Happy Release Day to A.E. Woodward!

Some books can be really hard to read.  Just because of the difficulty of the content.  If it's hard for me to read, I can't even imagine how hard it is for the author to write! 

"Working Girl" by A.E. Woodward is one of those books that must have been exhausting to write. Here's the synopsis as found on Amazon and you'll figure out why:

"Life As I Know It:
Booze
Drugs
Gambling
Easy Women
Such was my life in fabulous Las Vegas.  But what do you expect when you're the daughter of a prostitute.  This is not the life I want for myself, and I have a plan.

Life As I Want It:
Go to college.
Get a degree.
Get as far away from Vegas as possible.

But life has other plans.  Plans that include him.  Life isn't always sunshine and roses and even the best laid plans change.

This is my story.  The story of a girl who thought she had it all figured out until life threw her a curve ball.  My name is Presley and I refuse to be just another Working Girl."

After reading "Working Girl", I really struggled with writing a review.  I loved this book.  And I hated it.  I wanted Presley to get out of this terrible situation she was in so badly!  But I also knew the reality of situations like these make that almost impossible.

I had a hard enough time sorting through my feelings that I called a friend of mine, who had also previewed the book, to hash it all out.  At that point, it finally hit me.

This book resonates with you.

It resonates THROUGH you.

Once it's over, you can't stop thinking about it.  You can't stop thinking about the story and the characters and even the writing style.

That is the sign of a really well done novel.

My only critique, and Ms. Woodward and I have discussed this at length, is that is could have been grittier.  It could have been harsher.  She could have pushed it further to make me feel even more uncomfortable.  And I would have believed every second of it and loved it.

But as it stands, "Working Girl" will at minimum, stick with you.  It is sad on so many levels.  Yet the strength of the main character never, ever wavers.  So no matter how uncomfortable it makes you, you will always find hope.

Once again, A.E. Woodward proves what a great author she is.  You'll see what I mean when you pick up a copy of "Working Girl" by clicking here.  She worked hard for a solid