We're Laying Down the Law!

We insist you read The Laws of Harmony by Judith Ryan Hendricks  - which is today’s book giveaway!

We will randomly select 25 winners from the entries received. No purchase necessary. The last entry will be accepted 2 days after this posting. Approximate retail value of each prize: $13.99. Estimated total prize value: $349.75. View rules here: Download Librarylovefest-blog-sweepstakes Leave a comment below for your chance to win!

If you’ve never read Judith Ryan Hendricks, you’re in for a real treat with her latest novel, The Laws of Harmony.  If you have read her, then you know why Booklist writes that this author “calls to mind Barbara Kingsolver in her affinity for wise women and the power of close female friendships.”

Her first book, Bread Alone was a Book Sense ’76 pick and really put her on the map. Next came the eagerly awaited and much beloved sequel, The Baker’s Apprentice. (We wrote about Judith in an earlier post. Check it out here.)

Now comes The Laws of Harmony, an emotionally gripping tale of one woman’s struggle to remake herself in the wake of loss and deception.

Thirty-two-year-old Sunny Cooper lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she struggles to make a living voicing radio spots, to hold on to her floundering relationship, and to forget the first eighteen years of her life spent on a hippie commune in northern New Mexico. There, when Sunny was eight, a freak accident took the life of her younger sister, Mari, leaving her family fragmented and scarred.

Just when it looks as if the “normal” life Sunny craves might be within reach, a second accident—the sudden death of her fiancé Michael—will turn her world upside down. In Michael’s absence, Sunny begins to discover how little she truly knew about him. Reeling from a series of surprising revelations about his questionable business practices and a family he never discussed, she uncovers evidence that he was also having an affair with her best friend. The shocking news sends her life spinning in a different direction as she decides to travel west, settling in the town of Harmony on San Miguel Island. There, she takes a new job, learns to ride a motorcycle, and makes more than a handful of new and surprising friends.

But Sunny’s past is never far behind. To her shock, she soon learns that she is pregnant with Michael’s child—an all-too-tangible link to a man she had tried to erase from her memory. When her mother arrives in Harmony on a surprise visit, an intense emotional encounter ensues, causing both women to reexamine their memories of their commune lifestyle and Mari’s death. Ricocheting from resentment to hopefulness, Sunny resolves to embrace an unknown future and step out from the shadow of her past—not only for herself, but for her newborn daughter, as well.

Hendricks writes commercial women’s fiction that appeals to all age groups—perfect for reading circles and book clubs. 

The Laws of Harmony offers a revival of interest in 70’s culture.  Music, clothing and culture, the parallel disillusionment of Vietnam and Iraq, and the present energy crunch have led to a resurgence of interest in the hippie movement—how hippies lived, their perspective on society, what they were trying to accomplish. Hendricks spent a year researching hippie communes of the 1960s and '70s to create a vivid, detailed portrait of commune life.

- Virginia

Comments

[Amy]

Thank you for sending me a copy of this book. I have posted a review on my blog:

http://tinyurl.com/lzwfmm

[Sue Anderson]

This books sounds wonderful. Please enter me in the contest! Thanks :-)

[jean paul Jacquel]

This book lokks to be interesting, please enter me!
Thanks!

[Ann Boles]

If Booklist compares an author to Barbara Kingsolver, then I'm definitely interested in reading her books. This one sounds great; I'll check out her other books while I wait to hear if I won this one! Thanks!

[Annmarie A.]

Sounds like a great book. I enjoyed her earlier ones too. Please enter me in the contest too! Thanks.

[Meg89 @ Literary Menagerie]

This book sounds interesting, please enter me!
Thanks!

meh471 (AT) gmail (DOT) com

[Deb]

I've heard abut this book and would love try it out.

[Allen]

Please enter me. Thank you.

[MJ]

This sounds great! I remember the '70's!!

[Shirl]

The description intrigues me. Thanks for this opportunity.

[Laura Ford]

Pick me! Pick me! I adored "Bread Alone" and can't wait to read the new book!

[Maggie Preiss]

Here is my lucky entry on Friday the 13th. Now I want to read all of her books!

[Julie Ehlers]

I love Judith Ryan Hendricks and would love to win a copy of this.

[Marianne Kotch]

I loved Bread Alone and its sequel, and would love to read the latest!

[Chris]

Not familiar with this author - sounds like something several of my regular patrons would like.

[Hennie Vaandrager]

Enter me, please.

[Becky]

Please enter me in the drawing for this book. It sounds like a great read!

[Mary]

I would love to read this book! Hope I'm one of the lucky winners! :)

[Ardyce]

Sounds like a book my library patrons would enjoy reading.

[Melanie]

This book sounds fabulous. And with a comparison to Barbara Kingsolver, how can I not want to read it.

[Lori Barnes]

I have never read anything by this author but would love to and this sounds like a good one to start with.
photoquest(at)bellsouth(dot)net

[Lisa]

I always wanted to rad this book..please enter me! Thank you.

[Eva]

I'd like to be entered-what an interesting giveaway series.

[Terri]

OOOOh - Barbara Kingsolver like -- please sign me up!

[Andrea]

Thanks again!

[ruth]

I enjoyed the novel, Isabel's Daughter by this author and would love to read this new release. Thanks for this great giveaway.

[Darby Lohrding]

I would love to win a copy of this book, I missed out when Jennifer from BCG had her drawing for copies, and I so want to read this book!!
Thanks so much,
Darby
darbyscloset at yahoo dot com

[Pam]

Thanks for the opportunity!

[Lindsey Greene]

Enter me please. Thanks!

[Rebecca Cook]

Please enter me in the drawing, thanks.

[Donna]

I will certainly look for her books!

[Aysha]

Please add my name to the drawing. Thanks!

[Brady Shuman]

What a lovely cover. I'd love to read this!

[Beth]

I'd love to read this book. Thanks for entering me.

[Shannon Basher]

Lovely cover - I would pick it up off the shelf based on that alone, but it also sounds like a great read.

[rhapsodyinbooks]

Please enter me, thank you!

[marie]

Please enter me! thanks so much!

[Alisa]

I'd like to read this.

[Lisa S]

Please enter me. Thanks!

[Yvonne]

Thank you for the new service.

[Lily]

If you insist, I'm in! Thanks!

[Jenne]

Thanks for the new blog - it looks great.

[Melissa C.]

Please enter me in the giveaway. I would love to win this book! Thanks!

[richard james]

My wife loves Kingsolver and Picoult, and this looks right up her alley.

[nan]

Please enter me and thanks for the opportunity.

[Liz McReynolds]

Would love a copy of this book, please enter me in the giveaway!

[Amy]

Sounds like a good read!

[Sally Bosken]

This looks like a great read - please include me!

[Amy Gornikiewicz]

I'd love a copy of this book too! She's a great author.

[Karen]

This is the second synopsis/review of this book I've seen. Please enter my name so I can read it soon.