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Remember My Beauties
Imagine a hawk's view of the magnificent bluegrass pastures of Kentucky horse country. Circle around the remnants of a breeding farm, four beautiful horses grazing just beyond the paddock. Inside the ramshackle house, a family is falling apart. Hack, the patriarch breeder and trainer, is aged and blind, and his wife, Louetta, is confined by rheumatoid arthritis. Their daughter, Jewel, struggles to care for them and the horses while dealing with her own home and job―not to mention her lackluster second husband, Eddie, and Carley, her drug-addicted daughter. Many days, Jewel is only sure she loves the horses. But she holds it all together. Until her brother, Cal, shows up again. Jewel already has reason to hate Cal, and when he meets up with Carley, he throws the family into crisis―and gives Jewel reason to pick up a gun. Every family has heartbreaks, failures, a black sheep or two. And some families end in tatters. But some stumble on the secret of if the leader breaks down, others step up and step in. In this lyrical novel, when the inept, the addict, and the ex-con join to weave the family story back together, either the barn will burn to the ground or something bigger than any of them will emerge, shining with hope. Remember My Beauties grows large and wide as it reveals what may save us. For more information, visit lynnehugo.com
194 pages, Paperback
Published April 18, 2016
About the author
Lynne Hugo
14 books160 followersLynne Hugo is an American author whose roots are in the northeast. A National Endowment For The Arts Fellowship recipient, she has also received repeat individual artists grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the Kentucky Foundation for Women. Her publications include eight novels, one volume of creative non-fiction, two books of poetry and a children’s book. She lives with her husband, a former Vice President for Academic Affairs of a liberal arts college and now a professional photographer, in the Midwest. They have two grown children, three grandchildren, and a yellow Labrador retriever.
Ms. Hugo has taught creative writing to hundreds of schoolchildren through the Ohio Arts Council’s renowned Arts in Education program. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College, and a Master’s from Miami University.
When an editor asked her to describe herself as a writer, she responded:
“I write in black Wal-Mart capri sweatpants. They don’t start out as capris, but I routinely shrink them in the drier by accident. And I always buy black because it doesn’t show where I’ve wiped the chocolate off my hands. Now that my son and daughter are grown, my previous high grade of ‘below average’ in Domestic Achievement has dropped somewhat. But I’m less guilty about it now. I lose myself in crafting language by a window with birdfeeders hanging in the branches of a Chinese elm towering over the house. When I come up for air, I hike by the ponds and along the river in a nearby forest with my beloved Lab. My husband, with whom I planted that elm as a bare root sapling, joins us when he can.”
Ms. Hugo has taught creative writing to hundreds of schoolchildren through the Ohio Arts Council’s renowned Arts in Education program. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College, and a Master’s from Miami University.
When an editor asked her to describe herself as a writer, she responded:
“I write in black Wal-Mart capri sweatpants. They don’t start out as capris, but I routinely shrink them in the drier by accident. And I always buy black because it doesn’t show where I’ve wiped the chocolate off my hands. Now that my son and daughter are grown, my previous high grade of ‘below average’ in Domestic Achievement has dropped somewhat. But I’m less guilty about it now. I lose myself in crafting language by a window with birdfeeders hanging in the branches of a Chinese elm towering over the house. When I come up for air, I hike by the ponds and along the river in a nearby forest with my beloved Lab. My husband, with whom I planted that elm as a bare root sapling, joins us when he can.”
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
July 13, 2016
Rating: 3.5* of five
My review of REMEMBER MY BEAUTIES is live today at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud, which happens to be my blog.
It's a solid story, an evergreen of family secrets and lies, that's got the good luck to be told by an author who clearly loves her story and does it justice. This is a great catharsis read.
My review of REMEMBER MY BEAUTIES is live today at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud, which happens to be my blog.
It's a solid story, an evergreen of family secrets and lies, that's got the good luck to be told by an author who clearly loves her story and does it justice. This is a great catharsis read.
February 1, 2016
I am a horse lover to the core, so any book that will even slightly feed that addiction is one that'll get my full attention. Plus, this book actually had a great story to go along with the horses. Score!
The story is set in Kentucky horse country with a family farm that is struggling to get by and two ailing parents. The day to day routine and chores of the farm have fallen on Jewels shoulders. While Jewel struggles to care for the farm and her parents, she is also contending with her drug addicted teenage daughter that is far from an easy child. Add to that, her brother Cal calls their parents and says he is coming home to help take care of the farm; that sets Jewel into a full on fit. As you follow the story you find out why she has such hatred for her brother and what she plans to do about it. This is a deeply disturbing family drama that has their fair share of skeletons in the closet.
This book is mainly narrated from the first person view of Jewel, but also goes through 3rd person views of several other characters (the only part I struggled with).
The story is set in Kentucky horse country with a family farm that is struggling to get by and two ailing parents. The day to day routine and chores of the farm have fallen on Jewels shoulders. While Jewel struggles to care for the farm and her parents, she is also contending with her drug addicted teenage daughter that is far from an easy child. Add to that, her brother Cal calls their parents and says he is coming home to help take care of the farm; that sets Jewel into a full on fit. As you follow the story you find out why she has such hatred for her brother and what she plans to do about it. This is a deeply disturbing family drama that has their fair share of skeletons in the closet.
This book is mainly narrated from the first person view of Jewel, but also goes through 3rd person views of several other characters (the only part I struggled with).
January 29, 2016
You must read this novel for the horse passages alone.
Like the dog in Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain, the horses narrate sections of this novel. They present the beauty of Kentucky’s horse country as well as the sensibility of large, lovely animals, each an individual. Their voices make a lush and lyrical backdrop against which the clipped and raw voices of gritty characters stand out in a tour de force of writing craft.
While the people of the novel are not sympathetic in the traditional sense—consider the characters of Russell Banks—their motivations are clear and realistically complex, and surprising humor surfaces in unexpected moments. In the novel’s resolution, each grows to redeem himself in a surprising and satisfying way and is justly dealt with according to the choices s/he has made.
The audience for this novel is the contemporary woman in the sandwich generation. The first person narrator, Jewel, is overwhelmed, trying to fulfill all the demands and expectations of her extended family, walking a tightrope while juggling disabled elderly parents, job, a blended family marriage, and young adult children, each making home life a purgatory in a different way. As long as she’s over-functioning, the members of her family continue making absurd demands. But, what happens when she stops?
Read and watch.
The multiple points of view (all third person, except for Jewel) will challenge readers who prefer a single narrator, but the author manages each one clearly. In fact,
sympathy is enlarged by switching point-of-view. The reader may decide Jewel’s new husband Eddie is a demanding jerk, until moving behind his eyes to see how baffled he is by Jewel’s behavior. The voices are consistent with the portraits clearly drawn. If politically incorrect at times, they are distinct and realistic to anyone who listens to the uncensored public.
I expect this novel to win awards for its innovation with the writing craft.
I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced reading opportunity.
