Book Review: Jewel by Jan Sikes #TuesdayBookShare

Hey, everyone. A couple of weeks ago, I shared how I had enjoyed reading short stories. One of the books I enjoyed is Jewel by Jan Sikes. Today, I’d like to share my review.

Blurb:

For almost eighteen years, Jewel has known little beyond hopelessness and hunger. Barely existing in a ramshackle cabin, on the edge of a Louisiana swamp with her little sister and their mother, she sees no way to stop the downward spiral. When her mother falls gravely ill, Jewel learns that her life is about to take a drastic turn. But will it lead to joy or more devastation?

Take a heart-warming journey with Jewel as she struggles to rise from the clutches of poverty and shame.

My 5 Star Review:

Jewel is a delightful, yet heartbreaking story about a mother’s love for her children. Jewel is almost eighteen and has lived most of her life in poverty with her mother and younger sister. When Jewel’s mother becomes terminally ill, she makes arrangements that will give both her children a better life.

It wasn’t hard to figure out what was in store for Jewel, but the ending was both surprising and delightful. I highly recommend reading this one!

Jewel is available on Amazon.

Author Bio:

Multi-award-winning author, Jan Sikes, began her writing career as a young girl. Her first work was a gospel song. She had an uncle whom she loved dearly, but he was an alcoholic and his drinking caused such family discord that at times, resulted in him being banished from their home. So, she wrote a song about Uncle Luke finding Jesus. That is her first memory of feeling the passion deep down to her toes for writing and for music.

When her husband passed away in 2009, she thought someone would come along and write the story of his unique and inspiring life. She awoke one morning to realize she was the only one who could write it, since she was the only one there with him through it all. So, she took several Creative Writing courses at local community colleges and went to work.

Her books are true stories about the journey of two people moving through adversity in order to grow and learn to become better humans. She believes with all her heart there is something worthy of sharing in these stories. Bits and pieces of wisdom, hard-learned lessons and above and beyond all, love…True love that you read about in fiction stories and yet this is truth. The old saying that truth is stranger than fiction fits these stories.

She is widowed, lives in North Texas, volunteers at music festivals, has five incredible grandchildren and serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Authors Institute of History, The North Texas Book Festival, and the Texas Musicians Museum.

A note about ratings. I consider three stars and above as positive reviews. I reserve five stars for books that keep me turning the pages and that I would read again. (Yes, I’ve been known to do that.)

5 Stars: Awesome story! Couldn’t put it down – Highly recommend.
4 Stars: The book kept me interested – Check it out.
3 Stars: It was okay. Not my favorite, but I didn’t dislike it enough to discontinue.
2 Stars: Book didn’t hold my interest, problems with the plot, characters, poor writing, etc.
1 Star: Don’t bother!