book also contains the stories of how Noelle’s family members and friends react to her amnesia; how it brings some of them together and pushes others apart. This novel reminded me of a modern day family saga, a Christian version of a Barbara Delinsky novel, where the reactions of family, friends and an entire town are detailed in relation to a dramatic event. In The Shadow of Your Smile we not only witness how Eli and Noelle come to reconcile their relationship, but also how their son, Kyle, a new cop, reacts to the incident that caused his mother’s amnesia and his relationship with his sister’s best friend, Emma. Emma’s mother is also heavily involved in the events in this book, as not only Noelle’s best friend but in her dangerously close relationship to Eli.
I wasn’t sure whether I’d enjoy reading about a couple whose marriage had deteriorated after twenty-five years. I’m getting married in less than six months and I remember my experience of reading the first few chapters of Rob Parson’s The Sixty Minute Marriage, where I bawled to my fiancé about how there were all of these horrible things that could go wrong with our marriage. Sometimes you’re just not in the right frame of mind for reading about a topic close to your heart. But in this case, I was able to enjoy The Shadow of Your Smile without panicking about the “What Ifs?” presented in the novel. While this book deals with a lot of tough topics, it’s also very easy to read. The problems that the characters encounter are very realistic ones and the characters are so down-to-earth and normal that they could be your next-door-neighbours. This was my first experience with the Deep Haven series but the town really came alive to me in this book and I think that the setting of this novel will make readers feel at home, whether this is the first book in the series that they’ve read or the sixth.
That said, I did feel a bit disorientated when I first began reading The Shadow of Your Smile. It was as if I’d been dropped right into the middle of Deep Haven and Eli and Noelle’s lives. It took a bit of adjusting to get used to all of the relationships and histories between the characters, and there were incidents in Eli and Noelle’s lives that were vaguely mentioned several times and it took me a while to finally figure out what had happened to push them apart. I actually went online and looked up the other Deep Haven novels to see whether there had been a previous novel about this family and whether I was missing some important details about their lives. When I realised that all of the other books focused on completely different characters I started to wonder whether Susan had deliberately made The Shadow of Your Smile disorientating for the reader in order to make them sympathise with Noelle’s amnesia. To be honest, I was as confused as Noelle was in the opening chapters of the novel, and this made reading the book an even more interesting experience. As I figured out the missing pieces of Noelle’s life, so did Noelle. To any readers of the novel who may be confused to begin with, I urge you not to give up – this book is definitely worth all of the figuring out that you have to do!
However, there were some sections of the book that I didn’t find quite so compelling. While Kyle and Emma’s romance was sweet and endearing, it was also rather predictable. It was a nice side-story but as much as I tried, I never could really relate to Emma. I also had an issue with the fact that Kyle and his and Emma’s fathers were all police officers and quite strong, manly characters; at times it seemed as if the author was trying to make working in the police force seem especially noble. While there are flashbacks and comments from Eli that stress that he doesn’t think that a career in the police is worth the harm is can bring to a family, at other times the book almost glamorized police work and placed it on a pedestal. I know a couple of police officers and do respect their work, but I got a bit tired of the fact that all of the main characters in the book who had jobs were police officers. And considering how small a town Deep Haven seemed to be, there always seemed to be a lot drama and crime taking place. While some of the events in the story were necessary to bring the plot to where it stood at the start of the novel, I couldn’t help but wonder whether the crime rate in Deep Haven was entirely typical. It was one of those experiences where you’re reading a book and find yourself wondering, “Could anything else possibly happen to these poor characters?”
Despite my misgivings with the level of drama in this book, Susan May Warren also made me truly care about her characters. I finished reading this book on Christmas Day and was dabbing at my tears as Eli remembered his daughter’s accident. While this book had its flaws and didn’t have that special something that pushed its rating up to a 4.5 or 5, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable read. And while I will admit that this was an easy novel to breeze through in a couple of days, it had so much food for thought. It’s not possible to come away from this novel without musing over some point or another. I will definitely be going back and reading more of the Deep Haven books, and encourage fans of family sagas and contemporary fiction to start with The Shadow of Your Smile and do the same.
