Acquired Book By: I was offered to receive T.S. Krupa’s sophomore release novel “On the Edge” in exchange for an honest review. I participated in the Cover Reveal for “On the Edge” last year [May 2015] and my review was meant to follow shortly thereafter on the blog tour. Unfortunately, for me I was struck down by a nasty cold virus and I simply never could re-attach myself into the story until now. I decided to anchour my review for this novel to Ms Krupa’s third release “The Ten Year Reunion“.
I received a complimentary ARC copy of the novel “On the Edge” direct from the author T.S. Krupa. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
My keen interest in reading On the Edge:
When it comes to military families and extreme sports, I love seeing how a story can interconnect the two or focus on one of them at a time. I volunteered with Soldiers Angels in 2011 sending care packages, letters and cards to our deployed servicemen and women – learning first-hand the difficulties between those who are serving our country far away from their families and how everyone left behind on the home front is trying to make the best of a hard situation. There were startling revelations about military life – from both sides – and I am thankful I had the time I did to give a bit of postal joy to those who were never expecting to receive anything at all.
I have a soft spot for military dramas – the longest running tv serial for Military Drama is NCIS, as it’s the actual spin-off of my beloved (i.e. teenage favourite series) JAG! Anyone whose following me on Twitter will have seen my re-tweets for the cast as Tony took his curtain call (aka Michael Weatherly) as well as my joy in seeing how his story ended. It was such a bittersweet and uplifting conclusion to a character’s journey, there was not one dry eye watching it unfold! I, of course, watch the other spins as well: NCIS: LA and NCIS: NOLA with equal admiration. Concurrent to this, one of my favourite Hallmark Channel Holiday movies is “The Christmas Card” where an Army serviceman takes leave and discovers a new kind of life he never imagined he could achieve for himself.
Threading through the Butternut Lake series by Mary McNear is a military connection but also, in other stories I am picking up as well. One of the most beloved readings of Historical Fiction are the war dramas which tug at my heart and bring me to such a level of emotional conviction it’s quite hard to leave the characters once the story concludes! Hence why I am thankful the Bess Crawford mysteries are on-going rather than a mere one-off! Similarly, why I am happily entrenched inside the Charton Minster series by Margaret James – where she not only deals with the war era but after the initial three stories, the sequences shift forward revealling even more of the breadth of what she knitted into the series!
And, when it comes to extreme sports, I’m a bonefide fan of the “X-Games” inasmuch as the Winter Olympics were snowboarders & skiers defy gravity making my heart lurch out of my chest! There is something about the rush of adrenaline in combination with the skill set it takes to carve powder and accomplish a trick up in the air where heaven and earth hang in the balance awaiting your return to the ground.
Finding all these lovely elements were being explored through an emotional Contemporary Rom drama as a sophomore release by a beloved author of mine felt like a good fit as a next read! My only regret is the time difference between receiving this novel and when I was actually able to attach my heart to reading it. Sometimes the tides of life can take us away from the stories we are seeking to read, but blessedly, a new time can emerge to renew our interest – granting us the reprieve we needed all along to find out what was awaiting us in the chapters of the novel’s heart!
*Most recently I mentioned this absence from stories and a return to them, on my review of The Little Paris BookShop.
My Connection to the Author:
Although we only tweeted a few times and exchanged preliminary emails to have a special showcase of her novel Safe & Sound featured on Jorie Loves A Story, I feel as though I have had the pleasure of getting to know her a bit better in the process! And, by extension her publicist Ms. Caitlin O’Brient Bauer (of Royal Social Media). As you will see as you retreat back to the Author Interview & Live Author Q&A threads of conversation, you will find Ms Krupa to be warm, engaging, and inspiring! I am blessed twice over for our paths to have crossed and I have my Jorie Loves A Story Twitter account to thank for bringing us together! I have been blessed to continue to work with her on her future book releases, as she is an author I love to read compelling and inspiring Contemporary Rom. I came to appreciate both of them as they give book bloggers their time and grace.
In the time since I hosted Ms Krupa last year until now [May 2016], our paths have separated a bit as I wasn’t able to return too frequently to #ChickLitChat (which ended up moving strictly to Facebook) nor interact as much as I had hoped to with her via the twitterverse. I lost touch for quite a long while to be honest, and when her beautiful note arrived into my Inbox about her third release, I felt truly blessed our paths had crossed at the publication of her debut novel. She’s definitely an author I consider a blessing to have known and I look forward to following her literary career.
I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with her ahead of reading her début novel. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time. This is also true when I follow-up with them on future releases and celebrate the book birthdays that come after their initial publication.
On the Edge
by T.S. Krupa
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Hafsah Faizal
Source: Author via Royal Social Media Blog Tours
Andy Parker is a war widow raising her fifteen-year-old daughter on her own. Hayden Grace dreams of becoming a professional snowboarder, and Andy is doing everything she can to make that happen. When Hayden Grace’s passion begins to falter, Andy is at a loss for how to re-inspire her daughter.
Andy does her best balancing Hayden Grace’s competition schedule, practice, and school with her own work schedule at home, in the city, and on the mountain. But work starts to demand more from Andy. Then, Andy receives an opportunity of a lifetime. An opportunity that will turn their lives upside down. But is it too good to be true?
