Lynn Lawler's Creative Artists' Blog

A Fine Mess, explores the lives of three women, Harper, Emily, and Kiley, who have an awakening due to a tragedy.

Harper learned her motto from her folks, never to complain about her life.   Growing up, she followed their direction and hid behind a façade. Her feelings are stuck, due to years of restricting herself emotionally. Her desire to alienate herself has created more drama between certain players. Her loved ones don’t understand this, but I do and realize this was part of her journey of life. She is family oriented and shows her love and loyalty many times.

Harper is independent and a creative, talented guitar musician. Despite parental pressure to do otherwise, she goes ahead and does her own thing. The author paints a precise picture of her and I could feel her passion for music. I could imagine her playing on stage in front of standing room crowd.

Emily is Harper’s younger sister and is a bit on the rebellious side. Underneath, she has a tender heart. Emily isn’t afraid to speak her truth. She tends to do things without thinking of the long term effects. This has caused tension with Harper. I really like Emily. She has integrity and I can see the love she has inside of her. She is a true leader and I know she’s going to do well in life. She’s liked by everyone and is her own person. I found the way she held her own ground was admirable.

Kiley is Harper’s best friend who has been always there for her. Underneath her coat of armor, is a talented and beautiful artist, just spreading her wings. She is also an excellent marketing rep for Harper. Her strength is loyalty. She would do anything for both sisters. It took me some time to warm up to her, and you’ll see what I mean as you read along.

Life throws the sisters a curveball that changes the direction of their lives. Each choose a different path. And even though there are trials, never did they lose sight. Both women realized they needed to change in the midst of it all. The energy of these scenes got intense and I felt devastated.

There is an eternal battle between hearts, creating very intense drama.  Raw feelings emerged from the pages.  I can’t tell you more without spilling the beans.

There is enough heat in the book to steam up a mirror. The scenes are full of romance and tastefully described.

There are many points of view in the story. There were two that, although were well expressed, slowed the flow of the story. On the other hand, I enjoyed reading inside the minds of the three women. This was so well written that I felt like I knew them.

This story has a lot going on and kept my eyes glued to the pages. I just love the title, too. The author added narration that touched me, creating more depth to the story, and held my attention. As a SoCal resident, I was tickled pink that it takes place right here. She points out many popular places in LA, some of which I have yet to visit. This story can be read in an afternoon, so you’re going to want to carve out time. Enjoy.

Here is an excerpt:

Standing in the near-empty parking lot in front of Tyson’s Bar, Harper tried her best to not let nerves get the best of her, but was failing miserably. She gripped her black guitar case in one hand, while she removed her other gig bag from her shoulder and grasped the handle with her other hand. She didn’t know why she was this nervous. It’s not like it was the first time she’d been here. Tonight, however, was different. Tonight, she’d be putting her guitar to use. It never failed. Before any performance, there was always a wave of anxiety that washed over Harper. It usually subsided once she took the stage, but the moments leading up to it were the worst. Harper tried to shake off any fears she had creeping deep into her psyche and walked in, hoping that a drink would do the trick.

Her eyes shifted focus between the stage and the bar. She looked around for a familiar face–her parents, her boyfriend–but they weren’t there yet. It was still fairly early and there were only about a dozen people there at the moment, so she traipsed over to the bar, figuring a drink should take precedence over setting up for her debut at this particular venue.

She maneuvered her way through the tables and chairs, stopping suddenly when she took notice of the girl behind the bar looking rather apathetic as she arbitrarily arranged some cocktail napkins and then wiped down the bar. She didn’t think too much of Kiley when she first saw her, but when she finally spoke, it was enough to make a lasting impression.

Four Stars

 

Until next time,

Lynn