"Shadow Sister " by Katherine Scott Jones

About the Book

Book Title: Shadow Sister
Author: Katherine Scott Jones  
Genre: Woman’s Fiction  
Release date: August 28, 2018

Working on her father’s vineyard allows Sarah Lanning to bury memories of a lost love and a career that might have been. But then her fractured family receives word that her estranged sister, Jenna, is dead, leaving behind an unexpected request: that Sarah travel to Bolivia to scatter her ashes. Accompanied by pilot Chase Maddox, Sarah embarks on an Andean journey that tests her devotion to home and exposes Jenna’s secret life. Each staggering discovery creates new mysteries—until the last, which leaves Sarah questioning everything she understood about family loyalty. At a crossroads, she must decide whether truth is worth the cost of forgiveness—and whether she can lay claim to a future of happiness without it. Bittersweet and bold, Shadow Sister explores the mysteries of the human heart and the bond of unquenchable love.

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My Review: 

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to read about the difference between the two sisters. At first I was a little confused and wasn't sure I was going to like it, just a few chapters because it was written like someone was just reporting what was happening and then it switched to a different style of writing but I am glad I kept reading because the twists, turns, and hinted-at secrets were worth the little confusion I had. I wanted to know why they all acted the way they did.  I admit that when the secrets were revealed I wasn't surprised at some things, but one secret really did surprised me.

It's a wonderful story of hurt and loss and hope and  forgiveness.

This story shows that sometimes things are really not the way they seem at all.

I wish there was going to be a another novel with these characters  because I would love to read more about the women and the work that Jenna's friends continue on for her.  I also think the romance that started at the end of the book would make a great story, but the ending of this book is great even if a second book isn't written.

I recommend "Shadow Sister " by Katherine Scott Jones to anyone that likes books about sisters and readers that likes to pretend that the stories that are fiction might just be true somewhere in the "real world".  While reading this book I was thinking this author must have sisters to be able to write about the love and the sometimes need to outdo each other. 

I am going to share a sentence from the author's guest post from the blog tour, so you can get a more complete picture of what the book is and why she wrote it, "Shadow Sister is a work of inspirational women’s fiction with a global accent—written for women with a heart for complex relational issues as well as a passion for biblical justice."

I have now added her first book to my to be read list.

I was given a complimentary copy by the author and Celebrate Lit.  These opinions are my own.

About the Author

   
Katherine Scott Jones grew up in cities on every U.S. coast and overseas as her family moved with her father’s Navy career. Seattle became home when she married her husband twenty-eight years ago. After graduating Whitworth University with a degree in communications, she established herself as a freelance writer before turning her hand to fiction. She blogs about books that celebrate beauty at www.katherinescottjones.com. Katherine and her husband have two teenage children. Shadow Sister is her second novel.

Guest Post from Katherine Scott Jones

Shadow Sister: Outtake Reel By Katherine Scott Jones Much as I love a good movie, my favorite part often comes at the end when the director includes outtakes—those false starts and bits from the making of the movie that wind up on the cutting room floor. In a similar vein, I’m going to let you in on some of what went into the creation of my novel, Shadow Sister, but did not make the final cut. Shadow Sister is a work of inspirational women’s fiction with a global accent—written for women with a heart for complex relational issues as well as a passion for biblical justice. It is the story of a vintner’s daughter who travels to Bolivia to scatter her estranged sister’s ashes. There, she unravels secrets that test her devotion to home and make her question whether truth is worth the cost of forgiveness. Shadow Sister explores the mysteries of the human heart and the bond of unquenchable love. Now that you know a bit about what it is, come along as I pull back the curtain and share an exclusive peek at what Shadow Sister is not. Working Titles It took me a while to finally land on the right title. Early contenders: – The Sweetness of Light – Variations on Shadows and Light. Characters It also took a bit of experimenting before I found the right combination of people and places: – Sarah, the main character, was originally a marine biologist. I first imagined the story set in Seattle before moving it to the fertile plains of Eastern Washington wine country. – Sarah was originally engaged; and Chase and Rachael were involved. – The gender of Matilde’s baby changed from what I first plotted. That simple switch got me unstuck from a perplexing snag of writer’s block. – Names: o Nicole, Stasi, Rees, and Stephen were all main-character names I considered and rejected. o Little sister Sarah and big sister Jenna began as litter sister Jenna and big sister Kate. Then Jenna became Somer and finally Sarah, while Kate became Jenna. o Sassy Britches is named after an actual racehorse by the same name. Unused research Of course, story exploration turned up far more tidbits of interesting info than I could possibly fit into the pages of a novel! Some of what I wished I could have used… – Bolivian fun facts o Customs.

• Bolivians tend to eat outdoors when it is not raining. Many men do not feel comfortable eating in front of strangers, so they will often face a wall or sit hunched over their food when they are eating in public.
• Cha’lla is a ritual blessing drawn from Catholic tradition, indigenous religious ceremony, or—typically—a combination of both. Performed by a yatiri (spiritual leader) or Catholic priest, a cha’lla ceremony is performed whenever a new building is finished to ensure future peace in that building.
• Many Bolivians believe in karisirus, or night phantoms. These harmful spirits catch people out after dark or when they’re sleeping. Legend says that they split their victim’s stomach and extract some of the fat.

o Drinks. While the traditional Bolivian beverages api and mate de coca are featured in Shadow Sister, several others are not:

• refresco (fruit juice with a dried peach at the bottom of the glass)
• tostada (a mixture of barley, honey, cloves in water)
• chicha (homemade corn beer)
• singani (made from grapes, a cross between wine and whiskey)

o Language. Spanish, Aymara, and Quechua are Bolivia’s three national languages, and they differ from each other greatly. For example, the number one in Spanish = uno, Aymara = ma, Quechua = hoq. – Quotes: o On wine: “Wine is sunlight held together by water.” ~ Galileo o On art: “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” ~ Thomas Merton I hope this glimpse into what didn’t make it onto the pages of Shadow Sister piques your interest for discovering what finally did!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, September 4

Carpe Diem, September 4

Reflections From My Bookshelves, September 5

The Power of Words, September 5

Among the Reads, September 5

Fiction Aficionado, September 6

The Becca Files, September 6

RebekahsQuill, September 7

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, September 7

Bigreadersite, September 7

Just the Write Escape, September 8

Jennifer Sienes: Where Crisis and Christ Collide, September 8

Bibliophile Reviews, September 9

Living Life Free in Christ, September 9

Inspirationally Ever After, September 10

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, September 10

Texas Book-aholic, September 11

Livin Lit, September 11

Janices book reviews, September 12

Remembrancy, September 12

All-of-a-kind Mom, September 13

Inklings and notions, September 13

The Midnight Bookaholic, September 14

Pause for Tales, September 14

The Mimosa Blossom, September 14

Kelly Harrel, September 15

Two Points of Interest, September 15

A Baker’s Perspective, September 16

proud to be an autism mom, September 16

Godly Book Reviews, September 17

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 17

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Katherine is giving away a grand prize that includes a personalized signed print copy of the book, a Shadow Sister bookmark, a Frame-able print, Book-lover’s tea, 6 Handcrafted notecards, and a set of vineyard-themed playing cards!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d25f/shadow-sister-celebration-tour-giveaway