Return To Love by KATHLEEN SHOOP




Return to Love by Kathleen Shoop is a powerful novel. Return to Love is the second book in a trilogy titled Endless Love. I felt fine starting with the second novel. It can stand alone. Immediately April, Hale,

Clementine and Martha became three dimensional characters. I felt as though they were neighbors in my community. The novel is about a couple who have a first child. However, that child is stillborn. Outside of the womb, the heart and lungs never reacted to stimuli. On arrival, the baby is dead. The novel is about April and Hale's pathway through grief. Sadly, April gives birth without Hale. He is on the battlefront in Vietnam. So he wasn't beside her during the birth of the baby.

It is interesting the way Kathleen Shoop has chosen to tell this couple's story.  Facts about the birth of the baby and what happened to April are told little by little. Then, there are more unknowns uncovered by Hale when he visits the doctor and nurse who helped deliver the baby. This much wanted baby even though it didn't survive makes a gigantic change in the way two people deal with their future. For this reason, I know the baby didn't die in vain.

I felt happy that April and Hale didn't follow some of the advice they heard from people working in the medical world or friends in the armed forces.  For example, sweep it under the rug, go on with your life, think of the kids you will have in the future. Mourning, grieving is a personal milestone. There isn't a thirty day or ninety day plan titled This Is How Long to Grieve and This Is What You Should Do While Grieving. Return To Love is written wonderfully as a novel. It is a practical guide for emotional pain. In this instance, it's about the loss of a baby. However, I could have brought any of my painful situations to the novel and discovered help. It is a thought provoking novel about grief, friendship, marriage and mental stability. I am grateful to Kathleen Shoop for writing such an earthy and significant novel.(Courtesy of Beck Valley/Sharon Martin).

http://www.amazon.com/Return-Love-Endless-Series

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/

http://www.shelfari.com/booksThe-Endless-Love-Series












Sweet Romance… Fresh off their whirlwind nuptials and unexpected, but joyous pregnancy, April and Hale Abercrombie are gleeful about their life together. But, while Hale is serving his country in Vietnam, he receives news of the loss of their newborn daughter.





Back home on leave, Hale can barely wait to hold his wife. Their reunion is passionate and their physical connection, strong and soothing. His embrace, his touch, and his love are just as perfect as April remembered. But nothing, not even Hale, can ease April’s heartache.





Hale stumbles through his attempts at convincing her that their future will be rich and full of wonder despite their loss. His good-hearted, but take-charge approach causes her to retreat. Even in grief, April recognizes Hale’s earnestness, yet she can’t help but distance herself from him. With only a short time before Hale must return to war, the couple begins to understand that hope starts with them—that the bliss they once knew will return only if they are willing to trust again.





Set on the beaches of the Outer Banks, Return to Love is the second book in the Endless Love series. Book one, Home Again, was named a finalist in the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.








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About the Author


A Language Arts Coach with a Ph.D. in Reading Education, Kathleen lives in Oakmont, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.





Kathleen has also written Love and Other Subjects, award winning After the Fog and her debut novel, The Last Letter, garnered multiple awards in 2011.  The author's stories have also appeared in several of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.






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Also available.......

Endless Love series. Book one, Home Again







1969-- Set on the shores of the Albemarle Sound, April Harrington has fond memories of summers at her family home, Bliss. After her fairytale wedding disintegrates, it becomes her refuge—the one place where she can attempt to pull the unraveling threads of her life back together. Unbeknownst to April, the stately house has been neglected in recent years. The once-sturdy roof is leaking in a few dozen places, and the wharf is rotting. Nothing is the same as she remembers. Nothing except for Hale, a Viet Nam pilot who is haunted by a dreadful secret, and who is also her brother’s best friend, a brother killed in the conflict that is tearing the country apart.





In Hale’s presence, April finds familiarity and solace. They share grief for a lost loved one, and from the comfort of Hale’s arms, passion blooms. Yet, April’s future is unresolved. Her wealthy, arrogant almost-bridegroom wants her back and the ghosts of Viet Nam are whispering to Hale. Can they find new love in an old treasured home, the kind of affection and trust that lasts forever?






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I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.


NOW FOR THE AUTHOR'S GIVEAWAY !!




THREE Lucky Winners will each receive a $15 Amazon Giftcard,



courtesy of author of Return to Love, Kathleen Shoop


Ending on Sunday 7th September at 11.59pm EST


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Comments

It sounds like a really emotional read around such a difficult time.
Julie Baswell said…
Well well put. I enjoyed it also.

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