The Girl Made of Clay delves into familial relationships, such as those between husband and wife, parent and child, siblings, and the father/daughter relationship. Sara’s once estranged father has a secret that she is determined to unravel. Various relationship missteps come to a head and Sara is forced to accept the circumstances her father has brought upon her, or distance herself from him altogether.

This is a story about family and forgiveness. Sara was just a child when her father, TR, abandoned her and her mother. Some years later, as a pilot's wife and a mother of a 10 years old son, Sara is reunited with her estranged father through a disaster. Hoping that TR would give her an explanation as to why he left, Sara took TR in her home and nursing him back to health. All while trying to save her marriage to Charlie.

I had some expectation about The Girl Made of Clay. I liked the premise of the book. Unfortunately, it never really took off for me. There is very little of a plot and moving very slow. I did not feel emotionally invested in the characters. A lot of times, I wanted to shout at Sara for thinking too much and feeling too hard, instead of confronting the source of her problem. I never did warm up to TR and Charlie as well. The only character that I like is Bo. I'd love to know more about Bo and his striking personality.

While this may not be my favorite read, I will definitely read other books from this author.


** Thank you to Lake Union Publisher via #NetGalley for providing this digital ARC of #TheGirlMadeOfClay in exchange for my personal, honest review **

There were two things that instantly made me want to read The Girl Made Of Clay: the beautiful cover and the promise of an intriguing family drama with an artsy twist. There is no doubt that this story has a lot of potential, and I believe in this case the problem is me and not the story itself. I confess that family dramas are a bit out of my reading comfort zone and they can go either way for me. In this case, unfortunately my reading experience went down a negative road. It wasn't because of the writing, which was solid and flowed. The Girl Made Of Clay is a mostly character-driven story where the focus is on Sarah and her father TR, but also on the failing relationship between Sarah and her husband. As always with a character-driven story, the connection to the main characters is extremely important and has a big influence in how you perceive a story. Sadly, in The Girl Made Of Clay, I was unable to make such connection. In fact, TR is horrible, Sarah frustratingly annoying and her husband is no good either... Little Sam is the only one that was able to bring a smile to my face. I'm not saying the character development is bad and having flawed characters makes the story that much more realistic. TR isn't ment to be likeable, and the whole point of this book is that the relationship between Sarah and her father is broken. Still, my aversion towards the characters made it really hard to enjoy the story or to properly care about what would happen to them. I'm not sure about the credibility of some parts of the plot either... But like I said, the main problem for me was the lack of connection to the characters, which made it a struggle to stay focused and keep myself motivated to keep reading. I do think this was mostly me, and I think people who enjoy reading character-driven family dramas and don't mind flawed and potentially frustrating characters will have a good time with The Girl Made Of Clay.

If you enjoy reading character-driven stories with flawed characters that are described in a realistic way, The Girl Made Of Clay is without doubt an interesting read. The pace is not the fastest, but the story captures quite well how the characters evolve over time. Did I think every aspect of the plot and behavior was credible? Not exactly. Did most of the characters annoy me and made me enjoy the story a lot less? Most definitely. But as one of the cliches goes: 'it's not you, it's me...'. And I really think that is what happened here.

Thanks for the early review copy!

I recommend this novel to fans of contemporary novels. It was well-written and interesting novel. Plus, it has a stunning cover.

All too often we think we need to make a decision to cut people out of our lives who aren't a good influence and feel that the path to happiness is moving on, with forgiveness as a weakness. This book shows us that there is strength in empathy and forgiveness and feels real and heartfelt. A really moving read with a lovely ending.

Thank you NetGalley, Nicole Meier and Lake Union Publishing for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication: September 25th 2018 by Lake Union Publishing.

This story made me ugly cry more than once..so needless to say I loved it!!
So very touching, heart warming, frustrating, sad...the book was darn good!
The writing was interesting from the first sentence and never lagged. I loved the plot! The characters were rich and made you like them..or mad at them..or cry for them, you joined along in their lives. This is the first I've read of this author but interested in exploring more of her work. Because she took me in a rollercoaster ride of emotions and kept me there the book gets a 5 star rating! It's a must read!

Nicole Meier gives the reader a chance to see that it is never too late, for so many things. Relationships can be mended, wounds can heal, and new adventures are always there. The biggest take-away for me was the profound power of being and saying, "I'm sorry". No one is perfect, mistakes will be made, but seeing your own faults in situations and owning up to them is good for yourself as well as others. This review was possible with an ARC provided by Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing.

