My Latest Beach Reads!

Hi, friends! I am packing up my family in the morning, and we are all heading to Bitter End Yacht Club in the British Virgin Islands to thaw out. Yay! And, theoretically, to relax a bit before the Lies and Other Acts of Love release April 5! Woo hoo! (Theoretically.)

You can’t go on a trip without some great books, so I thought I’d tell you what I’ve been reading lately in case you’re looking to add to your list!

I just finished Patti Callahan Henry’s The Idea of Love. She is one of my favorite authors, so it’s no surprise that I loved this book! The story kept me up half the night two nights in a row, and her writing so descriptive and so beautiful. It will suck you right in. Plus, the first line of The Idea of Love is going down as one of my favorites ever: “In his mind, he was already writing her…” I know, right? So gorgeous.

I also had the pleasure of writing a “blurb” for Nicole Waggoner’s fabulous Center Ring. (Basically, authors or publishers send you a book and you can give your opinion. I get asked about this a lot from readers. There’s no pressure in this process, so if you don’t love the book you just don’t write the blurb!) This is Nicole’s debut, and it is wonderful. I’m so excited it is part of a trilogy, so that I can see more from these fun girlfriends that I got to know! It comes out April 26. Center Ring is a beautifully written, highly relatable novel about the balancing act that is modern womanhood. Waggoner treats her richly drawn, relatable characters with compassion and understanding.

The last book I recently couldn’t put down was Dorothy Love’s Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Gray. Wow! The story of Robert E. Lee’s wife Mary, and one of her favorite slaves, Selena, this book made me see the Civil War and slavery in a different way. It’s cool how great fiction can do that, isn’t it?

Here’s what I had to say about it “officially!”:

Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Gray is a beautiful and haunting story of friendship, family, war and the common threads of love and loyalty that weave through them all. Full of historical details and wise insight into the complexities of one of the United States’ most trying times, this is a profoundly important book that I know will stay with readers long, long after the last page—just as it has for me.

So, what will I be reading on my trip? Would it make you laugh if I say Lies and Other Acts of Love? I have my first big TV interview for DG Martin’s North Carolina Bookwatch right when we get home. This will be the first time I have talked about Lies and Other Acts of Love, so I wanted a little refresher course on all the minutia!

When I get home, we will have lots of fun giveaways going on to celebrate the Lies launch. In the meantime, keep in mind that everyone who pre-orders and emails me their receipt to kristy @ kristywoodsonharvey.com will be entered to win a $1,000 gift certificate to Shop Design Chic, along with other prizes, and will get some fun free go-alongs that we’re working on right now. 

I guess I’m signing off for awhile for toes-in-the-sand time. Wishing you a wonderful week!