Rose Mae Lolley is a fierce and dirty girl, long-suppressed under flowery skirts and bow-trimmed ballet flats. As "Mrs. Ro Grandee" she's trapped in a marriage that's thick with love and sick with abuse. Her true self has been bound in the chains of marital bliss in rural Texas, letting "Ro" make eggs, iron shirts, and take her punches. She seems doomed to spend the rest of her life battered outside by her husband and inside by her former self, until fate throws her in the path of an airport gypsy---one who shares her past and knows her future. The tarot cards foretell that Rose's beautiful, abusive husband is going to kill her. Unless she kills him first.
Hot-blooded Rose Mae escapes from under Ro's perky compliance and emerges with a gun and a plan to beat the hand she's been dealt. Following messages that her long-missing mother has left hidden for her in graffiti and behind paintings, Rose and her dog Gretel set out from Amarillo, TX back to her hometown of Fruiton, AL, and then on to California, unearthing a host of family secrets as she goes. Running for her life, she realizes that she must face her past in order to overcome her fate---death by marriage---and become a girl who is strong enough to save herself from the one who loves her best. - synopsis taken from Goodreads.
Backseat Saints is beautifully written despite a painful subject matter. Had I not been so transfixed by Jackson's masterful turn of phrase and hypnotizing audio narration (by the author herself), I probably would have some more critical things to say, but since this was one of those audiobooks that is so well narrated, all I can do is sing its praises. Jackson has such a sweet, lilting southern drawl that you can't help but be won over by her storytelling.
There is no point in this story where you feel the outcome will be predictable. You are constantly left guessing as to how Jackson will end it and the climax will leave you on the edge of you seat. If you often find yourself turned off by boring, sleep-inducing audiobooks, look no further than Backseat Saints to jolt you from your slumber.
Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson
Audiobook narrated by: Joshilyn Jackson
Audiobook published: June 2010
Total playing time: 13 Hours
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Adults
*Giveaway*
Back in June I participated in Audiobook Week over at Devourer of Books. Jen was able to provide a great deal of audiobook giveaways through the generosity of publishers. Backseat Saints was a title I won through that week of participation and I'd like to pass it on to someone else to enjoy.
Fill out the form below before 10 PM EST on October 10, 2010 and I will send one lucky winner my 11-CD audiobook copy of Backseat Saints.
Open to US residents only.
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