The Bluff Tour - Review & Giveaway

Hey everyone! Welcome to our stop on the Bluff tour. I have a review and giveaway for you so make sure you check them both out.

Book Blurb

"To the medical world, I was a host body, surviving only to bring a new life into the world. And while I wanted to die more than anything in the world, I never wanted this. No, I never wanted to cease to exist. This was the worst death of all.”

Jude Black lives in that in-between, twilight place teetering on death but clinging to life in order to bring her baby into this world. Only she knows the circumstances surrounding her mysterious fall off the bluff that landed her in the hospital being kept alive by medical intervention. Only she knows who the father of her baby is. In this poignantly crafted literary novel, the mystery unfolds and the suspense builds as the consequences of Jude’s decisions threaten to reveal everyone's deceptions, even her own. Bluff offers a sensitive look at essential questions such as the value of human life, the consciousness of those in a coma and the morality of terminating life support. At the core is the story of a tragically misunderstood woman who finds peace, acceptance, understanding and even love on her deathbed.

My Review

Jude is listening to everything going on around her. People are talking to her but she can't answer. Why because she is in a coma. She either fell, was pushed or jumped off bluff near her home. Now she floats around in a way outside her body listening to everything that is going on around her. The hospital is keeping her alive for one reason. She is pregnant and there is a chance to save her baby. They keep her living as long as they can in the hopes of saving the child. Jude is a lonesome person and no one knows who the father of the child is. Not even her best friend Frances. As Jude lays there she gets to know people like she never did before. They come to her and share their darkest secrets with her. It also gives Jude time to come to grasp with her past and what she hopes for the baby she is growing to love. The people around her have many secrets. Some of them so dark they are horrifying. 

Jude is the type of character that at first I didn't like much. Bad to say considering she is in a coma but as she reflescts back on her life parts of it make you see she wasn't nice at times. But near the end I really came to like her as you can see her life reflecting back changed her so much. Even in a coma you can see she is a changed person. Her best friend Frances is an ok friend I guess I can see good and bad in her as well. At times it seems she really loves Jude but times she does stuff to make you think she only wants Jude's baby. another character that really stands out is a nurse named Mary Shannon. All the town thinks her a mean woman but Jude gets to know her as she nurses her. It seems Jude is the only one Mary Shannon can talk to. The unknown father is a horrible person who deserves nothing less to die to me. 

This book is unlike others I have read. You get to read from a few different POVs but Jude is the one you get pulled in and attached to. This is a tale of everyday peoples lives and what they may be hiding. You get to see the dark and good sides from everyone involved. Some of these things you can kind of see coming and some of them will rock you to your core. In a way it is like the spirit of Jude is telling you things as you read even if she is in a coma. As you read you keep hoping she will wake up any time. I don't think a book has sent me through so many emotions in a long time as this one did. The ending left me in an emotional wreck. In some ways this is a hard book to read and so don't go into it lightly. If you like a harder book be sure to pick this one up and discover the secrets and horrors these people kept hidden.
4 out of 5 Bats~Pam

About the author: Lenore Skomal wants you to eat her books. Her passionate desire is to touch your heart, inspire you, and luxuriate in the world of the written word. She is an award-winning author with the single goal of resonating with others. Winner of multiple awards for blogging, literature, biography and humor, her catalogue spans many genres. With 30 years of writing experience, 18 books published, a daily blog and weekly newspaper column, the consistent themes in her work are the big issues of the human experience and adding depth and voice to the intricacies involved in living a multi-dimensional existence. She has won many Society of Professional Journalist awards, the Whidbey Island Writer's Conference honorable mention for best fiction, Writer's Digest 73rd Annual Fiction Contest, New York Public Library's Best Books for Teens 2003, and most recently, the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Award for humor for “Burnt Toast.,” her first anthology of her award winning humor columns. From journalism, to literary fiction, to humor and biography, her writing is consistent, if not in genre, then in message. Connect with Lenore on her website, Facebook, GoodReads, or Twitter. 

Get Bluff on Amazon.

Wanna win a $50 gift card or an autographed copy of Bluff? 

Leave a comment on my blog. One random commenter during this tour will win a $50 gift card. For the full list of participating blogs, visit the official Bluff tour page. 

Enter the Rafflecopter contest! I've posted the contest form below, or you can enter on the tour page linked above. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway