Will Remmond is a high-powered Family Law attorney who’s fed up, burnt out, and ready to walk, but two cases of child abuse keep his hand in the game: 5-year-old Alexa, whose abusive father wants Remmond dead, and Maxine Allen, the woman he’s waited half his life to find. But Maxine is a mess: Trying to recover from the shocking death of her friend stirs up old wounds from childhood, and she becomes withdrawn, even abusive. Whip-smart and angry, she falling deeper into her own personal hell even as she's falling in love with him. Remmond is determined to help her and Alexa - or die trying.

Maxine and Will’s relationship shows the long-term damage done to a abused child, playing out along-side of custody battle for Alexa, a sweet little girl who seems to be just another victim in a long and continuing line. Brooks (a former victim’s counselor) creates compelling drama, educating the reader in Family Law while exposing weaknesses in the current justice system. In doing so, however, she never fails to remind you that there is hope, even when the proverbial deck is stacked.

A compassionate and fearless look at the long-term damage caused by domestic violence, An Early Frostis fast-paced, energetic, and insightful, deftly blending romance, drama, and danger. Like its prequel, the award-winning October Snow (review coming soon), An Early Frost dares to ask the question: Who is willing to stand up and stop the cycle of abuse?

Josie Kane is a "difficult" woman, a pure enigma - one who survives her abusive husband by honing her unnerving talent for playing mind games: she knows exactly how to manipulate a bully. Her one remaining refuge is in her bond with Maxine and Samantha, the two friends whom she loves like sisters. When Samantha becomes pregnant by Jack - an abuser who makes known his intentions to use the baby as a weapon of control - Josie's hatred ripens to a vengeful fury. She sets out to take on one more batterer, manipulate one more bully... 


With her friends helpless to stop her - and with Samantha hanging in the balance - Josie squares off with Jack in a life-and-death, winner-lose-all battle of wits to determine which side will win Sammy's future. 

Like its sequel, the equally compelling An Early Frost, Jenna Brook's debut novel, the award winning October Snow is a nail-biting thriller. Showcasing the long-term damage done by domestic violence, this book also explores the daunting legal obstacles that victims have to overcome in separating from their tormentors. 

Josie and Jack emerge as the opposing dark forces that drive the narrative. Jack is an abuser who isn't about to let go of Sammy, the lost woman at the heart of the problem. Josie, a former victim and worn-out advocate, is haunted by her past, tormented by her present, and rapidly losing hope. She's holding on, if only by a thread, and even her two best friends, Sammy and Maxine, can't seem to get close enough to help. But Josie's a warrior and she's got just enough twisted smarts to bring this last bully to justice - but will it be enough?

Written with Brook's usual unflinching honesty and natural prose, this book is dark, driven, and truly gripping. With believable characters, heart-twisting scenarios, a jaw-dropping final act, and a realistic style that will leave you unnerved, October Snow is one book that will stay with you long after you put it down.

The Reader who Lives a Thousand Lives created The Wedding Tag in honor of a friend, and asked anyone who wanted to join in.  Here's my choices.

The Wedding Dress- A book that was either simple and elegant or breathtakingly over the top.

 
I chose this one, but I'm not sure if it's simple and elegant, or over the top.  I think it's a little bit of both.  The concept is a bit over the top, but the story is elegant.

The Wedding Cake- A book that was so scrumptious you just ate it up.

I love dual-time historicals.  The modern story is set on the rugged Scottish coast, and the historical one takes place in the lavish Russian court of Empress Catherine. 

 
I had chosen Cloud Atlas because I love it, and also the idea of layers in a cake seemed especially suited to the stories layered in this book. But then, I realized I had a 100% women authors thing going except for just this one. So I deselected it in favor of the Kearsley, but I couldn't quite bring myself to remove it from the game altogether.

The Wedding Party- A book with amazing characters that you fell in love with.

   

Elizabeth Bear has created a tremendous cast of characters in this Western Steam-punk, sci-fi mashup.  The residents of a brothel in a mining town have united themselves into a close-knit and loving family, each one contributing to the group with their own strengths, and forming a courageous front against their enemies.

The Wedding Reception- A book that left you with a major hangover.

    

I'm still fervently wishing for Connie Willis to decide to add on to this universe.

The First Dance- A book that was so beautiful you cried.

 

Yeah, I cried.

The Maid of Honor or The Best Man- A book with two amazing friends.

Three friends, each with a story of domestic abuse in her past, have banded together to form a fast friendship, offering each other support and courage and strength.  

Last but not Least....The Bride and Groom- A Couple that you can't get enough of.

 

I can't think of anyone I like better than Jamie and Clare.  They've faced so much, together and separately; their first year required a lot of adjustments by both of them, but twenty-five years later their relationship is as strong and as respectful and as loving as ever.

"I hope that you enjoyed this post! Don't forget that this Tag is open to all! Don't forget to link back to The Wedding Tag and send a message to The Reader Who Lives A Thousand Lives with your version of the tag! Thanks for reading!"