Nancy Pinard, author of Shadow Dancing and Butterfly Soup
www.nancypinard.com ; www.blogspot.nancypinard.com
Like the dog in Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain, the horses narrate sections of this novel. They present the beauty of Kentucky’s horse country as well as the sensibility of large, lovely animals, each an individual. Their voices make a lush and lyrical backdrop against which the clipped and raw voices of gritty characters stand out in a tour de force of writing craft.
While the people of the novel are not sympathetic in the traditional sense—consider the characters of Russell Banks—their motivations are clear and realistically complex, and surprising humor surfaces in unexpected moments. In the novel’s resolution, each grows to redeem himself in a surprising and satisfying way and is justly dealt with according to the choices s/he has made.
The audience for this novel is the contemporary woman in the sandwich generation. The first person narrator, Jewel, is overwhelmed, trying to fulfill all the demands and expectations of her extended family, walking a tightrope while juggling disabled elderly parents, job, a blended family marriage, and young adult children, each making home life a purgatory in a different way. As long as she’s over-functioning, the members of her family continue making absurd demands. But, what happens when she stops?
Read and watch.
The multiple points of view (all third person, except for Jewel) will challenge readers who prefer a single narrator, but the author manages each one clearly. In fact,
sympathy is enlarged by switching point-of-view. The reader may decide Jewel’s new husband Eddie is a demanding jerk, until moving behind his eyes to see how baffled he is by Jewel’s behavior. The voices are consistent with the portraits clearly drawn. If politically incorrect at times, they are distinct and realistic to anyone who listens to the uncensored public.
I expect this novel to win awards for its innovation with the writing craft.
I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced reading opportunity.
Nancy Pinard, author of Shadow Dancing and Butterfly Soup
www.nancypinard.com ; www.blogspot.nancypinard.com
February 9, 2016
Gorgeous writing, horses, complex family dynamics handled with grace and sympathy, Remember My Beauties has it all. This is a family - and a story - I will remember and think about for a long time. Lynne Hugo's outstanding evocation of horses and the profound relationships between horses and humans puts this book in a class of its own.
April 25, 2016
Thanks to NetGalley for the free electronic ARC of this novel.
“Remember My Beauties” is the new novel by the writer, Lynne Hugo. I have never read Hugo before, so I have nothing to compare this novel to. However, including horses in this book is the fastest way to my heart!
“Beauties” tells the tale of a family struggling to hold it together. Jewel, the caregiver of her aging parents, mother of a drug-addicted daughter and new stepmother to two apathetic teenagers is trying to keep her head above water and her marriage intact. The only sanity Jewel gets in her life is in the company of her family’s horses (aptly nicknamed “beauties” throughout the novel). When her brother Cal returns to the family ranch and causes trouble for everyone (including Jewel’s already troubled daughter), Jewel faces new challenges in the struggle to keep her family together.
This novel depicts such a glorious relationship between human and horse, that I couldn’t help but fall in love with it. Similar to Katrina Kittle’s “The Blessings of the Animals”, this novel shows us how the undying love of animals (horses in this case) can help us to keep our feet on the ground and our emotions in check. In “Beauties”, Hugo also depicts the many challenging facets of addiction, as Jewel struggles to keep her daughter sober, and deals with the challenges of her past caused by her parents’ drinking and her brother’s drug use.
This novel is as short as it is sweet, and the characters are charming (even in the moments when they aren’t likable). The ending, although bittersweet, is complete and satisfying. Hugo writes simplistically and poetically, and of course, the addition of horses to this novel automatically endeared me to it.
Fans of Kittle or in fact, any horse lover in general, will find a kinship with Jewel in this novel. Endearing and charming, Hugo tells a tale of the challenges in keeping a family together when it is so desperately on the brink of falling apart.
“Remember My Beauties” is the new novel by the writer, Lynne Hugo. I have never read Hugo before, so I have nothing to compare this novel to. However, including horses in this book is the fastest way to my heart!
“Beauties” tells the tale of a family struggling to hold it together. Jewel, the caregiver of her aging parents, mother of a drug-addicted daughter and new stepmother to two apathetic teenagers is trying to keep her head above water and her marriage intact. The only sanity Jewel gets in her life is in the company of her family’s horses (aptly nicknamed “beauties” throughout the novel). When her brother Cal returns to the family ranch and causes trouble for everyone (including Jewel’s already troubled daughter), Jewel faces new challenges in the struggle to keep her family together.
This novel depicts such a glorious relationship between human and horse, that I couldn’t help but fall in love with it. Similar to Katrina Kittle’s “The Blessings of the Animals”, this novel shows us how the undying love of animals (horses in this case) can help us to keep our feet on the ground and our emotions in check. In “Beauties”, Hugo also depicts the many challenging facets of addiction, as Jewel struggles to keep her daughter sober, and deals with the challenges of her past caused by her parents’ drinking and her brother’s drug use.
This novel is as short as it is sweet, and the characters are charming (even in the moments when they aren’t likable). The ending, although bittersweet, is complete and satisfying. Hugo writes simplistically and poetically, and of course, the addition of horses to this novel automatically endeared me to it.
Fans of Kittle or in fact, any horse lover in general, will find a kinship with Jewel in this novel. Endearing and charming, Hugo tells a tale of the challenges in keeping a family together when it is so desperately on the brink of falling apart.
February 2, 2016
This is a short novel but the author skillfully packs a lot into its pages. The book tells the story of Jewel and her blended family, husband Eddie, daughter Carley, stepchildren Chastity and Rocky and her parents Hack and Louetta and estranged brother Cal. Jewel is overwhelmed by the fracturing of her family and the responsibilty of being caregiver to her aging parents, the horses they raised, her husband, daughter and stepchildren. But the heart and bellwether of this book are the horses whose presence give this book it's name, the, "beauties," Spice, Charyrzma, Moonbeam and Red.
The book begins somewhere in the middle of a very bizarre scene of Jewel hacking off her hair and spirals downward into the nitty gritty of a family in turmoil and on the brink of implosion. It took me a few paragraghs to get my bearings but the opening does hook the reader. The author is unafraid to show the worst of all the characters almost willing us to not like them. It wasn't difficult for me to see similarities in my own extended family. All the collective sins and slights piling up generation after generation causing real problems in the present day. Who cannot share in this reality? But even with all the issues and hurts the author writes in such a way that I felt compassion and empathy for everyone, everyone except the main character, Jewel.
I did have a difficult time empathizing and connecting with Jewel. She is written, in the greater part of the book, as a very judgmental and angry person. Her constant complaining and self-pitying righteousness without acknowledging her own actions and the part they play in her present situation grated on me. She seemed incapable of taking responsibility for her own failures or the pain she dishes out. She has the good grace to feel shame but the shame doesn't propel her to look any deeper. She carries around her hurts like a badge, blaming everyone else and daring anyone to cross her or even try to love her. She has no room in her heart or mind for even the possibility that people can change, evolve into a better version of themselves. And she is very violent. I realize she has been harboring great hurts and sorrows but that does not excuse the way she uses violence to deal with them. Many, many people have experienced heartache, exclusion, loss, abuse and more but do not resort to her violent actions. So if I have any issue with this book it is with the character of Jewel. They author lost me with her. I really didn't care about her the same way I cared for those in her violent, angry wake. I just never warmed to her, even in the last pages. I grew to empathize with her somewhat because I too cared for an aging parent and understand the exhaustion and frustration inherent to this situation. But as a plus her story of being caregiver to both her aging parents and her daughter, the "sandwich" phenomenon is not unknown or uncommon today so the backstory will resonate with many who read this book.
