Hope Out Loud

by Kristina Riggle

Five years after the summer of THE LIFE YOU'VE IMAGINED, Anna Geneva’s mother is getting married. This means Anna must return to her hometown and the scene of her infamous affair with her teenage love Will Becker, who was married at the time, with a young daughter. Anna plans to avoid him, watch her mom get married, and hightail it back to her private law practice and her cozy apartment in Chicago. But in a town as small as Haven, avoiding the elder son of a prominent family is harder than it seems, especially with so much shared history. And Maeve Geneva’s wedding? Well, the bride is starting to worry that maybe she’s not ready to marry again after all, though she swears her ex-husband’s affectionate postcards have nothing to do with that. Anna thought she’d left her hometown behind for good five years ago, but she’s learning it takes more than two hundred miles along the Lake Michigan shore to put Haven truly behind her…

126 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2015

About the author

Kristina Riggle lives in West Michigan, where she writes character-driven novels about complex personal dynamics. Her debut novel, Real Life & Liars, was a Target "Breakout" pick and a "Great Lakes, Great Reads" selection by the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association. Her latest novel, Vivian in Red, is a story of 1930s Broadway and today about a lyricist, the clouded history of his most famous song, and the woman who inspired it.

Kristina has published short stories in the Cimarron Review, Literary Mama, Espresso Fiction, and elsewhere, and is a former co-editor for fiction at Literary Mama. As well as writing, she enjoys reading, yoga, dabbling in (very) amateur musical theatre, and spending lots of time with her husband, two kids and dog.

She appreciates readers who spread the word about her books, through reviews here and around the Web at the various book retail sites!

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOPE OUT LOUD was my first time reading Kristina Riggle and I'm so happy I gave a new author a try. It is very obvious that Beck still carries a huge torch for Anna. Anna is dealing with too much guilt and is afraid to give their relationship another try. I really enjoyed watching Beck and Anna deal with their actions from five years ago and how Anna wins over Beck's family and gets back in their good graces. My only complaint is that I was so invested emotionally in Beck and Anna's relationship and before I knew it, it was over. I wanted to keep reading about them and watch them grow. But I really enjoyed Kristina's novella and I'm looking forward to reading more by her.



ARC received from Netgalley for an honest review.

[Fluff Smut & Murder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC digital copy of this book through NetGallery.com in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Hope Out Loud is a companion novella Kristina Riggle’s The Life You Imagined, but this time she is highlighting the romance between secondary characters Anna and Beck. Unfortunately, I read the first Haven book when it came out 5 years ago and had a hard time remembering the story, but luckily it is briefly outlined in the short story. It is a cute romantic story and a very quick read, but there will be confusion if the first book has not been read as Anna and Beck have decades of history together.

What I loved: Quick read and a touching romance – what’s not to love?

What I didn’t love: Nothing felt finished in the book from their relationship, to Anna’s mom’s remarriage, to her turmoil with her absentee father. They are not cliffhangers, but the ending felt rushed, like the author needed to get this book done so she could focus on a true sequel to TLYI featuring Anna and Beck as a couple.

What I learned: I think I would have rather waited another year or two for a full sequel because the path isn’t clear for Anna and Beck.

Overall Grade: B-

[Eliza Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five years have passed since we left Anna Geneva falling out from the aftermath of her affair with Beck. Now she's back in the lakeside town of Haven for the wedding of her mother. A Fourth of July party invitation reunites her with her old love. The passing of the years has made Anna older and wiser, but she's still vulnerable to the old emotions. This novella brings back other main characters from The Life You've Imagined: Cami, Amy and Maeve included, and reveals how the succeeding years have treated them, but it's a complete novella in its own right and it's not necessary to have read the earlier novel first. The advantage is that because it draws on such a rich seam, Hope Out Loud neatly braids several storylines together, making it more than a 'frothy' vacation read--more of a compact novel. Nonetheless it's the perfect length of read for a summer book. There's resolution to the main storyline by the end, but sufficient open threads in some of the other characters' storylines to hope that we will return to lakeside Haven for another installment.

[Maryam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review up on the blog: http://gloriousbooks.blogspot.com/201...

Since this was a very quick novella, I don't really have much to say about this read.



The start of the read started off a little depressing. There was a sullen tone to the writing and it quickly became apparent the main characters were not happy in the situation they were living in. In a way it was a kind off annoying that they were so miserable in the sense that they found no enjoyment away from each other but at the same time it was cute, you know? They were suffering without each other.



What I wanted from this read was more. Everything and everyone else in the book were mentioned in passing and it was almost solely about Anna and Beck. It wasn't a bad thing, considering that it's a novella about them but I wanted more of a fight - I wanted the ending to be worth it. I knew it was going to eventually happen but I wanted the journey there to be a little more dramatic than a few conversations.



That being said I enjoyed it. If nothing else, it was cute and it was nice that they got a lovely, practical ending.

[Kristin (Kritters Ramblings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

It has been five years since the book The Life You've Imagined and we are revisiting the characters to see where they are right now and when Anna returns home the past will come back up to the surface. It was great to revisit these characters after some time had elapsed - I liked this concept.

Anna returns to her hometown for her mother's wedding and of course she will run into those she left when she returned to Chicago to start her own law firm. The person she would like to try to avoid keeps popping up in all the places - Will Becker. Will is going through his own stuff as his wife and him have separated and are trying to co parent their two young children and navigate this new life predicament.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably like a 3.5/5 stars so I'll round up to 4. I read the book it's a sequel to, but a while ago.

Full review + GIVEAWAY (ends 7/25/15) up on my blog either tonight (7/17) or tomorrow (7/18). Win a paperback copy of the book :).

[Rosalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this novella but wanted to keep reading. Abrupt ending.