Will Remmond is a high-power Family Law attorney who’s fed up, burnt out, and ready to walk, but two cases of child abuse keep his hand in the game: 5-year-old Alexa, whose abusive father wants Remmond dead, and Maxine Allen, the woman he’s waited half his life to find. But Maxine is a mess: Trying to recover from the shocking death of her friend stirs up old wounds from childhood, and she becomes withdrawn, even abusive. Whip-smart and angry, she falling deeper into her own personal hell even as she's falling in love with him. Remmond is determined to help her and Alexa - or die trying.

A compassionate and fearless look at the long-time damage caused by domestic violence, An Early Frostis fast-paced, energetic, and insightful deftly blending romance, drama, and danger. Like its prequel, the award-winning October Snow (review coming soon), An Early Frost dares to ask the question: who is willing to stand up and stop the cycle of abuse?

 . . . and October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  Serendipitous?  Or was the author cognizant of that fact?  I'm pretty sure she knows, because she knows a lot about every aspect of family violence, not only how it affects all involved right now, but also how its effects continue to impact individuals far into the future; and not only those directly involved, but also extended family and friends, and the community and schools, as well as the Child Protective Services and the rest of legal system.

It's a heartbreaking story, but not without a ray of hope in the end.

There is a lot here that makes you want to rage.  And a lot that makes you wonder, Can that really be true?  The events described in this book portray the legal system as being guilty of perpetuating violent circumstances.  Many of their rulings have required women to remain in abusive relationships or risk losing their children to the custody of their abusive husbands.  It becomes a Catch-22:

". . . when she worked at the center, she tried with everything in her to help the countless women with their horror stories about losing their children to a father who abused them. It seemed that the only way to protect the children was for these women to stay with their abuser, and Jo thought that to be the equivalent of state- sanctioned domestic violence.

The mothers couldn’t tell anyone, except the advocates like Jo -- duty-bound to keep it confidential; if anything, the mother who remained with an abuser had to make absolutely certain that outsiders knew nothing, because if the state found out she was “allowing” abuse in her home, she’d lose her kids for failure to protect. But if she tried to leave, and raised the issue of abuse, she’d lose her children for alienating them. She decided that in the end, the state had certainly gone the distance to force battered women underground. In her own life, she found it to be a darkly fascinating paradox–that in making sure she couldn’t be accused of alienation, it was she who had been alienated."

“The way these dad’s rights groups–and lawyers–work it, it really doesn’t matter what a guy does to a woman, once she has his kid. They believe that even if the kids are terrified of a violent father, it’s only because the mother brainwashed them to hate their father, not because the father is scary.”

Jo is an Advocate at a women's shelter.  Her friend, Samantha is trying to leave an abusive relationship.  Before she succeeds, she becomes pregnant, but she is determined that Jack will never find out about the baby.  But what if he does anyway?

 “'No decent judge will leave an infant alone with him. Not when Dave and Sam have a perfectly stable home."  Jo understood that she needed to believe that for the moment, so she didn’t respond.

'Right?' Max persisted. 'Of course not. That would be insane.'

'True enough.'

Max decided it was Jo’s composure that was so irritating to her. 'What are you thinking?' she demanded.

'That you’re wrong.'  The simple statement had the effect Jo intended: to get Max to drop the things that kept her safe from the reality of the situation."

And Jack does find out, because he's a creepy, slimy scum-of-the-earth type.

"He’d had no idea that the baby he so desperately didn’t want would be the key to a lifetime of power over Samantha."

this is is such a good book;  it touches on so many aspects of the problems of DV;  how and why it's difficult for many to leave the situation,  how it affects the relationships of mothers and children; the mind-sets of the abuser and the many ways they wield power against their victims, and manipulate all those who know her with insidious lies and sly insinuations about her mental states.

When asked why an abusive husband stayed with the woman even though he hated her, the wife responded this way:

“The real reason? He needed me. I was his mirror.  . . All abusers do it. I swear they do. It’s like this: if he can define me as stupid, then he can define himself as intelligent. If I’m weak, he’s strong. If I’m gullible, he’s clever.  If you’re evil, he’s good. So you see, if I had gotten away, he would have had no way of defining himself.  That’s why these guys go insane when they think their ‘mirror’is getting away. It’s like they’ll lose themselves. It’s a real life-and-death struggle for them.  Know what the hell of it is? Realizing, in the end, that I–just me –I never even truly existed in his mind. I was like I said, a thing for his use."

 Although I love the book, I think it has a few problems.  It seems to paint with a very broad brush:  it's hard to believe that everyone in the court system is intent on keeping families together when it is clearly not in the best interest of anyone involved.  And all religious people surely do not counsel the woman to be humble and accept the abuses of her husband because that is what a good wife does.  And all lawyers who represent fathers surely do not think of, and portray the mothers of the children as sneaking, conniving, blood-sucking, money-grubbing sluts out to trick the man by using his children against him.

But overall, a very good book, with lots of subject matter for thought.