Review title provided by Tyndale House.
PUBLISHER: TYNDALE HOUSE
PUBLICATION DATE: JANUARY 01, 2012
RATING: 8 OUT OF 10 - VERY GOOD
PROS: Part of a series but each novel is a standalone; made me care enough about the characters that I cried during flashback scenes; unputdownable!
CONS: There was a lot of drama going on for such a small, seemingly peaceful town; it seemed like this family had everything possibly going against them.
Following a trauma that recently rocked their family, Eli and Noelle’s marriage is on the rocks. Eli has no idea what his wife gets up to when he’s out of the house, and now that he’s a retired cop he spends most of his time ice-fishing in order to avoid his family. Noelle is on the brink of making a decision that could tear her family apart when she’s involved in an accident that causes her to forget the last twenty-five years of her life. She wakes up in a hospital bed thinking she’s still at college, and she has no idea who Eli is and no recollection of their marriage or children. Eli realises that God has given him a second chance, the opportunity to get his marriage back on track. But can he make Noelle fall in love with him again before she figures out why their marriage went south in the first place?
I make no secret of the fact that my guilty pleasure when it comes to novels is amnesia plots. Amnesia, snowbound and babies have to be my favourite romantic plot devices; but The Shadow of Your Smile isn’t exactly a romance novel. While Eli gets the chance to reromance his wife, this book also contains the stories of how Noelle’s family members and friends react to her amnesia; how it brings some of them together and pushes others apart. This novel reminded me of a modern day family saga, a Christian version of a Barbara Delinsky novel, where the reactions of family, friends and an entire town are detailed in relation to a dramatic event. In The Shadow of Your Smile we not only witness how Eli and Noelle come to reconcile their relationship, but also how their son, Kyle, a new cop, reacts to the incident that caused his mother’s amnesia and his relationship with his sister’s best friend, Emma. Emma’s mother is also heavily involved in the events in this book, as not only Noelle’s best friend but in her dangerously close relationship to Eli.
I wasn’t sure whether I’d enjoy reading about a couple whose marriage had deteriorated after twenty-five years. I’m getting married in less than six months and I remember my experience of reading the first few chapters of Rob Parson’s The Sixty Minute Marriage, where I bawled to my fiancé about how there were all of these horrible things that could go wrong with our marriage. Sometimes you’re just not in the right frame of mind for reading about a topic close to your heart. But in this case, I was able to enjoy The Shadow of Your Smile without panicking about the “What Ifs?” presented in the novel. While this book deals with a lot of tough topics, it’s also very easy to read. The problems that the characters encounter are very realistic ones and the characters are so down-to-earth and normal that they could be your next-door-neighbours. This was my first experience with the Deep Haven series but the town really came alive to me in this book and I think that the setting of this novel will make readers feel at home, whether this is the first book in the series that they’ve read or the sixth.
That said, I did feel a bit disorientated when I first began reading The Shadow of Your Smile. It was as if I’d been dropped right into the middle of Deep Haven and Eli and Noelle’s lives. It took a bit of adjusting to get used to all of the relationships and histories between the characters, and there were incidents in Eli and Noelle’s lives that were vaguely mentioned several times and it took me a while to finally figure out what had happened to push them apart. I actually went online and looked up the other Deep Haven novels to see whether there had been a previous novel about this family and whether I was missing some important details about their lives. When I realised that all of the other books focused on completely different characters I started to wonder whether Susan had deliberately made The Shadow of Your Smile disorientating for the reader in order to make them sympathise with Noelle’s amnesia. To be honest, I was as confused as Noelle was in the opening chapters of the novel, and this made reading the book an even more interesting experience. As I figured out the missing pieces of Noelle’s life, so did Noelle. To any readers of the novel who may be confused to begin with, I urge you not to give up – this book is definitely worth all of the figuring out that you have to do!