The book is written in first person narrative from various characters, including from the POV of the horses. Ahh, the horses. They represent so much in this book. There is no doubt the author titled her book after them but I believe there is also a deeper meaning to the title. I believe the title also speaks to the beauty within each of us, as flawed as we all are and acknowledges that we must look, hard sometimes, to see and accept the beauty in those around us. That others, warts and all, be permitted into our little worlds even if just to sit in silence, in commiseration. But getting back to the horses, the author definitely has a deep love and respect for horses and the magic they can weave to heal, renew and sustain us fragile humans. Why else are there stories upon stories of their healing powers, their intrinsic, positive effect on abused and challenged children, of war scarred veterans and hurting humanity in general. In this, the author really shines. I am not a, "horse" person but have friends who own and train horses and have long admired these magestic animals. If you love horses I think you will love the way they are portrayed in this book and wish there were more words written about them. I love the freedom they represented in this story to those who rode and lovingly cared for them and to those who just admired them from afar. They really are a thing of beauty and Ms. Hugo is masterful here.
In the end there is healing and change. Unlike Jewel's pessimism her family is better and stronger than she ever imagined they could be and in their own ways they help heal her lifelong pain. Her family are also her beauties though it takes over three-quarters of the book for this to even dawn on her she is so self-absorbed. I hope somewhere in "fiction-land" she comes to appreciate and love them for who they are not just what they can do for her.
I definitely recommend this book. It is a short read but I enjoyed the book and my time with this crazy, mixed up albeit loving family. It shows we all walk our paths alone but that people can change and change for the better because of love and through the acceptance of imperfection. And that love is more than just, what have you done for me lately. How much Jewel could learn through their example. The horses' acceptance, teamwork and devotion can inspire us to be better people. But ultimately the change in everyone was because of the love each already possessed inside his or her self. The love for the horses, for Jewel but mostly one another. The horses were just a conduit, a pathway to finding it. Ultimately, this is a story of love and survival. I do not think you will be disappointed with this modest but not insignificant story. "Walk on..."
An ARC of this book was provided to me for my honest, unbiased opinion.
The book begins somewhere in the middle of a very bizarre scene of Jewel hacking off her hair and spirals downward into the nitty gritty of a family in turmoil and on the brink of implosion. It took me a few paragraghs to get my bearings but the opening does hook the reader. The author is unafraid to show the worst of all the characters almost willing us to not like them. It wasn't difficult for me to see similarities in my own extended family. All the collective sins and slights piling up generation after generation causing real problems in the present day. Who cannot share in this reality? But even with all the issues and hurts the author writes in such a way that I felt compassion and empathy for everyone, everyone except the main character, Jewel.
I did have a difficult time empathizing and connecting with Jewel. She is written, in the greater part of the book, as a very judgmental and angry person. Her constant complaining and self-pitying righteousness without acknowledging her own actions and the part they play in her present situation grated on me. She seemed incapable of taking responsibility for her own failures or the pain she dishes out. She has the good grace to feel shame but the shame doesn't propel her to look any deeper. She carries around her hurts like a badge, blaming everyone else and daring anyone to cross her or even try to love her. She has no room in her heart or mind for even the possibility that people can change, evolve into a better version of themselves. And she is very violent. I realize she has been harboring great hurts and sorrows but that does not excuse the way she uses violence to deal with them. Many, many people have experienced heartache, exclusion, loss, abuse and more but do not resort to her violent actions. So if I have any issue with this book it is with the character of Jewel. They author lost me with her. I really didn't care about her the same way I cared for those in her violent, angry wake. I just never warmed to her, even in the last pages. I grew to empathize with her somewhat because I too cared for an aging parent and understand the exhaustion and frustration inherent to this situation. But as a plus her story of being caregiver to both her aging parents and her daughter, the "sandwich" phenomenon is not unknown or uncommon today so the backstory will resonate with many who read this book.
The book is written in first person narrative from various characters, including from the POV of the horses. Ahh, the horses. They represent so much in this book. There is no doubt the author titled her book after them but I believe there is also a deeper meaning to the title. I believe the title also speaks to the beauty within each of us, as flawed as we all are and acknowledges that we must look, hard sometimes, to see and accept the beauty in those around us. That others, warts and all, be permitted into our little worlds even if just to sit in silence, in commiseration. But getting back to the horses, the author definitely has a deep love and respect for horses and the magic they can weave to heal, renew and sustain us fragile humans. Why else are there stories upon stories of their healing powers, their intrinsic, positive effect on abused and challenged children, of war scarred veterans and hurting humanity in general. In this, the author really shines. I am not a, "horse" person but have friends who own and train horses and have long admired these magestic animals. If you love horses I think you will love the way they are portrayed in this book and wish there were more words written about them. I love the freedom they represented in this story to those who rode and lovingly cared for them and to those who just admired them from afar. They really are a thing of beauty and Ms. Hugo is masterful here.
In the end there is healing and change. Unlike Jewel's pessimism her family is better and stronger than she ever imagined they could be and in their own ways they help heal her lifelong pain. Her family are also her beauties though it takes over three-quarters of the book for this to even dawn on her she is so self-absorbed. I hope somewhere in "fiction-land" she comes to appreciate and love them for who they are not just what they can do for her.
I definitely recommend this book. It is a short read but I enjoyed the book and my time with this crazy, mixed up albeit loving family. It shows we all walk our paths alone but that people can change and change for the better because of love and through the acceptance of imperfection. And that love is more than just, what have you done for me lately. How much Jewel could learn through their example. The horses' acceptance, teamwork and devotion can inspire us to be better people. But ultimately the change in everyone was because of the love each already possessed inside his or her self. The love for the horses, for Jewel but mostly one another. The horses were just a conduit, a pathway to finding it. Ultimately, this is a story of love and survival. I do not think you will be disappointed with this modest but not insignificant story. "Walk on..."
An ARC of this book was provided to me for my honest, unbiased opinion.
February 3, 2016
This is my first time reading a book by Lynne Hugo. I must say I was amazed.. her writing flowed so nicely. I read this book in one afternoon!
I love horses, I own horses, I love Kentucky. Guess what this book has in it?!?! If you guessed horses and Kentucky then you guessed correctly. I saw this on NetGalley and instantly requested it. Thank the lucky stars the publisher Switchgrass books said yes to my request. (thank you to the publisher and netgalley!!)
I was unsure what to expect when I started this book. I did read the synopsis but I wasn’t sure how the author would write it all out. This book is from many character’s point of view. One character is a horse.. yup a horse. I adored the horses POV… The author really did her research with her knowledge of horses. It was really nice to see that she had actually researched what owning a horse is like. (or maybe she does own horses?)
