Thursday, August 13, 2015

Kyland

You guys. Seriously. You just need to whip out your credit cards and buy this book. Immediately.

Kyland - Mia Sheridan
Kyland
A full-length, standalone romance from the New York Timesbestselling author of Archer's Voice.

Dirt poor. Hillbilly. Backwoods hick. Mountain folk. 

Tenleigh Falyn struggles each day to survive in a small, poverty-stricken, coal mining town where she lives with her sister and mentally ill mother. Her dream of winning the college scholarship given to one student by the local coal company and escaping the harshness of her life, keeps her going.

Kyland Barrett lives in the hills, too, and has worked tirelessly—through near starvation, through deep loneliness, against all odds—to win the Tyton Coal Scholarship and leave the town that is full of so much pain.

They're both determined not to form any attachments, but one moment changes everything. What happens when only one person gets to win? When only one person gets to leave? And what happens to the one left behind?

Kyland is a story of desperation and hope, loss and sacrifice, pain and forgiveness, but ultimately, a story of deep and unending love.


I received this book in my July subscription of The Bookworm Box. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to think because it's about a hillbilly and honestly, not the first thing you think of when you think amazing romance novel. Yet Mia Sheridan gives you just that- an amazing romance novel with hillbillies. I can't even say I ever thought that was possible. 

Immediately, I was hooked. The story starts off with Tenleigh, a 17 year old girl in the mountains of Kentucky who just keeps her head down, tries to do well in school so she can win a scholarship and get the hell out as soon as possible. At home she lives with her older sister who has sworn off relationships and their mama, who clearly has a slew of mental health disorders that leaves her unable to care for herself, let alone her daughters. She believes one of the richer men in town (who owns the mine, which is the main job for folks) really loves her and is going to come for her. Her daughters know better, their mama is just a good time for this guy and it's embarrassing as hell. But they are legit poor yet they do what they can every day. 

They aren't as poor as Kyland though. Kyland lost his father and brother in a tragic mine accident and everyone believes he lives with his mother who isn't able to leave the house. We learn better though, but Kyland is really poor. He also is trying to win the scholarship to get the hell out of Dennville, Kentucky and he needs no distractions. 

Until a fateful encounter with Tenleigh at the store she works in basically has them crossing paths. Almost immediately, through their determination to do better and get out, but also through all of the things they have in common, they form a bond which Tenleigh clings to and Kyland doesn't want. He doesn't want anything to hold  him to Dennville, no matter what. 

I want to talk about what happens with the scholarship, Kyland's family life, the choices each one of them make without talking to the other and how the story ends. I want to, so badly, but I can't because it will absolutely ruin it all for you. And this book? At only 263 pages is easily one of the best romance novels I have ever read. It's not cheesy. It's sweet, it's sad, it's endearing, and it's selfless. I absolutely loved it, finished this book in a day. I could not put it down because I just so badly wanted both of them to get out of the hell they were born into. Absolutely loved it. 

You can find this book on Barnes & Noble as well as Amazon. Excuse me while I dig for a credit card to buy everything by Mia Sheridan because I am obsessed with her books after this one. Happy reading, lambs! 

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I think the cover alone might make we want to read this book! 😊 I'm trying to read more fiction these days so I'll see if I can get this from the library!

Shann Eva said...

Wow. I never would have guessed a book with this cover and description would be that good. It's on my reading list now because of your review. Thanks :)

Kim {Hope Whispers} said...

So Im just gonna add this to my list. Im not that big of a romance reader. Or I wasn't anyways. Not sure how that happened but Im loving it :)