Night Road, by Kristin Hannah (Review and Giveaway)

3 1/2 stars

About the book (from Librarything.com) -

Jude Farraday is a happily married, stay-at-home mom who puts everyone’s needs above her own. Her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill enters their lives, no one is more supportive than Jude. A former foster child with a dark past, Lexi quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable. But senior year of high school brings unexpected dangers and one night, Jude’s worst fears are confirmed: there is an accident. In an instant, her idyllic life is shattered and her close-knit community is torn apart. People—and Jude—demand justice, and when the finger of blame is pointed, it lands solely on eighteen-year-old Lexi Baill. In a heartbeat, their love for each other will be shattered, the family broken. Lexi gives up everything that matters to her—the boy she loves, her place in the family, the best friend she ever had—while Jude loses even more.
When Lexi returns, older and wiser, she demands a reckoning. Long buried feelings will rise again, and Jude will finally have to face the woman she has become. She must decide whether to remain broken or try to forgive both Lexi…and herself.

About the Author -

Kristin Hannah was born in September 1960 in Southern California and grew up at the beach, making sand castles and playing in the surf. When she was eight years old, her father drove the family to Western Washington which they called home.
After working in a trendy advertising agency, Kristin decided to go to law school. "But you're going to be a writer" are the prophetic words she would never forget from her mother. Kristin was in her third-and final-year of law school and her mom was in the hospital, facing the end of her long battle with cancer. Kristin was shocked to discover that her mother believed she would become a writer. For the next few months, they collaborated on the worst, most clichéd historical romance ever written.
After her mom's death, she packed up all those bits and pieces of paper they'd collected and put them in a box in the back of her closet. Kristin got married and continued practicing law.
Then Kristin found out she was pregnant and was on bed rest for five months. By the time she'd read every book in the house and started asking her husband for cereal boxes to read, she knew she was a goner. That's when her husband reminded her of the book she'd started with her mom. Kristin pulled out the boxes of research material, dusted them off and began writing. By the time their son was born, she'd finished a first draft and found an obsession.
The rejections came, of course, and they stung for a while, but each one really just spurred her to try harder, work more. In 1990, Kristin got "the call," and in that moment, she went from a young mother with a cooler-than-average hobby to a professional writer, and has never looked back. In all the years between then and now, she have never lost her love of, or her enthusiasm for, telling stories. Kristin feels truly blessed to be a wife, a mother, and a writer.

My Review - 
I had very mixed feelings about this book. The idea, the story line was good (although it has been done many times before). The whole first half of the book is setting it up and developing the characters. I think this took too long. I was getting bored and almost ready to quit. It really felt like a YA book to me, too much teen romance. I kept waiting for something to happen.... and waiting, and waiting. This took too long. Then finally, something happened. It did get better after the first half, but I feel Hannah spent way too long on some areas and not enough on others. I totally agree with Missy (Missy's Book Nook) when she reviewed this book, I did not like Jude at all! I totally disagreed with her style of parenting. I don't care what is happening with teens today or what is popular - I would have NEVER let my daughter go to a party where there was know to be drinking, end of story! Just ask her, LOL. I did feel that it had a good ending and good last 1/4 of the story but I do wish Hannah had spent more time on Lexi and what was happening with her. I also didn't really feel like I knew any of the other characters either. Like after the first half of the book, I totally forgot what Mia was like. Even though Hannah spent 1/2 the book introducing her, I just wasn't feelin it.

All in all, it wasn't a bad book, I just feel it could have been better, and unfortunately it has been done better since this is a very used story line. Thank you Librarything early reviewers for giving me this book to review.
This has not turned me off of Kristin Hannah, i do know that she is an excellent writer so I will keep reading!

Giveaway -
I am giving away my ARC copy of this book (just because I wasn't thrilled with it, doesn't mean you won't be! Some people will love this book!)
Comment here or email me at forevereading at gmail dot com
Please be from the US or Canada
Tell me if you have ever read a Kristin Hannah book before.
I will announce the winner on Dec. 23rd (you will have 48 hrs. to respond)
Thank you and good luck.