However, there were some sections of the book that I didn’t find quite so compelling. While Kyle and Emma’s romance was sweet and endearing, it was also rather predictable. It was a nice side-story but as much as I tried, I never could really relate to Emma. I also had an issue with the fact that Kyle and his and Emma’s fathers were all police officers and quite strong, manly characters; at times it seemed as if the author was trying to make working in the police force seem especially noble. While there are flashbacks and comments from Eli that stress that he doesn’t think that a career in the police is worth the harm is can bring to a family, at other times the book almost glamorized police work and placed it on a pedestal. I know a couple of police officers and do respect their work, but I got a bit tired of the fact that all of the main characters in the book who had jobs were police officers. And considering how small a town Deep Haven seemed to be, there always seemed to be a lot drama and crime taking place. While some of the events in the story were necessary to bring the plot to where it stood at the start of the novel, I couldn’t help but wonder whether the crime rate in Deep Haven was entirely typical. It was one of those experiences where you’re reading a book and find yourself wondering, “Could anything else possibly happen to these poor characters?”
Despite my misgivings with the level of drama in this book, Susan May Warren also made me truly care about her characters. I finished reading this book on Christmas Day and was dabbing at my tears as Eli remembered his daughter’s accident. While this book had its flaws and didn’t have that special something that pushed its rating up to a 4.5 or 5, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable read. And while I will admit that this was an easy novel to breeze through in a couple of days, it had so much food for thought. It’s not possible to come away from this novel without musing over some point or another. I will definitely be going back and reading more of the Deep Haven books, and encourage fans of family sagas and contemporary fiction to start with The Shadow of Your Smile and do the same.
Review title provided by Tyndale House.
blackngoldgirlsbookspot's review against another edition
3.0
Small-town love stories are some of my favorites to read. Being a small-town girl myself I often find I can relate to the characters in those kinds of stories. The town of Deep Haven in which Susan May Warren has set many of her contemporary stories has become so real to me as I've followed the series. In The Shadow of Your Smile the latest book by Warren two of its finest families face incredible losses and heartache and in the face of it all rediscover love in a small town.
I've come to realize that nobody tells a story quite like Susan May Warren. This Deep Haven novel along with a few of her historicals that I have read have proven that tugging at the heartstrings is what Ms. Warren does best. She writes characters that are complex, relatable and most importantly--flawed and far from perfect. While the story itself wasn't one of my favorites I absolutely loved Emma. She was somewhat atypical of other characters that I've read in Christian fiction with her rocker chick lifestyle. She's definitely not a "cookie cutter" heroine. I also loved Noelle. I honestly can't say the last time I read a book when a character with amnesia was a big part of the story. I know, I know you're probably saying, "Wow that sounds like a cheesy soap opera," but it's definitely not.
If you've read a story by this author before you know she can make pretty much anything work. That said I didn't enjoy this as much as the previous book, My Foolish Heart. I wish Emma and Kyle had had their own story so their relationship didn't seem so rushed but I'm still happy to have read The Shadow of Your Smile. I hope this series continues or if not that we "meet" some of the characters again.
*I received my complimentary review copy for the tour in exchange for posting my honest opinion of the book.*
I've come to realize that nobody tells a story quite like Susan May Warren. This Deep Haven novel along with a few of her historicals that I have read have proven that tugging at the heartstrings is what Ms. Warren does best. She writes characters that are complex, relatable and most importantly--flawed and far from perfect. While the story itself wasn't one of my favorites I absolutely loved Emma. She was somewhat atypical of other characters that I've read in Christian fiction with her rocker chick lifestyle. She's definitely not a "cookie cutter" heroine. I also loved Noelle. I honestly can't say the last time I read a book when a character with amnesia was a big part of the story. I know, I know you're probably saying, "Wow that sounds like a cheesy soap opera," but it's definitely not.