Hack and Louetta are married and have 3 children, Jewel, Cal, and Nadine. Nadine doesn’t show up in this book at all. The family is broken/disconnected from one another. Jewel has taken it upon herself to take care of everyone. Her father Hack is blind and Louetta has many medical problems. While Louetta and Jewel do not get along since they have a not so great past, Hack and Jewel get along very well because they share the love of his beauties (aka the horses). Jewel had a daughter who’s father had run off when she was young. Her daughter’s name is Carley… oh Carley how my heart broke for you. Carley is a user and abuser of many different drugs. She is also stuck in a dead end relationship with another user. The book starts off with Jewel cutting off all of her wonderful hair that Eddie loves. Eddie her husband seems complacent he doesn’t really fight for anything he believes in. His daughter Chassie lives with them. While Eddie is very hard on Carley he seems to let Chassie do whatever she wants. Whenever things blow apart within the whole family Eddie has to step up and help out. Everything seems to blow up whenever Jewel’s brother comes back from being away for years. She tells her parents she won’t help out anymore if he is there. Then she tries to rescue her daughter again. However you cannot help people whom don’t want to be helped…
Like I said this book is told from so many different perspectives. However you are never confused or have to re-read any part The author seems to weave a the story well it goes from being in tatters to on the mend. The characters are amazingly well thought out and the emotions I had while reading this ran the gambit of hopeful to despair. I will say there are trigger warnings in this book. (triggers for molestation) Nothing in this book was brushed under the rug it all comes out at some point in time… I will be looking for more books written by this author so that I can see how it compares.
This book is set to be released on April 18, 2016. Thank you Netgally for my ARC copy for my honest opinion.
I love horses, I own horses, I love Kentucky. Guess what this book has in it?!?! If you guessed horses and Kentucky then you guessed correctly. I saw this on NetGalley and instantly requested it. Thank the lucky stars the publisher Switchgrass books said yes to my request. (thank you to the publisher and netgalley!!)
I was unsure what to expect when I started this book. I did read the synopsis but I wasn’t sure how the author would write it all out. This book is from many character’s point of view. One character is a horse.. yup a horse. I adored the horses POV… The author really did her research with her knowledge of horses. It was really nice to see that she had actually researched what owning a horse is like. (or maybe she does own horses?)
Hack and Louetta are married and have 3 children, Jewel, Cal, and Nadine. Nadine doesn’t show up in this book at all. The family is broken/disconnected from one another. Jewel has taken it upon herself to take care of everyone. Her father Hack is blind and Louetta has many medical problems. While Louetta and Jewel do not get along since they have a not so great past, Hack and Jewel get along very well because they share the love of his beauties (aka the horses). Jewel had a daughter who’s father had run off when she was young. Her daughter’s name is Carley… oh Carley how my heart broke for you. Carley is a user and abuser of many different drugs. She is also stuck in a dead end relationship with another user. The book starts off with Jewel cutting off all of her wonderful hair that Eddie loves. Eddie her husband seems complacent he doesn’t really fight for anything he believes in. His daughter Chassie lives with them. While Eddie is very hard on Carley he seems to let Chassie do whatever she wants. Whenever things blow apart within the whole family Eddie has to step up and help out. Everything seems to blow up whenever Jewel’s brother comes back from being away for years. She tells her parents she won’t help out anymore if he is there. Then she tries to rescue her daughter again. However you cannot help people whom don’t want to be helped…
Like I said this book is told from so many different perspectives. However you are never confused or have to re-read any part The author seems to weave a the story well it goes from being in tatters to on the mend. The characters are amazingly well thought out and the emotions I had while reading this ran the gambit of hopeful to despair. I will say there are trigger warnings in this book. (triggers for molestation) Nothing in this book was brushed under the rug it all comes out at some point in time… I will be looking for more books written by this author so that I can see how it compares.
This book is set to be released on April 18, 2016. Thank you Netgally for my ARC copy for my honest opinion.
February 17, 2016
Imagine being the dutiful daughter growing up. Now, your elderly parents depend on you to do most everything for them. Your teenage daughter has gone off the rails and is into drugs and sketchy guys. You have a full-time job. Your husband's kids live with you and have their own issues. Yet your parents don't seem to appreciate all your sacrifices for them, instead preferring your wayward brother.
That's the stressful world Jewel inhabits in Remember My Beauties. I was drawn to this book by its description and by the lovely cover. Jewel's escape is her beloved horses, who she grew up with and who still live at her parents'. When things get to be too much, she heads out to the stables for some peace with her "beauties." She takes care of them: "Use the pick to clean around the shoe to the bars, sole, and frog, get out whatever he's got stuck in there. Packed manure, glass, a stone: any of it can make a horse go lame. I cry over what's stuck in me for which there is no pick."
Time with the horses gives Jewel the opportunity to contemplate her life, and what it has become -- "Somehow the choices in my life just made themselves, dragging me along behind them."
Jewel's dad has always been the one in the family who took care of the horses, but now he is blind ("how he missed running his own life"). Jewel says of her dad, "Sometimes I want to kill him for loving horseflesh more than his own flesh and blood. But then there's this: I get it. Sometimes I do, too."
The book does a great job of capturing the often-complex relationships we have with family members. It also depicts beautifully the therapeutic value of our relationships with animals. The writing is good; dialogue all is realistic and not forced (this is harder to do than you'd imagine!).
The book ends, predictably, with a climax that shakes the "house of cards" the family has become. But various characters grow in positive and surprising ways, and the ending is hopeful.
Great reading if you enjoy a good story, and bonus points if you love animals too.
That's the stressful world Jewel inhabits in Remember My Beauties. I was drawn to this book by its description and by the lovely cover. Jewel's escape is her beloved horses, who she grew up with and who still live at her parents'. When things get to be too much, she heads out to the stables for some peace with her "beauties." She takes care of them: "Use the pick to clean around the shoe to the bars, sole, and frog, get out whatever he's got stuck in there. Packed manure, glass, a stone: any of it can make a horse go lame. I cry over what's stuck in me for which there is no pick."
Time with the horses gives Jewel the opportunity to contemplate her life, and what it has become -- "Somehow the choices in my life just made themselves, dragging me along behind them."
Jewel's dad has always been the one in the family who took care of the horses, but now he is blind ("how he missed running his own life"). Jewel says of her dad, "Sometimes I want to kill him for loving horseflesh more than his own flesh and blood. But then there's this: I get it. Sometimes I do, too."
The book does a great job of capturing the often-complex relationships we have with family members. It also depicts beautifully the therapeutic value of our relationships with animals. The writing is good; dialogue all is realistic and not forced (this is harder to do than you'd imagine!).
The book ends, predictably, with a climax that shakes the "house of cards" the family has become. But various characters grow in positive and surprising ways, and the ending is hopeful.
Great reading if you enjoy a good story, and bonus points if you love animals too.
February 16, 2016
Title: Remember My Beauties
Author: Lynne Hugo
Publisher: Switchgrass Books
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Remember My Beauties" by Lynne Hugo
My Thoughts....
