Peace By Piece by Carol Fragale Brill--A Review

SYNOPSIS:

Peace by Piece deals with unshakable first love, family, relationships, the difficulties of being a stepparent—all shadowed by the curse of anorexia/bulimia.
Six years after fleeing college and Thomas’s betrayal, Maggie has nearly given up on love.
Enter Izzie, a motherless eight year old, and every maternal instinct kicks-in. With Donald, Izzie’s dad, Maggie waits for the thrill—for anything magic: a spark, a quickening, a quiver racing up her spine. The magic never comes, but it is precisely the ordinariness of his kisses and subsequent proposal that make her feel safe. She imagines that loving Izzie is enough to finally lock Thomas out of her heart.

FROM MY PERSPECTIVE:

Maggie, librarian turned third grade teacher, befriended a motherless child, Izzie, at the library where she waited for a ride home.   As their friendship bloomed and grew,Maggie realized her greatest desire to be a mother.   The book is told from present day chapters, alternated with reminiscent chapters from the times of college and her first true love.

Maggie's character was disappointing in some respects as she surrendered desire for passionate love for motherhood to Izzie, hoping her husband Donald, would fulfill her dreams in the future.    Donald was an aggravating character who truly believed he knew best for his daughter and his wife, but more often than not, he missed the mark by miles.

I hated how controlling Donald was.   I hated that Maggie settled.   But I loved that she was given a second chance with Thomas and the decisions she made that were hard and ugly.   This was also a story of issues and I appreciated how they were dealt with.

I enjoyed this novel, although I wasn't always in the mood to deal with Maggie's turmoil.   But I appreciated her growth throughout the book and that she did finally deal with things head on.   I love a character driven book.

I rated Peace by Piece a 4 WINK read.

Disclaimer:  I read for my pleasure.   I may receive ARC copies for review purposes, but I am not compensated for my reviews .  I like to read and I like to share my reviews.   I post my thoughts without prejudice or bias.  The words are mine and I write reviews based on my humble opinion.  I will admit, I seldom meet a book I don't like.  I purchased a  copy of this book for my personal collection.