The Beautiful Daughters by Nicole Baart

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Seeing a quote by Joshilyn Jackson on the cover of this book was one of the main reasons I decided to read it, that and the lovely photo image.  I am definitely a choose a book by the cover type of person.  How is it that Nicole Baart has been writing books since 2007 and I am just now discovering her?  You can rest assured that after reading The Beautiful Daughters: A Novel I am planning on going back and reading all of her other books!

The Beautiful Daughters begins with Adri receiving a call from home that “she is gone and that Adri needs to come home.”  She is Victoria - the woman who almost became her mother-in-law, and home is Blackhawk, Iowa.

Blackhawk, Iowa is half way around the world from Africa that Adri is calling home now.  We are given hints that she ran to Africa to get away from something.  A memory, a life.  We learn that she was supposed to marry someone named David and that he is dead.  That David, her and a girl named Harper were inseparable at one time.

From there the story slowly unfolds.  The story of the three friends and all they shared and lost.

This is a book about relationships and how events in the past effect their lives today. It is very well written and held my interest from beginning to end, with just enough plot twists to keep it interesting.  Characters are well-developed.

An intriguing part of the book is Adri's life in Africa.  After going to the author's webpage, I saw that she is the co-founder of a non-profit organization, called One Body, One Hope out of Liberia.  She is also the mother of four adopted children from four different countries.   As the mother of three adopted children, I found even more to like about her.

*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions are my own.