Barbara Linn ProbstReseñas

I don’t know about you, but to get me into the holiday spirit I typically start searching for books that are centered around MCs finding themselves and rediscovering what truly makes them happy.
This book checks all those boxes for a great holiday read. You are shipped away to the gorgeous country of Iceland, following the attractive widowed Cathryn when she meets Mack who has her begin to feel alive again.
Beautiful written and vivid imagery, check this one out now!

This book is the second one I have read by this author. It is my favorite. There is a lyrical type of style that comes off reading this book. That I really enjoyed.

The emotional connection with Cathryn was strong. Although, I have to admit that in the beginning, I did struggle a bit to form this connection with her. Yet, as the story progressed as I got to know more about Cathryn, I felt for her. The struggle she was experiencing between staying or leaving was felt through the pages of the story.

When it came to Mack, I instantly warmed up to him. Despite the fact that he had a past that was making him guarded. Thus, because of this I think is the reason that Mack was drawn to wanting to help Cathryn.

Cathryn has been asked to travel to Iceland to photograph a very talented glass blower. She decides to turn this trip into a much needed vacation. But, as we all know, life throws us curve balls.

I loved Cathryn from the start. She has been just existing in her life for a while. So, she has decided to do for her and this vacation is sort of a life changing decision. Then she meets Mack, the glass blower, and sparks do not fly. Their connection smolders and slowly grows into an undeniable bond.

Now, at first, I was not a big fan of Mack. I found him borderline rude. But, his gruffness grew in me. And his talent is something else! I loved learning about the glass blowing process. I figured this would be a boring part of the book. But, this author is powerful in her descriptions.

This was very close to a 5 star read for me. The plot is just a little thin. But my word, the scenery and the prose! It just keeps you coming back for more! I fell for Iceland and much as I did this story. It is now in my bucket list!

Need a good love story about resilience and strength with a fabulous setting…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the author for a honest review.

It was Iceland’s fault. She never would have let herself fall into this kind of spell in America.
from The Color of Ice by Barbara Linn Probst

Cathryn was in control. After the accidental death of her philandering husband, she had to be. She walked away from the art photography she was working on for a career as a photographer for hire. She raised her two children. Sometimes she had a fling, but no love affairs.

Her new assignment was to interview and photograph a glass blower who was in Iceland preparing for his new series. She decided she would stay on after the interview and take a rare holiday. See the sights.

Things change after meeting Mac. Mac is maddeningly distant, maddingly attractive to Cathryn. She finds excuses to return to his borrowed workroom, watching him create his series inspired by the blue glaciers of Iceland,, and then helping out, then shown how to work with the glass herself. Sometimes, it seems Mac likes her, but he shuts down inexplicitly. He has his secrets.

But so does Cathryn. She has tamped down all the anger and sorrow for years; it would be a luxury she can’t afford. But surrounded by Iceland’s otherworldly, stark beauty and engaging in a lustful fling with Max, Cathryn finds she likes this freer self. When the kids call with problems, she offers her support but lets them solve the problems themselves. She is evolving. And so is Max, who finally tells his story.

Art and the creative process is central to Max and Cathryn’s lives. Max’s work to create his iceberg glass series is described in detail. Cathryn doesn’t like being a mere helper in Max’s process and wonders if she could return to creative photography again. She makes hard decisions, for the first time considering personal fulfillment over safety. The ‘Snow Queen,’ as her daughter calls her, is melting.

The novel is filled with descriptions of Iceland’s most beautiful vistas, ice tunnels, hot mud pots, and blue ice glaciers.

“If I’ve learned anything over the years,” Max says, “it’s that you need to let an experience transform inside you before you can translate it into an object.” That applies to all creative processes–including recreating oneself. Cathryn takes what she has learned in Iceland and blossoms into a healthier version of herself.

She liked who she was in Iceland. She didn’t want to stop being that person.
from The Color of Ice by Barbara Linn Probst

Cathryn’s growth makes her a better person, a better mother, and allows her to embrace her art.

Probst once again offers an inspiring novel about a woman’s personal growth and the role of art in a fulfilling life.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

The Color of Ice is Barbara Linn Probst's third award winning novel. It hasn't won any awards yet but I am positive that there will be awards for this book in the future. From a personal view, her first two books were in my top 10 during the years they were published and this one will definitely be in my top 10 for 2022. All three of her novels are centered around the arts -- The Sound between the Notes (see my review here) was about music, Queen of the Owls (see my review here) was about painting and The Color of Ice is about glassblowing and photography. All of her books are beautiful written with sentences and phrases that are beautiful.

Cathryn is a free lance photographer who has accepted a job to take pictures of an artist who is trying to capture the blue icebergs of Iceland in glass. Her children are finally grown and she's decided to take a vacation and tour Iceland after the photo shoot is over. She is so intrigued with Mack and the freedom that she sees him working in, that she decides to cancel her tour of the country and stay with him as he creates his art. His freedom and enthusiasm awaken the artistic feelings that she's buried since the death of her husband. Her years have been spent making her career a success as she raised her two children. Even though her life is waiting for her in America, she realizes that she wants to become an artist again instead of just a photographer and it was Mack who awakened this need. Finally she has to make decisions that will be difficult no matter what she decides until a startling discovery forces her to decide what direction she needs to follow in her life to find happiness and fulfillment.