I wasn't sure when I first started reading..."Remember My Beauties" if I would like this novel but I will say now that I have read it I did find that this author did a wonderful job with delivering a well written script of a 'broken/disconnected' family to the readers that one will find it very hard to put down until the end. This Kentucky setting, farm family life, ailing parents, a couple with children one with a drug addiction and let's not leave out a certain horrible brother and you have quite a read especially when it seems like all falls on Jewels shoulders. Things really get heated up when a brother comes back home supposingly to take care of his ailing parents. Now what all is up between this sister and brother that will soon come to a head. There is so much drama in the read that will keep you on the edge of your seat taking it all in. Yes it will all come out in the end. I really enjoyed how this author brought out this family struggles all out to the reader. The characters...Hack, Louetta, Jewel, Eddie, Cal, Carley, Chassie, plus a few others were all well developed, defined, portrayed and believable giving it all and I don't want to leave out the animals....the dog and horses [this title was beautifully woven into this story] that are so well presented in this read. Now, how does this all tie together? You will have to pick up this good read to see for yourself how well written this story is and even in the worst of circumstances there can be a healing process that can take place and there be even forgiveness. I will say that even though this was a serious read there will be parts where there will be some humor. Would I recommend this novel? YES!
I have been given an ARC copy by NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
Author: Lynne Hugo
Publisher: Switchgrass Books
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Remember My Beauties" by Lynne Hugo
My Thoughts....
I wasn't sure when I first started reading..."Remember My Beauties" if I would like this novel but I will say now that I have read it I did find that this author did a wonderful job with delivering a well written script of a 'broken/disconnected' family to the readers that one will find it very hard to put down until the end. This Kentucky setting, farm family life, ailing parents, a couple with children one with a drug addiction and let's not leave out a certain horrible brother and you have quite a read especially when it seems like all falls on Jewels shoulders. Things really get heated up when a brother comes back home supposingly to take care of his ailing parents. Now what all is up between this sister and brother that will soon come to a head. There is so much drama in the read that will keep you on the edge of your seat taking it all in. Yes it will all come out in the end. I really enjoyed how this author brought out this family struggles all out to the reader. The characters...Hack, Louetta, Jewel, Eddie, Cal, Carley, Chassie, plus a few others were all well developed, defined, portrayed and believable giving it all and I don't want to leave out the animals....the dog and horses [this title was beautifully woven into this story] that are so well presented in this read. Now, how does this all tie together? You will have to pick up this good read to see for yourself how well written this story is and even in the worst of circumstances there can be a healing process that can take place and there be even forgiveness. I will say that even though this was a serious read there will be parts where there will be some humor. Would I recommend this novel? YES!
I have been given an ARC copy by NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
January 29, 2016
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. In Remember My Beauties, Hack Wheeler is a horse breeder and trainer who is now blind and lives with his wife Louetta, who is confined by her arthritis. Their daughter Jewel battles daily to care for her aging parents and the horses while dealing with her own home and job. She takes care of her second husband, Eddie, and his children from his previous marriage as well as her drug addicted daughter, Carley. The one thing that keeps her sane are the horses. Her sanity is threatened when her brother Cal comes home, and their parents choose him over her. When Jewel quits her job, the rest of the family has to step up to keep their world spinning regularly.
Remember My Beauties is a fabulous read about family struggles that we can all relate to. The realistic tone of this book allows the reader to engage with the story and relate on a personal level. Lynne Hugo does a fantastic job of interweaving each character and their own perspective of difficult family circumstances. This novel reveals what may help us in our hardest of times, and what may save us.
Remember My Beauties is a fabulous read about family struggles that we can all relate to. The realistic tone of this book allows the reader to engage with the story and relate on a personal level. Lynne Hugo does a fantastic job of interweaving each character and their own perspective of difficult family circumstances. This novel reveals what may help us in our hardest of times, and what may save us.
February 9, 2016
"I was right when I said that nothing was what it seemed, I was wrong when I thought I knew what it really was instead. At least partly. I was the surface well enough but not the layers beneath with all their colors and texture. The problem is that you never know when you're actually seeing the whole picture, all the way out to the sides and bottom, all the layers. Maybe the truth has to put together what everybody sees." -Jewel
Jewel has spent her life being the responsible daughter. When her brother suddenly reappears on the scene, she leaves behind the responsibilities she has taken on with her aging parents. Her world seems to be falling in around her, but beneath the surface, there are strengths in her family members she has not seen.
This book tells a gritty and evocative story. At times it is disturbing, but in the end, I found it to be redemptive. The author's writing style was very fluid, and the book was a fast read. I found myself glad to get to know this family better, and feel that fans of literary fiction will enjoy this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the complementary ARC of this novel!
Additional Questions
As a Reviewer
Jewel has spent her life being the responsible daughter. When her brother suddenly reappears on the scene, she leaves behind the responsibilities she has taken on with her aging parents. Her world seems to be falling in around her, but beneath the surface, there are strengths in her family members she has not seen.
This book tells a gritty and evocative story. At times it is disturbing, but in the end, I found it to be redemptive. The author's writing style was very fluid, and the book was a fast read. I found myself glad to get to know this family better, and feel that fans of literary fiction will enjoy this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the complementary ARC of this novel!
Additional Questions
As a Reviewer
February 1, 2016
I loved this book. Lynne Hugo wrote this story about three generations of a family that was disconnected from each other. There is Hack the Grandfather, his daughter Jewel and her daughter Carley, who all loved the horses, but were not connected to each other. Lynne introduces others in the families that have nothing in common. As the story continues Lynne brings them together as the story continues. There are characters that you love or you hate, but I cared about them. The story takes place in Kentucky, and has a charm to it that I loved. I didn't want the story to end.
I will recommend this book to everyone I know. I will definitely look for more books by this author.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, Switchgrass Books and Lynne Hugo the author for allowing me to read an early copy for my honest review.
I will recommend this book to everyone I know. I will definitely look for more books by this author.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, Switchgrass Books and Lynne Hugo the author for allowing me to read an early copy for my honest review.
February 2, 2016
Lynne Hugo's writing is simply beautiful! She is a master of character development and dialogue. The story was told from different points of view which increased my sympathy for the characters whose emotional realities felt authentic. I really loved the imagery and wonderful descriptions of the horses in Remember My Beauties. I couldn't put this book down - from beginning to end, I wanted to know how the plot would unfold and what would become of the characters - particularly Jewel and Carly. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
March 18, 2020
Remember My Beauties by [Hugo, Lynne]This book is a good one for those that enjoy books with horses in them.
Throughout the book here are sections that are narrated by the horses from Kentucky. I think their voices create depth to the story. The human characters did not make me relate with them as much as the horses but they were realistic. By the end of the book each character's story came to a satisfactory resolution.
I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Throughout the book here are sections that are narrated by the horses from Kentucky. I think their voices create depth to the story. The human characters did not make me relate with them as much as the horses but they were realistic. By the end of the book each character's story came to a satisfactory resolution.
