Heaven Adjacent

Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde

Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing

Release Date: June 19, 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

A beautifully written novel of what is important in love and why we need to hold on to it when we find it.

After spending her entire life as a high-powered attorney in Manhattan, Roseanna Chaldecott has decided she has had enough after her best friend and partner suddenly dies. With only the clothes on her back and a tank of gas, Roseanna heads out of the city with no plans of return. Deep in the mountains of the Adirondacks, she finds a plot of land and a ramshackle farm that turns out to be her Heaven.  On the land are squatters she wants to get rid of to be alone, but doesn’t have the heart to turn them away. Roseanna starts working with her hands creating sculptures out of the junk found on the farm, which attracts attention she doesn’t want, including her son, Lance.  He wants her to come back to the city, which she refuses to do.  He isn’t the only one that wants her back, her partners at her law firm want her back or she might just lose all she has worked for her entire life.  She has to decide what it is she truly wants and can live without in order to be happy.

Heaven Adjacent needs to be read by so many, especially in the day and age we are living in.  Our culture has become so obsessed with the material things we have to offer that we have forgotten what is truly important.  Roseanna decides that things have to change for her after her best friend dies without having experienced all there is in the world.  She doesn’t want to work herself to death and regret the time she has had on this earth.  Taking time to find out what matters is so important, by slowing down and enjoying the simple things in life she is able to actually find happiness again.  I loved the idea of this because so many times we think that we need the newest and coolest things out there to be happy, but we don’t.  The characters were completely believable and completely in track with the actions they took and the consequences of those actions.  I loved how Hyde was able to bring these characters to life and draw the action forward without action scenes or major suspense.  She used tension in each scene in a different way to move the story forward and keep the reader entranced.  This story reminds us to stay encouraged and not lose hope in the difficult times but go back to the basic simple things in life and there we will find our happiness.  I recommend this book to readers that have enjoyed her work and are looking for a book unlike any they have read and one they won’t soon forget.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.