Broken Pieces: A Novel

I do not normally order this style of fictional book. I downloaded it because it was on sale. This story actually made me very emotional. I felt the pain and loss of the characters. Very well written.

This review is actually being posted by Matthew's wife, Amy. I just finished my first Kathleen Long novel, Broken Pieces, last night, and I loved it. Although the story often deals with emotionally difficult subject matter, it leaves you feeling uplifted rather than dark. The love in the heart of the main character is so strong that chases all the darkness away, reflecting brokenness as beauty and weakness as strength. I bought this book because it was dedicated to a friend of mine who recently went home to be with the Lord after a long fight with ovarian cancer. Her teal fingerprints are all over this thing. I know she is proud of you, Kathleen. God bless.

The whirlwind of reality in Destiny's life parallels all of our lives . Ms Long ' s presentation of life is universal, captivating, crushing and totally uplifting . Excellent read requires a box of Kleenex !

I felt rather an agony throughout the whole story because of the "broken" family members. I wish the author had done more at the end to let the reader know just how the relationship with Jackson played out. But at least I felt all the differences were resolved and it did end a little more happily that I was thinking it would.

Katheen Long has written an honest attempt at a good novel. It simply was not for me. The characters were cardboard, predictable. I simply could not relate to any of the characters.I put the book down twenty-five percent of the way through.

This book was excellent and so well written. A very sad story in places and i cried through them but a story filled mostly with love and many of the emotions a family experiences! For me i could not put this book down!

Boring and predictable attemp to make it an emotional story. I could not even finish the book after reading about half. Too much contrived drama between her father and herself,. Not characters I could relate to in any way and the story was shallow and boring. Her job description and life were of no interest and a slog to get through. Not for me.

Destiny Jones has worked hard to build up her carpentry business in her hometown, and now it is finally her chance to get her hands on the beautiful town Opera House and refurbish it to its former glory. This will be her most important accomplishment to date if she can convince the board to trust her. But a blast from the past in the form of her father, Albert, has set off a chain of events that will alter Destiny's life forever.
Albert Jones is a Broadway legend but what most people do not know is that after the death of his wife, he abandoned his daughter Destiny, to the care of her grandmother. And Destiny can never forgive him for walking away from her. Lucky to have had the care of her grandmother, her mother's best friend Marguerite, and the entire town of Paris to help her grow up, Destiny didn't need Albert then, and she sure doesn't need him now. But deep down inside is a little girl who needs to understand the past to find peace in the present. But when long-buried secrets emerge, Destiny's world turns inside out. Through the truth, Destiny will find love, a family, and the missing pieces of her heart - but with great love can also come great loss. Can Destiny find a way to sort the broken pieces of her world to finally become a whole person and really grasp a chance at a full life?

BROKEN PIECES by Kathleen Long is an emotional story that delves into the heart of family, abandonment, illness and forgiveness. Destiny is strong and independent because she had to be, but as she lets down her guard we get to see her deeper feelings, and the impact her father's actions have had, and continue to have, on her life. With fascinating characters and evocative imagery the town springs to life as you read it and the secondary characters in this novel are equally as compelling as Destiny and Albert. While at first I struggled to like Albert, as he tried to rectify the past, towards the end I was able to have a better understanding of why he did what he did. BROKEN PIECES is one of those books that really touched me and I highly recommend having tissues nearby when you settle down to read it. A beautiful tale that will stay with me long after I have closed the cover, leaving the lasting impression of live life to the fullest and embrace every part, even those that are broken.

*Book received from Netgalley.com