This is an emotional book. It was heartrending to see how much anguish Sara had to endure. I felt awful for Sara, as the men in her life keep abandoning her. It’s a very impressive book about family, forgiveness and truth. Very well done. Overall I liked the book and will recommend it to my friends.
Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Nicole Meier and Lake Union Publishing for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah has a busy life with her ten-year old son and her husband that is always jetting off for work. Her marriage is struggling, as is it with all the pressure she’s under while her husband is absent. She needs to focus on her marriage and son when she receives a call that changes her life. Her estranged father has been in an accident and needs someone to take care of him. She hasn’t heard or seen her father in years, but taking him in may help get the answers she has been looking for since she was a teenager, or it could end her marriage.

This book and what Sarah has to put up with from all the men in her life really aggravated me! I was immediately hooked on this novel and it became one of those books where I just kept saying only one more chapter and then I’ll do what I need to do, and suddenly I was 70% done! I just felt like I knew how Sarah was feeling and I felt like I understood their family and all they’ve been through. I enjoyed that she tried to hold both her husband and father accountable for the things that they put her through and stood up for herself and what she needed! This was a really well told and honest novel, one that is definitely believable.

I really enjoyed the whole story overall and how heartfelt everything was. I really could imagine many others going through similar situations and I really felt for every character in this novel. This really is a novel about forgiveness and admitting when you’ve made a mistake and trying to move on with those you love. I really couldn’t read this novel fast enough to see how it all played out and I was thrilled by the ending! I definitely recommend this novel!

Pick it up September 25th!

Overall, I liked this book. I found it to be a bit slow moving at times, but I enjoyed how it all came together at the end. I felt bad for the main character, Sara, as the men in her life keep leaving her - first her father, TR, when the fame goes to his head and then her husband, a pilot who is constantly taking extra shifts and jetting off (literally) leaving her to handle all the household tasks and take care of their young son. Even though her father left her, she steps up and takes him in to help him recover after a serious fire. I thought the author did a good job with the progression in the relationship between Sara and her father. This was definitely a worthwhile read. I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. I am voluntarily leaving this review.

Sara is the product of a fractured family, as she grew up, parenting her mother and wondering what she did to make her father, TR, disappear from her life. She married Charlie, a stable influence in her life. But their marriage is breaking down with his absences and seemingly disinterest in her and their son, Sam.
As she intervenes, reluctantly to nurse her father after an accident, she can’t seem to move past her emotions. It’s a lesson in the need to forgive, in order to fix broken relationships. Interesting, flawed characters, that will keep you guessing as to how she can come out of this. I received this ARC from NetGalley and Lake Union publishers. A good read.

Sarah's famous dad is badly injured in a fire. They do not have a relationship and are suddenly forced to have one as she takes him home to care for him as he recovers. Her marriage is strained, and the presence of her father is not helping. Can she rebuild what was lost?

I liked this book overall, but I felt like something was missing. There was potential to be so much magic with all the characters. It kind of felt like a lot of heart was missing from the pages. The ending was nice, but some of the elements to the story felt unnecessary, especially when I was struggling to feel something and I did not. Still, it's a good read, just not one of my favorites.


Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union.

3.5 stars
A story of second chances and having the ability to forgive. Sara grew up in a rocky childhood with parents who really never gave her the life she deserved. Now she lives the life of a single parent as her husband is a pilot and gone quite a bit. Their relationship has already taken a backseat by the time she gets a call that her Father is in the hospital. Sara has to decide if she has the ability to forgive and rebuild this relationship and somehow keep her marriage from deteriorating.

Sara has a busy suburban life with a ten year old son and a husband who is always traveling for work. In fact, her marriage is struggling with all of the pressure her husband's increasing absences have put upon her. She needs to focus on her marriage but instead gets a phone call that changes her life. Her estranged father, with whom she has had no contact since she was a teen, has been in an accident and needs her. Taking in her father could help ease years of pain and get answers she has been seeking, but it could also destroy her fragile marriage.

This book pulled all of my emotions. It was heartbreaking to see how much pain Sara had been in because of TR and how his abandonment affected her current relationship. The relationship between TR and his grandson was so sweet. The way that art was used to heal was beautiful as well.

“Sometimes folks don’t know what they’re doing until it’s too late.”
When TR’s house is ruined in a fire, he finds himself in the hospital with serious injuries.
He needs to find a person and place to live who will help care for him.
Can Sara give her father shelter and that care? Why should she? Sara has not heard from him in so many years. Sara has her own family that barely knows of this man.
Can she find forgiveness for the years he has been gone from her life?
How will they all move forward to rekindle their relationship and heal their family?
A wonderfully written book of family, truth and forgiveness. Well done!