[Update: Giveaway closed. Winner: Tonya!]

I read BREAKING AND HOLDING by Judy Fogarty for a blog tour. A blog tour is essentially a virtual book tour where an author is featured on a bunch book blogs over a short period of time. (Incidentally, THE HIDEAWAY will be featured in a future blog tour with this group, TLC Blog Tours. I’ll let you know when that starts!)

Here’s a summary of BREAKING AND HOLDING:

For Patricia Curren, the summer of 1978 begins with a devastating discovery: an unfamiliar black pearl button in the bed she shares with her controlling husband, Jack. Seeking the courage to end her desolate marriage, Patricia spends a quiet summer alone on beautiful Kiawah Island. But when she meets Terry Sloan, a collegiate tennis player trying to go pro, their physical attraction sparks a slow burn toward obsession.

An intimate portrait of the folly of the human heart, Breaking and Holding explores buried truths that are startlingly unveiled. What’s left in their wake has the power not only to shatter lives…but to redeem them.

I finished this book a couple of weeks ago and I’m still thinking about it. It is heartbreaking and tragic and steamy and sweet. The author spun an incredible web for these characters. Every time I thought I knew what would happen, she took them (and us) down yet another dark and twisting path. Other reviewers have said this a great beach read, and I suppose to the extent that much of it occurs over one summer at the beach (Kiawah Island, SC, in 1978), that’s true. But this wasn’t a light and easy-breezy read for me. With a dysfunctional marriage, addiction, secrets, and abuse plus a tender and sweet romance, friendship, longing, and hope, the author made me care about the main characters, as flawed and damaged and unreliable as they were, and hope for good endings for them, though for much of the book, that seemed a total pipe dream. It was so unpredictable! Right up until the very last pages, I had no idea how things would turn out for them, which to me, is a hallmark of great suspense. 

I also really enjoyed her style of writing. It was whip-smart, at times funny, and for a book with so much romance, it never veered into cheesy or saccharine for me. And bonus if you are a tennis fan, as I am. I loved hearing about the Connors/Borg/McEnroe rivalries, and she used tennis analogies that made my jaw drop. I will be looking with great anticipation for her next book. 

**This is not a knock on the book, but for more sensitive readers, I feel like I need to say this—if you’re looking for clean, PG-rated fun, this may not be the book for you. It has a great deal of “adult situations” and coarse language. If you’d rather not have that in your books, I’d suggest trying something else. 

I have one copy of BREAKING AND HOLDING to give away! Just leave a comment here and tell me your favorite tennis rivalry…or if you know nothing about tennis, tell me your favorite book. I’ll pick a winner on Wednesday!

Find Judy on her website, Facebook, or Twitter. Purchase the book here.