I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
May 31, 2016
Jewel is trying to do it all, and believes that she is the only one who can. Jewel works two jobs, one of which is for the county Eldercare taking care of her ailing parents, since Jewel is the only one her mother will allow to help her. Jewel also helps her blind father take care of the horses, the only things that Jewel feels that she still loves unconditionally. In addition to her parents, Jewel’s second husband Eddie just doesn’t seem to get what she is going through, Jewel’s daughter Carley is involved with drugs and a deadbeat boyfriend who keeps pulling her down, Eddie’s daughter Chastity is anything but her name suggests and Eddie’s son, Rocky is going to come live with them despite Eddie paying child support. The tip of the iceberg however is when Jewel’s mother tells Jewel that her brother Cal will be staying with them. Jewel can’t forgive Cal for a past indiscretion and when he shows up and does something else unforgivable, Jewel quits Eldercare and leaves everyone to figure it out on their own. She just can’t stay away from the horses though, knowing that they won’t be getting the best care.
An emotional tale of family, horses and forgiveness. This is not only a story of a rollercoaster of family dynamics, but how the non-human members of our family can affect us. I loved that every character in this story was very real and flawed; they held grudges, made mistakes, had vices and addictions and gave up hope. However, when things really mattered they came together and made things work. Most of the story is told from Jewel’s point of view, and I do sympathize a lot with her situation; the feeling that you are the only one who can do something and everything will fall apart without you. There are also points of view from almost every other character in the story, which got a little confusing when they switched, but I figured it out. The best point of view for me, as a horse lover was definitely the horses themselves! This really highlighted the horse and human relationship and tied everything together in a unique way. A great read for anyone who loves horses or for the sandwich generation who is trying to do it all.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
An emotional tale of family, horses and forgiveness. This is not only a story of a rollercoaster of family dynamics, but how the non-human members of our family can affect us. I loved that every character in this story was very real and flawed; they held grudges, made mistakes, had vices and addictions and gave up hope. However, when things really mattered they came together and made things work. Most of the story is told from Jewel’s point of view, and I do sympathize a lot with her situation; the feeling that you are the only one who can do something and everything will fall apart without you. There are also points of view from almost every other character in the story, which got a little confusing when they switched, but I figured it out. The best point of view for me, as a horse lover was definitely the horses themselves! This really highlighted the horse and human relationship and tied everything together in a unique way. A great read for anyone who loves horses or for the sandwich generation who is trying to do it all.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
May 24, 2016
The relationship between a horse and a human being can’t fully be explained. It’s a deep intimate one that perhaps can only be experienced. We had several horses growing up on Long Island. The only time I ever saw my father cry, I mean deeply from his gut, is when his quarter horse, Charlie died. He was a tough guy – a New York cop, but the tears flowed. That memory was close to the surface for me, as I read Lynne Hugo’s novel, REMEMBER MY BEAUTIES (Switchgrass Books).
The beauty of Kentucky horse country can’t hide the ugly dysfunction of the family we meet in REMEMBER MY BEAUTIES. Hack is the patriarch, old and blind, his wife, Louetta is crippled with rheumatoid arthritis. Jewel struggles to care for the breeding farm, job, her loser husband and drug-addict, daughter, Carley. The horses, or her beauties as she calls them, are the one shining light, that helps keep her sane.
Every family has a black sheep, and there’s is Cal. When her brother, ex-con Cal, whom Jewel has every reason to hate, decides to show up on the farm again, he gives Jewel a new reason to pick up her gun.
I enjoy reading novels about families with problems, with flawed characters and Lynne Hugo has written a narrative full of heartbreak with the sensitivity of a poet. In this family, those who love one another, misunderstand each other and are unable to communicate. It’s as if they speak on parallel planes. The characters points-of-view alternate, including one coming from the horse, Spice. This technique makes it so only the reader really knows what’s going on. Some families never survive and end up crumbling, but against all odds, Lynne Hugo offers hope in REMEMBER THE BEAUTIES.
At one-hundred sixty-four pages, it’s a short novel, but Lynne Hugo shares more wisdom about family and forgiveness than I’ve read in tomes twice or three times as long in REMEMBER MY BEAUTIES.
The beauty of Kentucky horse country can’t hide the ugly dysfunction of the family we meet in REMEMBER MY BEAUTIES. Hack is the patriarch, old and blind, his wife, Louetta is crippled with rheumatoid arthritis. Jewel struggles to care for the breeding farm, job, her loser husband and drug-addict, daughter, Carley. The horses, or her beauties as she calls them, are the one shining light, that helps keep her sane.
Every family has a black sheep, and there’s is Cal. When her brother, ex-con Cal, whom Jewel has every reason to hate, decides to show up on the farm again, he gives Jewel a new reason to pick up her gun.
I enjoy reading novels about families with problems, with flawed characters and Lynne Hugo has written a narrative full of heartbreak with the sensitivity of a poet. In this family, those who love one another, misunderstand each other and are unable to communicate. It’s as if they speak on parallel planes. The characters points-of-view alternate, including one coming from the horse, Spice. This technique makes it so only the reader really knows what’s going on. Some families never survive and end up crumbling, but against all odds, Lynne Hugo offers hope in REMEMBER THE BEAUTIES.
At one-hundred sixty-four pages, it’s a short novel, but Lynne Hugo shares more wisdom about family and forgiveness than I’ve read in tomes twice or three times as long in REMEMBER MY BEAUTIES.
July 19, 2016
Thanks to Netgalley and Switchgrass books for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Remember my Beauties is a sad, sweet, endearing book about a dysfunctional family, living on a horse farm in Kentucky. It shows how heartbreaking, yet resilient a family can be if given the chance.
Jewel, is the main character and the daughter of Hack and Louetta, both of whom have severe health problems. She struggles to take care of them and the 4 horses on the farm, while taking care of her own family, which includes her husband Eddie, her drug addicted daughter Carley, her step daughter Chassie and step son Rocky, while also working full time. She already is at wits end when her brother Cal (who abused her when she was young and then took off) shows up at her parents door. When her parents side with him, she lose it and her husband figures out a way to pick up the pieces and keep the family together.
For me, this book started out kind of slow and I almost gave up on it, though I’m glad I didn’t. The story was well written once you got past the first 30 pages or so and was easy to read. I thought that the author, Lynne Hugo, did a nice job developing the characters as well. I especially enjoyed the strong characterization of Jewel and the progression of Carley’s character.
I will say that at times I had a hard time figuring out who was narrating the story as the author often switched POV’s, one sentence after another, or one paragraph after another (instead of doing so in a different chapter) and I found it confusing and often had to re-read the sentences or paragraphs over and over to figure it out.
All in all I enjoyed this book, though I was hoping for more from the ending.
Published from July 12, 2016 to the Present;
Published on Goodreads, Amazon and NetGalley.
Remember my Beauties is a sad, sweet, endearing book about a dysfunctional family, living on a horse farm in Kentucky. It shows how heartbreaking, yet resilient a family can be if given the chance.
Jewel, is the main character and the daughter of Hack and Louetta, both of whom have severe health problems. She struggles to take care of them and the 4 horses on the farm, while taking care of her own family, which includes her husband Eddie, her drug addicted daughter Carley, her step daughter Chassie and step son Rocky, while also working full time. She already is at wits end when her brother Cal (who abused her when she was young and then took off) shows up at her parents door. When her parents side with him, she lose it and her husband figures out a way to pick up the pieces and keep the family together.
