With Love from the Inside

Grace Bradshaw knows the exact minute she will die. On death row for murdering her infant son, her last breath will be taken on February 15 at 12:01 a.m. Eleven years, five months, and twenty-seven days separate her from the last time she heard her precious daughter’s voice and the final moment she’d heard anyone call her Mom. Out of appeals, she can focus on only one thing—reconnecting with her daughter and making sure she knows the truth.

Secrets lurk behind Sophie Logan’s big house and even bigger bank account. Every day when she kisses her husband good-bye, she worries her fabricated life is about to come crumbling down. No one knows the unforgivable things her mother did to tear her family apart—not her husband, who is a prominent plastic surgeon, or her “synthetic” friends who live in her upscale neighborhood. 

Grace’s looming execution date forces Sophie to revisit the traumatic events that haunted her childhood. When she returns to her hometown, she discovers new evidence about her baby brother William’s death seventeen years ago—proof that might set her mother free but shatter her marriage forever.

Sophie must quickly decide if her mother is the monster the prosecutor made her out to be or the loving mother she remembers—the one who painted her toenails glittery pink and plastered Post-it notes with inspiring quotes (“100 percent failure rate if you don't try”) all over Sophie’s bathroom mirror—before their time runs out.

Wow - this is my kind of book!  It gave me all the feels and a perfect balance of character development and plot movement.  I'm definitely going to be looking out for Angela Pisel's next novel based on everything this book had to offer.  This book explored the relationship between mother and daughter in a unique way that show just how deep that connection is.  I don't often highlight quotes or ideas from fiction, but I found myself as a mother inspired by ideas that I learned.  Grace talks about how her family used to setup their family nativity and I want to start that as a tradition in my own family.  She also made me realize that life is determined by the small things, not the big events.  A quote that specifically impacted me was "...as I go over the "good mom" checklist in my mind, I realize only a few things really matter.  Are you loved, and do you love others well?"  And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there were many tears involved in the reading of this novel as well.  This is definitely one of my favorite reads of all 2016! 

* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *