Weeping Women Springs(+$10 Amazon GC Giveaway!)

Title: Weeping Women Springs

Author: Tamara Eaton

Series: N/A

Pages: 307

Date Published: 2015

Publisher: Irksome Rebel Press

Format: Kindle

Genre: Romance

Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours

Synopsis:

Liv Soderlund, at the precipice of adulthood, is safe within Hope Springs, but longs for change. When news of the war comes, she revels in the excitement of new possibilities. It all comes crashing down once reports of fallen servicemen reach them. Angry, she comes up with the idea which could protect the town from further hurt. At the promise of a new love, can she let the past go?

Maxine Fiekens, a young bride who has had to handle adult responsibilities too soon, sends her husband off to war while she remains behind tending the village store. She’s the first to get word from the battlefront. Can she go on in the throes of unending sorrow?

Ruth Ackerman refuses to have a rushed wedding to her fiancé so waves him good-bye at the train station and spends her days planning her dream occasion. When she also receives heartbreaking news, she rejects the notion of being stuck in a town filled with grieving women and heads off to California where she strives for her dreams.

Susie Bracht dreams of leaving the village to further her education, but when the Korean Conflict breaks out, her brother and her boyfriend run off to be heroes. Her life is put on hold as she waits.

Anna Frolander, a woman who already saw the devastation war can bring, sends two sons to the frontlines in WWII then another runs off to the Korean War. Sunk into a deep depression, will she climb out of the abyss?

~My Thoughts~

This book was a flashback into the past, when the west was...weeping? Told during World War II, this novel explores the tragedy of losing the love of your life to the War, and how the women of one small western town band together, and then fracture apart, as their various losses take their toll. With a dash of magic and the supernatural, there's enough creativity and uniqueness to set this novel apart, while you can still enjoy the comforting nostalgia of a good historical fiction. 

I really enjoyed that each of the women had different personalities, different reactions to the joys and sorrows of their own personal journey called life. Ruth Ackerman was my favorite, and does what I'd imagine I'd like to do if the love of my life was killed: heads to California and starts a new life trying for her dreams.

Tamara excelled at creating compelling narrative while making sure that character development was utmost in the movement of the plot. You don't like all the women and all of their choices, but by god you will understand why they are doing what they're doing.

All in all, Weeping Women Springs was a thoughtful mix of historical fiction, women's fiction, light romance, and a good bit of cry-your-eyes-out therapy thrown in now and again. This would be a great read for anyone who likes genre blending, or who wants to find a book with lots of different female main characters. 

~Try an Excerpt!~

I didn't always want to hide. The Council made sure we hid the water from the start, but I would rather have gone out into the world. Hope Springs was a good place to grow up. Once I reached high school, I dreamed of going places. Did you know that? You came to town later, so I never shared that with you. The Council wants us to tell you the secrets so you can report everything that happened, maybe we won’t be forgotten.

You only see what is left, middle-aged and old women who teeter on unsteady legs, searching for balance that is never quite there, the dusty roads, the faded buildings, the closed up businesses, all but Fiekens’ General Store. Maxine always kept that open, even after—no I’m getting ahead of myself. Remind me to stay on track. It’s always best to start a story at the beginning, then maybe you’ll understand.

On that crisp December afternoon the air wafted over me cool and brisk. That morning I went to church with my family like every other Sunday. Maxine didn’t attend church, not since her parents died in an accident the year before. Anna Frolander never did attend church much, but I couldn’t pass judgment, not then or ever.

~Meet Tamara!~ 

Tamara Eaton is a "western woman." She divides her time between Nevada, New Mexico and South Dakota where she and her love spend their summers renovating an old school. Wide open spaces of the desert and prairie are often portrayed in her work. 

A former secondary English teacher, she grabbed the opportunity to create her stories after she left the classroom. When not writing, she works with other writers, editing and polishing their stories and poems. 

Weeping Women Springs is her first full length novel.

Tamara will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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