For me, this book started out kind of slow and I almost gave up on it, though I’m glad I didn’t. The story was well written once you got past the first 30 pages or so and was easy to read. I thought that the author, Lynne Hugo, did a nice job developing the characters as well. I especially enjoyed the strong characterization of Jewel and the progression of Carley’s character.
I will say that at times I had a hard time figuring out who was narrating the story as the author often switched POV’s, one sentence after another, or one paragraph after another (instead of doing so in a different chapter) and I found it confusing and often had to re-read the sentences or paragraphs over and over to figure it out.
All in all I enjoyed this book, though I was hoping for more from the ending.
Published from July 12, 2016 to the Present;
Published on Goodreads, Amazon and NetGalley.
May 21, 2016
It has been a long time since I applied the cliche "Couldn't put it down down" but I literally lost sleep rather than put down "Remember my Beauties." (Which says a lot, because I really like my sleep.)
The story was compelling, the characters were deeply and beautifully developed. I found myself rooting for, and relating to, all of them.
But most impressive was the way the author perfectly captures how a relationship with horses can be freeing, therapeutic, and meaningful. I grew up spending hundreds of hours at the stables, and with a few life-changing horses, and the depth and significance that horse people feel for their horses she absolutely NAILED. There is something so unique about this relationship and the way she wove it into the story of this disintegrating, but very recognizable, family made me want to log onto Craigslist and buy a horse. If you're a horse person, don't miss this book.
I loved this book. And for full disclosure: I know the author. But I'll be honest folks, that typically makes me harder on the book. When I know the author I sometimes can't totally 'get into' the story or separate it from what I know about the story-teller. But this book was such a great read - exquisitely written and truly moving - I didn't have that problem and I highly recommend it.
The story was compelling, the characters were deeply and beautifully developed. I found myself rooting for, and relating to, all of them.
But most impressive was the way the author perfectly captures how a relationship with horses can be freeing, therapeutic, and meaningful. I grew up spending hundreds of hours at the stables, and with a few life-changing horses, and the depth and significance that horse people feel for their horses she absolutely NAILED. There is something so unique about this relationship and the way she wove it into the story of this disintegrating, but very recognizable, family made me want to log onto Craigslist and buy a horse. If you're a horse person, don't miss this book.
I loved this book. And for full disclosure: I know the author. But I'll be honest folks, that typically makes me harder on the book. When I know the author I sometimes can't totally 'get into' the story or separate it from what I know about the story-teller. But this book was such a great read - exquisitely written and truly moving - I didn't have that problem and I highly recommend it.
May 17, 2016
MY ENTIRE REVIEW ON MY BLOG:
You'll love this book if you're a horse lover. That being said, you'll love it even if you aren't familiar with horses.
It's a well woven tale of a completely dysfunctional family. Jewel comes to the homestead to feed and groom the remaining horses. Her rapidly aging parents aren't able to care for either the property, the horses, or themselves. That leaves everything up to Jewel, the responsible child. Her brother is an ex-con, a lifetime nobody; yet seemingly mom's favorite. This is a harsh pill to swallow. Jewel serves an ultimatum to her parents. If Cal comes home, she no longer will. It backfires. Suddenly she's faced with whether there will be ample care for the 4-legged family she loves with all of her heart. She's questioning her relationship with everybody. Her second husband, her daughter, her step-daughter, her parents, her brother, even her sister, who is briefly mentioned, but plays no real part in the story.
It brings forth the heartbreak of being unappreciated, of cheating, mistreating, drug use, aging, illness, and death. But it also takes a broken family, a blended family, and puts them back together in a stronger, more healthy dynamic. It's worth the read. Great lessons to be learned.
I received an ARC (Kindle format) from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. I would give no other kind of review...
You'll love this book if you're a horse lover. That being said, you'll love it even if you aren't familiar with horses.
It's a well woven tale of a completely dysfunctional family. Jewel comes to the homestead to feed and groom the remaining horses. Her rapidly aging parents aren't able to care for either the property, the horses, or themselves. That leaves everything up to Jewel, the responsible child. Her brother is an ex-con, a lifetime nobody; yet seemingly mom's favorite. This is a harsh pill to swallow. Jewel serves an ultimatum to her parents. If Cal comes home, she no longer will. It backfires. Suddenly she's faced with whether there will be ample care for the 4-legged family she loves with all of her heart. She's questioning her relationship with everybody. Her second husband, her daughter, her step-daughter, her parents, her brother, even her sister, who is briefly mentioned, but plays no real part in the story.
It brings forth the heartbreak of being unappreciated, of cheating, mistreating, drug use, aging, illness, and death. But it also takes a broken family, a blended family, and puts them back together in a stronger, more healthy dynamic. It's worth the read. Great lessons to be learned.
I received an ARC (Kindle format) from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. I would give no other kind of review...
April 18, 2016
To say that Jewel has a tough job trying to keep her family functioning is putting it mildly. She takes care of two aging parents and their horses on their horse farm. Her father is blind and her mother is very demanding. Her daughter is hooked on drugs and living with a loser. Her marriage is falling apart and her husband's daughter is living with them and he also wants his son to move in to their house. If all that isn't bad enough, her brother Cal has decided to come back home. Jewel hates Cal (and for good reason) and knows that he will be more of a burden than a help. The only sanity that Jewel has in her life are the horses. Spending time and working with the four horses are the only time that Jewel is really happy. Cal returning back to the farm, throws everything into a turmoil - or more of a turmoil than it had been and Jewel has to make decisions that make her question everything in her life and her family.
This is a wonderful novel of family and love and forgiveness. I plan to go back and read some of the author's older books because I was so impressed with this one.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.
This is a wonderful novel of family and love and forgiveness. I plan to go back and read some of the author's older books because I was so impressed with this one.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.
May 31, 2016
I love horses so any book that's has horses in it I'll read!
Not your everyday "same oh" story. I enjoyed this book it's one I'll think back on often. I was given the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Jewel struggles to keep her marriage together while wondering if she really wants too. While taking care of ailing parents and the beautiful horses she grew up with she reflects on her life. She is a mother, step-mother, care taker of her parents, and sole care for four beautiful horses that mean the world to her and her father. On top of all that she is trying everything she knows to get her daughter off drugs and away from a loser boyfriend. When the brother she hates decides to move back with their parents she walks away from their care. Eddie her husband doesn't want to lose the money she gets paid for her parents care so he launches a secret plan. Jewel blackmails her daughter into rehab and secretly sneaks back to care for her beloved horses. As the story unfolds Jewel has to decide if she'll leave her husband, can she really walk away from the parents who need her and how can she ever leave the horses that mean as much to her as her daughter. A house of cards that begins to tumble. Worth the read.
