Looking Glass Lies
- Author: Varina Denman
- Publisher: Waterfall Press
- Print Length: 318 pages
- Release Date: May 2, 2017
- I Rate it:
- Genre: Potpourri
- Purchase on Amazon
Book Summary
A poignant and relatable novel, Looking Glass Lies captures the war women wage against themselves, and the struggle to see beauty reflected in a mirror not distorted by society’s unrelenting expectations.
For most of her adult life, Cecily Ross has compared herself to other women–and come up short. After a painful divorce from her emotionally abusive husband, Cecily returns to her hometown of Canyon, Texas, looking to heal.
But coming home isn’t what she expects. In a town as small as Canyon, her pain is difficult to escape–especially with her model-perfect ex-sister-in-aw working at the town’s popular coffee-shop hangout. With help from her father, a support group, and an old friend who guides her to see her own strengths, Cecily may have a shot at overcoming her insecurities and learning to love again.
The true test comes when tragedy strikes, opening Cecily’s eyes to the harmfulness of her distorted views on beauty–and giving her the perfect opportunity to find peace at last.
Varina Denman writes stories about the unique struggles women face. Her award-winning Mended Hearts series, which revolves around church hurt, is a compelling blend of women’s fiction and inspirational romance. Her latest novel, Looking Glass Lies, releases in May. A native Texan, Varina lives near Fort Worth with her husband and five mostly grown children. Connect with Varina on her website or one of the social media hangouts.
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Book Review by Bree Herron
What do you tell yourself in the mirror? Are you loving, or do you just see the disgust on your face for all the “changes” you want to make? Shanty is here for ya, Cecily and Nina are facing it too.
Looking Glass Lies is the book I didn’t know I needed. I have always faced self-esteem issues. Pageants, competing, seeing myself as “arm candy” to always avoid feeling my feeling of ugliness. Varina Chapman always writes books with a tough subject, with a flare that fills the reader’s mind and heart.
My mind was filled, I had to process after reading this book. Shanty makes a lot of sense, and reading her parts felt like she was speaking right to me, I was anticipating my phone going off with messages from her, sadly none came. But to be a woman like her, she charged forward with her faith, confidence and ability to help others- no matter what happened in her life. She was the uplifting character. The friend we all need.
Cecily and Nina are our caterpillars, they need a good boost just like me to look in the mirror and love themselves. I forget this and so did they. But through the book they bloomed and became a butterfly of beauty in their own unique ways. They learned that life was precious and to not judge others.
As an adult and female it is the toughest road to walk not judging by beauty. We see it daily, ads, social media, friends. I found from this book that I need to take a Shame on Shanty approach and follow a different path. I think the best fictional books are those that actually give the reader tools or actions for real life. In this case this book is by far one of the best fiction books I have read in the last 5 years. So my gals, the ladies that stop by, the friend wondering in the mirror take a moment to grab this book and give into the story. It will move and change you. What if this is the one book that could help you say ” you are beautiful”?
Let’s start today, what is one thing you LOVE about yourself?
I’ll start, I love my eyes- they are vibrant when happy and a mirror into my soul. Now it’s your turn!
**DISCLAIMER: I was provided an opportunity to read this book as an Advanced Reader Copy in return for a fair and honest review.
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Bree, thank you for such a nice review. Every woman is beautiful. 🙂
Thank you for the book that was so needed in our world!
Great cover art with the broken glass. I wonder what program is used to achieve these effects.