"Legacy Road" Blog Tour

About the Book:  Wes Watkins’s journalism career took off when he was asked to eulogize Michael Gavin, a stranger to Wes but a hometown hero to the humble folks of Talking Creek, Georgia. While researching Gavin’s life, Wes was confronted with an estranged relationship of his own that he wasn’t prepared to address, having ignored for years the occasional letters from his imprisoned father. Wes has chosen to focus instead on his growing career and his budding relationship with Emmy. His life is looking up . . . until his marriage proposal to Emmy goes south.

Left to wonder if he can reconcile with Emmy before she is deployed to Afghanistan, Wes can no longer avoid the other reconciliation that troubles him. But when Wes uncovers a painful truth about his parents’ past, patching things up with his father may prove impossible. Wes’s life is close to spiraling out of control. Will Wes learn to forgive? Or will the best year of his life turn into the worst?

Set against the haunting backdrop of several Civil War battlefields, Legacy Road is a grace-full exploration of hidden secrets—and what happens when they are revealed. Through the ups and downs of human relationships, of family ties lost and found, southern fiction fans will ponder the age-old question: How do you forgive others—and release yourself—from a past that threatens to destroy you?

Read more about this book here.

 

About the Author:  Graham Garrison is the author of Hero’s Tribute and has published articles in six newspapers and eight magazines, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, America’s Civil War, Georgia Physician, and Boating World.

My Take:

Since I did not realize when I started reading this novel that it was sort of a continuation of the author's first book, Hero's Tribute, I felt as if I had jumped into the deep end head first. But, I just plunged ahead and tried to figure out what was going on in the lives of the characters. (I actually think it would have helped to have a prologue description of the first book, since the explanations given in this book of what had happened in the past were very disjointed.)

Because I didn't feel very connected to the characters (mostly due to not knowing them in the first book, I think), it was hard for me to relate to them. I sympathized with their struggles, but it sometimes felt forced.

I also thought that the book read more like a play or a documentary instead of a fiction story. It just seemed to move from one day to the next and told about that particular character in a 'telling' fashion rather than a 'showing' fashion. To be honest, I didn't find the story particularly compelling. I did think that it was true-to-life, but sometimes reality is just not that exciting.

Ultimately, however, Legacy Road is a novel that deals with complex family relationships and what can happen if we let the bitter root of unforgiveness take hold. This is where the book has depth and a sense of redemption, and I enjoyed the conclusion to the story.

Although this book wasn't really for me, I would recommend it to those who enjoyed the author's first novel.

I will give Legacy Road ... 2 BookWorms.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Kregel Publications. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."