Not your everyday "same oh" story. I enjoyed this book it's one I'll think back on often. I was given the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Jewel struggles to keep her marriage together while wondering if she really wants too. While taking care of ailing parents and the beautiful horses she grew up with she reflects on her life. She is a mother, step-mother, care taker of her parents, and sole care for four beautiful horses that mean the world to her and her father. On top of all that she is trying everything she knows to get her daughter off drugs and away from a loser boyfriend. When the brother she hates decides to move back with their parents she walks away from their care. Eddie her husband doesn't want to lose the money she gets paid for her parents care so he launches a secret plan. Jewel blackmails her daughter into rehab and secretly sneaks back to care for her beloved horses. As the story unfolds Jewel has to decide if she'll leave her husband, can she really walk away from the parents who need her and how can she ever leave the horses that mean as much to her as her daughter. A house of cards that begins to tumble. Worth the read.
March 31, 2016
Set in Kentucky Bluegrass horse country, Remember My Beauties tells the story of three generations; Jewel, her parents Hack and Louetta, and her daughter and stepdaughter. But it is also the story of a family struggling to hold it all together. Jewel takes care of her parents home and breeding farm, along with working her job and worrying about her daughter and stepdaughter. Sometimes, the horses are the only thing she's certain she couldn't live without. When her ex-con brother shows up, the family is thrown into shambles. Jewel has good reason to hate her brother, and when her mother chooses Cal over her, Jewel is forced to give up her "beauties", What follows is a story of three generations learning about each other, and how to give and take.to makes things work. With vivid descriptions, fully developed characters and a story that at times will break your heart, Remember My Beauties is ultimately a story that will uplift you and leave you feeling hopeful. A great read, I highly recommend this book.
Thanks to Switchgrass books via Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Switchgrass books via Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 27, 2016
ARC Kindle for Review
This is a tale of a family falling apart in the backdrop of the Kentucky horse breeding as the struggle to survive.
We meet Hack, the patriarch breeder and trainer who have aged and now blind with his wife Louetta who is confined by her rheumatoid arthritis. Their daughter Jewel struggles daily to care for her aging parents and the horses while dealing with her own home and job. Also she has to handle Eddie her second husband and his children from his previous marriage as well as her drug addicted daughter Carley. The only thing that keeps her sane are the horses as she holds things together.
When her brother Cal returns whom she already hates gets up with Carley things finally heats up. Jewel decides she has enough as she tries to shoot Cal but wounds her daughter instead. Tired of everything Jewel stop taking care of her parents as Cal moves in.
As Eddie tries to take care of everything in his haphazard way, things slowly start to work. Along the way, time slowly heals some of the pain despite the stubbornness we sometimes harbor.
This is a tale of a family falling apart in the backdrop of the Kentucky horse breeding as the struggle to survive.
We meet Hack, the patriarch breeder and trainer who have aged and now blind with his wife Louetta who is confined by her rheumatoid arthritis. Their daughter Jewel struggles daily to care for her aging parents and the horses while dealing with her own home and job. Also she has to handle Eddie her second husband and his children from his previous marriage as well as her drug addicted daughter Carley. The only thing that keeps her sane are the horses as she holds things together.
When her brother Cal returns whom she already hates gets up with Carley things finally heats up. Jewel decides she has enough as she tries to shoot Cal but wounds her daughter instead. Tired of everything Jewel stop taking care of her parents as Cal moves in.
As Eddie tries to take care of everything in his haphazard way, things slowly start to work. Along the way, time slowly heals some of the pain despite the stubbornness we sometimes harbor.
March 14, 2016
Tales of dysfunctional families are often a hard read, especially when the relatives are as messed up as Jewel’s clan. I kept reading nonetheless because Hugo is a compelling writer. Her starting premise -- the angry and exhausted family caretaker takes a hike from her responsibilities -- plants a seed of curiosity. You absolutely must find out what will happen to all the characters, even the disagreeable ones. Besides, just when you want to slap one of the principals sideways, Hugo detours into the world of The Horse, a world that makes sense and demands order and respect from all who enter. I had a few carps about abrupt swings in POV, moving from third-person narrative to first-person narrative within a single paragraph. Perhaps some of those shifts didn’t work, but others made sense -- underscoring how the same events generate differing perspectives. An unusual novel, which I’ll be sure to recommend to my horsewoman niece.
February 4, 2016
This is a wonderful book, especially if you are interested in horses, the healing power of the animal-human relationship, or the complexity of family dynamics (both marital and parent-child). Her perceptions of the issues faced by the sandwich generation are insightful and beautifully rendered. Hugo has an exceptional ability to turn these themes into compelling literary fiction. This is the third book of hers that I've read ( Where the Trail Grows Faint and A Matter of Mercy were my initial exposure to her work) and she continues to find ways of dealing with those themes that she is the most interested in in new and exciting ways. If this is the first book of hers that you have read, then I would encourage you to read some of her earlier work. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
February 14, 2016
Jewel thought she knew her family until she realized she saw the "surface well enough but not the layers beneath with all their colors and texture." Our introduction to her husband, parents, brother, daughter and stepchildren is stark and depressing: another sad and dysfunctional group of drug abusers, lowlifes and general screw ups. But change the perspective and the story changes, the characters become more of who they are and less of who Jewel sees them as. This was an enjoyable read that unfolds delightfully and with a good deal of humor and insight. It makes us look at our own family and wonder if we actually see who these people are, or if we just let them be what we expect them to be.
My review copy (on Kindle) had some glitches that I hope the publisher cleans up—no breaks from one point of view to another, especially.
I thank Netgalley for a review copy.
My review copy (on Kindle) had some glitches that I hope the publisher cleans up—no breaks from one point of view to another, especially.
I thank Netgalley for a review copy.
June 24, 2016
Remember My Beauties
by Lynne Hugo
Switchgrass Books
AuthorBuzz
Literary Fiction
Pub Date 18 Apr 2016
I was given a copy of Remember My Beauties through the publisher and their parnership with Netgalley in exchange for my honest review which is as follows:
It's been twenty six years since she graduated from highschool, when she decides to take a pair of scissors and cut her hair off, the hair her current husband had fallen in love. Her daughter has gotten involved with drugs so her Mother buys her food, knowing that if she gives her money it will only go up her nose.
Will her daughters involvement with drugs end up getting her, or her loved one's killed or will she get the help she needs.
Five out of five stars
Happy Reading
July 7, 2016
3.5 stars. The story of a dysfunctional family, told from several different perspectives. I liked getting the different perspectives on what was going on and it helped me empathize with the characters more. People who seemed to be nothing but total jerks turned out to have goodness in them after all. I enjoyed the family relationships amid the bad choices and unhealthy patterns and the horses that were the catalysts for bringing sanity and hope into the situation.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book.
April 1, 2016
This is a beautifully written story of real life and heartache and the healing that comes from picking yourself up. The characters are well defined and perfectly interwoven. This is a serious story but with definite humor in places to keep it real. I definitely recommend it to everyone.
**Received a copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
**Received a copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
April 29, 2016
This book shows the worst in families and what each needs to do when the going gets tough. Consequences of actions and how to pull together when absolutely necessary putting differences aside. Jewel was complex and the secondary characters crucial to her story. Hard book to put down with all the issues you want to know how it ends. Given copy by Netgalley for honest review.
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