This book was emotional and beautiful and thought provoking. As someone who has always enjoyed the arts but has no artistic talent at all, I was intrigued by the journey that Cathryn had taken over the years and her total happiness when she enthusiastically decided to return to her art. Plus, I've always been interested in the art of glass blowing and this book shared many of the secrets of the craft. As always, the author has done extensive research and it is apparent throughout the story. Once again, the author brings her readers a book about a woman searching for happiness and fulfillment who is able to achieve her dreams through her art.

Susannah has given up her musical career to have her son. Her son is now 16 years old and she is ready to get back to her obsession. But, as you can guess, it is not as easy as one would think. Susannah has lost her magic. And to top it all off…she has been diagnosed with a hereditary disease in her hands. It is progressive and life changing.

I enjoyed the pace of this book. It moves quickly and does not slow down for one second. I think that is because Susannah is such a wonderful character. Life has thrown her some curve balls and she is determined to find out who she is and where she belongs!

Need a book about strength and resilience…this is it! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the author for a honest opinion.

This book is my first introduction to this author. I did like this book and would read another book by the author. The overall story was lovely. It spoke of choices and how those choices had consequences and the value of family.

I did feel connected towards Susannah and her circumstances. As someone who is adopted, I could easily understand Susannah's feelings when she found out she was given away to be adopted. I have loving parents that I am grateful that they did adopt me. Unlike Susannah, I have never felt the need or desire to want to seek out my real birth mother.

Susannah's story is actually a sad one. Thus when she finally rises above the past and focuses on her future and her own family; there is a moment of happiness. While, I did like this story and was really into it for some reason at the half way point I lost some of my excitement about it. The latter half seemed to feel like it was moving at a slower pace. Overall, though I did find this book to be a nice read.

Schubert knew he was dying when he wrote his B-flat major sonata. The piece was going to be Susannah's reentry into her lapsed career as a concert pianist. Her early gift had been set aside when she became a wife and mother. Now it was time to put music a priority in her life. Especially as there was a chance of being on a CD of composers who had died young.

But Susannah's little finger was not as responsive as it should be and a doctor delivered the horrible news: she had Dupuytren's contracture, and no one could predict how quickly it would progress or how severe it would become. There was no cure, and few treatments available.

Susannah would not to listen to the doctors, or her husband, and merely wait and see what developed. She would do everything to make her comeback a success and to prevent another sidelining of her career. Misha Dichter had overcome Dupuytren's. So would she.

I loved how the story is filled with music, composers, and the stories of the challenges they faced. I remember hearing some in concert, like Alicia de Larrocha and Vladamir Horowitz. The author is a serious amateur pianist and understands what she is writing about, and it shows. Susannah's search for just the right piano with the right touch struck home; I always had a challenge when I played a piano not my own.

When Susannah met her future husband Aaron he bonded with her father over Thomas Kuhn. I loved this reference! I had read Kuhn's book Structure of Scientific Revolutions in a Poly Sci class in my early college career.

Now, Susannah's father is losing his memory and will need to find Assisted Living soon. With her dad, preparing for her upcoming concert, her teenage son going his own way, and her husband trusting her to take care of all the domestic duties she had always been responsible for, the stress is building.

Aaron was the logical thinker, the scientist. Susannah was the creative one, the one who could speak through music. They had always relied on each other's strengths to balance. Now, by not listening to her husband's advice, a wedge had appeared between them. She had broken the unspoken contract; would their marriage survive it?

The Sound Between the Notes has great depth into human nature and family connections, including Susannah's feelings and relationships with her adoptive parents and biological family. The climax is dramatic and the resolution satisfying. Readers of women's fiction will enjoy this novel. Many of us will recognize the challenges of how changing marital roles require a paradigm shift that some couples overcome and others can not.

I previous read the author's novel The Queen of the Owls.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

t's difficult to describe this book beyond saying that it was one of the most beautifully written novels that I've read in a long time. I don't know anything about music or piano but I feel like the words in this novel were like the notes in a piece of music - each word and note carefully put together to create a work of art.

Also, I did gain some appreciation for classical music because after finishing this book, I listened to many of the pieces of music that were mentioned. I have long avoided classical music and after listening to the pieces mentioned in this book - I have no idea why I've avoided it -- it was beautiful.

Susannah quit her career as a pianist 16 years earlier when her son was born. She knew that she couldn't handle the difficult programs and contests and give her son the love and time that she felt he needed. She was an adoptee who was consumed with finding her birth family even though she had wonderful parents who adopted her as a baby. Still she felt that she'd been thrown away by her birth family and she wanted to make sure that her son never had the same feelings

Suddenly, she has the chance to audition for a charity function which would vault her back to a prestigious status. But she feels like she's lost some of the magic that she used to possess and strives to find it again. She finds out that she a a degenerative hereditary disease that makes her fingers cramp and is obsessed in finding a treatment. Will she be successful at her music while she tries to balance the needs of her husband and son?

This second book by Barbara Linn Propst shows again how fantastically she writes strong women characters who are successful in navigating the problems in their lives.

This beautiful debut novel by Barbara Linn Propst is a look at a woman in transition in her life. Does she want to continue her life like it is or can she make changes and find happiness? The main character is so well written that her flaws and indecisions are apparent as well as her love for life. She is a complex but very real character and it's fascinating to watch her transition through the novel.

I absolutely loved this novel and watching the main character as she makes changes and takes risks that affect her life using Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings and life as a road map. This is a wonderful book for lovers of the artist but more importantly a book that every woman should read about finding her true self - not only as a wife, mother, sister, friend but, most importantly, finding the true person at her center.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.