Lies and Other Acts of Love. Kristy Woodson Harvey

Published: Berkley Publishing
Date: April 5th 2016
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 352
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source:Publisher via NetGalley
Rating:
            

After sixty years of marriage and five daughters, Lynn “Lovey” White knows that all of us, from time to time, need to use our little white lies.

Her granddaughter, Annabelle, on the other hand, is as truthful as they come. She always does the right thing—that is, until she dumps her hedge fund manager fiancé and marries a musician she has known for three days. After all, her grandparents, who fell in love at first sight, have shared a lifetime of happiness, even through her grandfather’s declining health.

But when Annabelle’s world starts to collapse around her, she discovers that nothing about her picture-perfect family is as it seems. And Lovey has to decide whether one more lie will make or break the ones she loves . . .

Lies and Other Acts of Love was a very interesting and thought provoking read. The characters were really very real - not perfect, but very human. Especially in the second half of the book it was compulsive reading as events happened and I wondered where it would go next.

It is a story about family - three generations, with the spotlight mainly on the first and third generations, namely Lovey and Annabelle.  I really liked Lovey, she is in her eighties and she has gained the wisdom of life by raising a family of girls and marrying the man she loved. Now in their late years, we see old age creeping along and the limitations of sickness and infirmity. What I really loved about Lovey is her ability to hold her tongue, even when she can see her daughters or granddaughter making mistakes. She just wants them to be safe and happy.

While we have Lovey's point of view, which does give us a little inside information, we also have Annabelle who narrates as well. She is young, a little indulged and impetuous. She is sort of aware of her own feelings but as yet has not learned to be like her grandmother and consider things from other people's viewpoints. She is quick to judge and hasn't yet the ability to look with eyes of love instead of judgement. She sometimes gets hold of the wrong end of the stick. However she is loved and I think there is hope for her! She comes from a strong line of women and I believe she'll be one too.

Lies and Other Acts of Love is a 'hook in' title. It implies lies are okay! This book is riddled with lies! Some of the lies are upsetting, one of them I applauded and respected - to some extent. Possibly full truth would have been okay. But we live in a world where people judge and even though we say imperfections are okay, we point them out!