Saturday, May 12, 2018

The Simple Soul of Susan by Noel Branham

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About the Book

The Simple Sould of Susan
Title: The Simple Soul of Susan
Author: Noel Branham
Genre: Romance, YA, Coming-of-Age, Contemporary
Release Date: October 11, 2017
Susan Combs had long ago found the love of her life. The only problem was the other party still didn’t know he had been found.
Every day Susan saw Calder Hurtz, her next door neighbor and childhood best friend. They always enjoyed the short drive to school down the dusty streets of their small Texas town. She was happy in those perfect moments, for her life at home was most imperfect. The challenging homestead she inhabited was also the favorite subject of local gossip.
But one autumn day she overhears Calder and another boy having a conversation. This occasion of accidental audience sets Susan’s life on an unforeseen path. In the seasons to come, her future will be changed by two hospitalizations, two confessions of love, and one betrayal.
Compulsively readable, The Simple Soul of Susan is an engaging, soul-endearing romance and a mesmerizing debut.
Click here to purchase your copy!

My Review

This was definitely a romance read and a good debut book. From the title I figured Susan would be anything but "simple", but in some ways, she was incredibly simple. She's insecure, yet competent in caring for her ailing father. She's a ditz, but she can be very "put together." In these ways, she is more real, but sometimes more aggravating than some characters. Susan is in love with her high-school sweetheart, her best friend for ages. Calder is into every other girl possible. Yes, that changes via her most unexpected path(s). It has the expected ending that sits rather well, only afterward, I still wished there had been more for Susan and Calder. Some added things that just didn't quite get all the way there for me. However, I am odd so that is probably just me! 

4 Stars

About the Author 
Noel BranhamBorn and raised in a small Texas town, Noel Branham started her career in digital communications after graduating with a degree in English. An award-winning communicator, she now writes from her residence in Florida about things closest to the heart: home, family, and love.





Guest Post from Noel Branham

Fictional Romance: A Real Relationship Killer?
You’ve heard it before… All romance novels give readers unrealistic expectations of relationships. Yep. They totally do. But I think most of the time, with life in general, we have unrealistic expectations not only of others but of ourselves. We live in a world where there is always something else to try, buy or satisfy our ever-evolving aspirations of happiness and fulfillment. So here are three things to remember while reading romance novels that will lead to having deep, meaningful, romantic, relationships in real life:
  1. Happiness isn’t fulfilled expectations. When you expect your significant other (SO) to see you and romantically sweep you off your feet while pulling flowers from behind your back and force feeding you chocolates… you may have some unrealistic expectations. Would it be nice? Sure! But there is always something more they could do to make you happy, feeling loved, satisfied, etc. It’s a bottomless pit of desire and implied anticipated actions. We have to realize that no matter how many things we want out of a relationship, we can never receive them all… because realistically, we could never live up to the things expected of us either. Romance is a two-way street.
  2. Happiness is the unexpected, fulfilled. Wait… how can you fulfill something that isn’t expected? You can’t. And that’s what makes it so great. Your SO fills your car up with gas, takes you out for a date for no particular reason, watches that Victorian-era PBS drama with you even though they can’t understand the accents… When we get rid of expectations for ourselves and others we are able to really enjoy the things and people we already have and anything else is simply adding to lovely life that we already possess.
  3. Happiness in relationships is what you make of it. Just not feeling the love anymore after five years together? Was it that you chose the wrong person? Was it something they did? Something you did? Love can be a feeling and an action. Your relationship doesn’t have to be defined by feelings. Feelings fade. They aren’t realistic. They change with time as people change with time because all people change. But actions… actions are what you choose to do on a regular basis. They are a daily intentional choice (made by you) to care for another person. You can control your actions, but not so much your feelings. Funny thing is often times your actions create feelings you never thought you could have.
If you are looking for a romance novel with a bit more realism to test out these principals, check out The Simple Soul of Susan. You can have the realistic expectation that you won’t be disappointed 🙂

Blog Stops

Multifarious, May 11
Remembrancy, May 11
Artistic Nobody, May 15 (Spotlight)
Mommynificent, May 16
Carpe Diem, May 19
margaret kazmierczak, May 20 (Interview)
Simple Harvest Reads, May 21 (Guest post, Mindy Houng)
Reading is my Super Power, May 21 (Interview)
Bigreadersite, May 22

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Noel giving away
Grand Prize: $50 Amazon Gift Card
First & Second Place Prize: eBook copy of the Simple Soul of Susan!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/cee4/the-simple-soul-of-susan-celebration-tour-giveaway

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2 comments:

  1. kim hansenMay 12, 2018 at 12:29 PM

    I love reading debut novels and I enjoy new authors too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kay GarrettMay 14, 2018 at 7:46 AM

    Thank you for your review on "The Simple Soul of Susan" by Noel Branham and for being part of the book tour.

    This book sounds like a great read to me and I'd love the opportunity to find out.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

    ReplyDelete