Review: DIGGING IN by Loretta Nyhan

Thank you so much to Amazon Publishing for providing my free copy – all opinions are my own.

Book Description:Ā 

Paige Moresco found her true love in eighth gradeā€”and lost him two years ago. Since his death, sheā€™s been sleepwalking through life, barely holding on for the sake of her teenage son. Her house is a wreck, the grass is overrun with weeds, and sheā€™s at risk of losing her job. As Paige stares at her neglected lawn, she knows sheā€™s hit rock bottom. So she does something entirely unexpected: she begins to dig. As the hole gets bigger, Paige decides to turn her entire yard into a vegetable garden. The neighbors in her tidy gated community are more than a little alarmed. Paige knows nothing about gardening, and sheā€™s boldly flouting neighborhood-association bylaws. But with the help of new friends, a charming local cop, and the transformative power of the soil, Paige starts to see potential in the chaos of her life. Something big is beginning to take rootā€”both in her garden and in herself.

ā€œJesse and I were never a social couple. Weā€™d had to lean on each other for so long that weā€™d gotten used to being a duo. Our uniquely shared history made it difficult to get to know another couple in a meaningful way, and our innate distrust of strangers made it hard to get to know us very well.ā€Ā 

My Review:Ā 

Paige once lived harmoniously with her husband and teenage son in a nice, safe life. But after her husbandā€™s sudden death, Paigeā€™s grief takes ahold of her. They lived in their own world for so long, but that world shattered, leaving emptiness, loneliness, and pain. Now, for the past two years Paige has been sleepwalking through life, inadvertently neglecting her job, her son, and herself. You might be thinking, ā€œwow, this sounds depressingā€, but surprisingly it really isnā€™t. Itā€™s heartfelt and real, but not overly sad. Yes, what happens is sad, but the magic is that Lyhan can write about loss with so much emotion in every sentence, all without making it feel depressing.

The characters in DIGGING IN are real, relatable, and have so much heart. I really love Paige! Her character is witty, clever, interesting, and fun. She made me laugh and smile without even realizing it. Basically, it was like talking to an old friend, which made it such an easy and enjoyable read.

This story is about hope and starting over, specifically when life hands you a really awful card and all you can do is just keep breathing. I usually gravitate towards dark stories with sinister themes, so this certainly isnā€™t my typical read, but let me just tell you, this book surprised me and I loved it. Also, I have to mention that I tend to go into a book blind and avoid reviews, so when I read the acknowledgements, I was taken aback. First chills, then sadness but also admiration because Nyhan does an amazing job writing this book under such heartbreaking circumstances.

My rating is 4.5 / 5 lovely stars!

Click here to purchase on Amazon.Ā 

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