If you've read a story by this author before you know she can make pretty much anything work. That said I didn't enjoy this as much as the previous book, My Foolish Heart. I wish Emma and Kyle had had their own story so their relationship didn't seem so rushed but I'm still happy to have read The Shadow of Your Smile. I hope this series continues or if not that we "meet" some of the characters again.
*I received my complimentary review copy for the tour in exchange for posting my honest opinion of the book.*
naomisbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
This was a sweet book that looked at a marriage after a trauma. I enjoyed it from cover to cover.
blissbooksandjewels's review against another edition
5.0
Noelle and Eli's marriage is on the skids, thanks to a difficult period filled with grief over the murder of their daughter. Now, they're sleeping in separate rooms and each one has secrets that would be devastating if they were brought to light. To make things even worse, Noelle develops amnesia after a severe blow to the head, and the past 25 years of her life have suddenly disappeared. Noelle and Eli must now work together to piece their lives back together, and decide whether or not their marriage is worth saving.
Emma Nelson wants nothing more than to recapture the song of her heart. She feels as though it should've been her and not Kelsey that met the end of a shooter's bullet. Since then, playing the music that she and Kelsey created together just isn't the same anymore. If only she could capture the lyrics, the song that keeps running through her head would be complete. It will take a trip back home to Deep Haven, as well as the help of a special friend, to find what's she's been missing all along.
Once again, Susan May Warren has created a masterpiece of a book wrought with deep emotions and personal struggles. Those suffering through a period of grief or those who have strayed from their first love (both literally and spiritually) can find hope in the pages of this novel. The Shadow of Your Smile is not a book to rush through reading, but rather, one that is worth the time it takes to savor the wisdom contained within. Highly Recommended!
Emma Nelson wants nothing more than to recapture the song of her heart. She feels as though it should've been her and not Kelsey that met the end of a shooter's bullet. Since then, playing the music that she and Kelsey created together just isn't the same anymore. If only she could capture the lyrics, the song that keeps running through her head would be complete. It will take a trip back home to Deep Haven, as well as the help of a special friend, to find what's she's been missing all along.
Once again, Susan May Warren has created a masterpiece of a book wrought with deep emotions and personal struggles. Those suffering through a period of grief or those who have strayed from their first love (both literally and spiritually) can find hope in the pages of this novel. The Shadow of Your Smile is not a book to rush through reading, but rather, one that is worth the time it takes to savor the wisdom contained within. Highly Recommended!
ohiosarah's review
5.0
This is a wonderful book! I wasn’t sure at first as I was a little leery of getting into divorce territory BUT as I kept reading I realized that God can and does save marriages. Even ones that a spouse has been unfaithful, one where a spouse is hiding secrets, God can and does work miracles in marriages today. It’s not just marriages though it’s relationships too, He wants to mend relationships between friends, between parents and children, He wants our relationships to show His love.
I was caught up in the lives of the family and the community – seeing the life through their eyes was a wonderful way to get to know and feel involved in this book. I think it also made me think on my marriage and my children – like Noelle I never thought I’d have children but I would have a lucrative career – but I’ve never lost my memory either. She works hard at loving the children that are supposed to be hers but she doesn’t remember. I think this book will have it’s readers looking at their life and re-evaluating.
**I was given an e copy of this book through Litfuse Publicity in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.
I was caught up in the lives of the family and the community – seeing the life through their eyes was a wonderful way to get to know and feel involved in this book. I think it also made me think on my marriage and my children – like Noelle I never thought I’d have children but I would have a lucrative career – but I’ve never lost my memory either. She works hard at loving the children that are supposed to be hers but she doesn’t remember. I think this book will have it’s readers looking at their life and re-evaluating.
**I was given an e copy of this book through Litfuse Publicity in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.