Remember My Beauties by Lynne Hugo

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

Imagine a hawk’s view of the magnificent bluegrass pastures of Kentucky horse country. Circle around the remnants of a breeding farm, four beautiful horses grazing just beyond the paddock. Inside the ramshackle house, a family is falling apart.

Hack, the patriarch breeder and trainer, is aged and blind, and his wife, Louetta, is confined by rheumatoid arthritis. Their daughter, Jewel, struggles to care for them and the horses while dealing with her own home and job—not to mention her lackluster second husband, Eddie, and Carley, her drug-addicted daughter. Many days, Jewel is only sure she loves the horses. But she holds it all together. Until her brother, Cal, shows up again. Jewel already has reason to hate Cal, and when he meets up with Carley, he throws the family into crisis—and gives Jewel reason to pick up a gun.

Every family has heartbreaks, failures, a black sheep or two. And some families end in tatters. But some stumble on the secret of survival: if the leader breaks down, others step up and step in. In this lyrical novel, when the inept, the addict, and the ex-con join to weave the family story back together, either the barn will burn to the ground or something bigger than any of them will emerge, shining with hope. Remember My Beauties grows large and wide as it reveals what may save us.

my thoughts:

I'm going to be honest and admit that this book took me awhile to get lost in, but once it happened - I was hooked!

Remember My Beauties is story about family and all the drama that comes with it.  There is the dutiful daughter, Jewel, and her wayward brother, Cal.  The two have a relationship fraught with tension, jealousy, and a history that binds and separates them.  Their parents are ailing and the family's farm is struggling.  Jewel's personal life is pretty chaotic, too.  She's got an overly demanding husband who doesn't seem to understand where she's coming from half the time and then there's her drug addict daughter she's trying to take care of.  Everything seems to be out of sorts and Jewel's just trying to get through it all.  Of course, she doesn't seem to acknowledge her part in any of the situations she seems to find herself in.  Its like she thinks everything is happening to her and so she blames everyone and everything around her - she doesn't take responsibility for the choices she made.  As a result, Jewel is angry all the time and that makes her quite an unlikeable character.  Then again, none of the characters in this story are likeable - except for the beauties aka horses.  Yes, this story has horses and they are quite a treat to read about.  Oh, and did I mention that you can actually read their perspective in this story.  Talk about getting a variety of narratives - how creative!  Not only do these horses help us see the connection between humans and animals much more clearly, but we also get to view their surroundings through their eyes. I loved it!

This novel was such a treat to read in the end. I love family drama and this one has it in spades.  And the ending was realistic, which I really appreciated - especially, after everything that happens in the story. Remember My Beauties is a terrific book and I would happily recommend it. 

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: Remember My Beauties

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!