Soon, mother and daughter find themselves in Aspen for Hayden Grace’s first national competition when a chance encounter brings Andy into a passionate, unexpected romance, a romance that could change everything. Will Andy be able to find the happiness she deserves?
Places to find the book:
Also by this author: Safe & Sound, On the Edge : Cover Reveal, The Ten Year Reunion
Published by TS Krupa LLC
on 9th June, 2015
Format: Paperback ARC
Pages: 318
Cover Art Designer: Hafsah Faizal of Icey Designs
Published by: BookBaby (ebook edition) | TS Krupa LLC (paperback edition)
Genre(s): Women’s Fiction | Xtreme Sports (X-Games) | Military Families
Contemporary Romance | Realistic Fiction
Converse via Twitter: #OnTheEdge
Read an Excerpt from the Novel:
That evening, after Hayden Grace finally went to bed, I lay in bed constantly repeating the evening’s conversation and events in my head. Unable to sleep, an idea started to form, and I crept up into the attic. Being an old house, the attic had a full set of stairs that were hidden behind a closet door in the hallway. They creaked loudly as I ascended; at the top stair I fumbled for the light switch. Once the lights flickered on it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim and crowded attic space. It had only been a short while since I had been up here, but everything remained the same—dust and cobwebs collected on the boxes and old furniture that was arranged in the far corner.
Various holiday decorations were stacked closest to the door as those were the most frequently used items stored up here. Some of Hayden Grace’s toys from her childhood poked out of boxes which were piled next to a wide array of dated snowboard and ski equipment. I scanned the attic for a hunter green footlocker and eventually located it towards the back of the attic next to a clothing rack that was covered in plastic to protect the garments that hung on it. I could hear the pitter patter of paws and the jingle of Molly’s collar behind me as she made her way up the stairs.
She sniffed around at all the boxes as I dragged the footlocker out into the open space.
It was a large, vintage metal footlocker and in black paint on the lid was scrawled, CPT STEFAN PARKER. I sighed and sank down next to the solid case. I ran my hand across the dusty lid which caused me to cough slightly. Molly made her way over and smelled the trunk before whining slightly and lying down next to me—she remembered too. It had been six years, but it still felt like yesterday. It was a day that will always be etched into my memory. It was a warm Saturday in April, and thankfully, Hayden Grace was at her friend’s house for a sleepover; she was nine. I was home alone with a then two-year-old Molly, attempting to make carrot cake cupcakes for Easter the next day. Molly started barking and pacing at the front door before the doorbell even rang. I remember rushing to wash my hands, not wanting whoever was there to wait. The second I opened the door and saw their faces, I knew. The notifying officer and chaplain introduced themselves and escorted me to the sofa. They spoke a lot about honor, service and country—I don’t remember the details, but I do remember when the officer reached over and put his hand on my arm and said ‘he died saving a life’.
‘Of course, he did,’ I remember mumbling; it was so Stefan.
I thought it was painful learning that my husband had died while serving his country, but nothing compared to telling Hayden Grace the next day. By the time she had arrived back at the house from the sleepover my parents and younger sister, Jennifer, who was still in high school, had already driven up from Maryland where they were living at the time. My brother Drew was getting ready to graduate from law school and was in the middle of preparing for exams so he wouldn’t be able to make it for another day or two. My dad was close to retiring after spending thirty-five years in the army. Out of everyone there that day he understood more than any of us did; he never said a word to me. Instead he just gave me a big hug and held me while I cried. He later told me that a day like that was a day he dreaded the most for my mom, sister, brother and me—he thought about it every single day of his time in the service. I had called and asked Stefan’s parents to come over, but they preferred to stay at home and grieve.
When Hayden Grace entered the house she was a normal nine-year old girl worried about braces and obsessed with Hannah Montana—it broke my heart that I was about to change that. I asked her to take her things to her room and then to come sit with me on the back porch. She fussed a little that she wanted to see Grams and Grandpa but finally agreed. We sat in silence for ten minutes before I worked up the courage to speak. When I finally told her that her daddy had been hurt while he was away and wouldn’t be coming back, she cried. At first she wouldn’t let me hug her and instead ran to the corner of the porch with such anger in her eyes. When she finally sunk to her knees shaking, I went over and engulfed her into a hug, and she wouldn’t let go for hours. It wasn’t until she finally fell asleep, still hugging my neck, that I was able to put her down.
With a reluctant sigh I opened the footlocker. It now carried mostly sentimental items and memorabilia of Stefan, most of which I was saving for Hayden Grace. I had long ago given away his clothes and many personal effects to his parents and brothers and sisters. He was just as much a part of their lives as he was ours. I rifled through the items when I came across several letters. They were labeled ‘16’, ‘18’, ‘21’,
‘Wedding Day’ and ‘The Big Win’. I had hidden them in the footlocker knowing Hayden Grace never ventured into the attic. She had a very practical fear of everything that involved the dark, cobwebs, spiders and ‘creepy’ things as she once told me. I set the envelope labeled ‘The Big Win’ to the side and put the rest of the envelopes back as they each awaited a specific time in Hayden Grace’s life. Stefan had written letters to Hayden Grace before his first deployment in case something ever happened. He gave them to me to keep safe and made me promise to
wait for each occasion.
After his second tour I thought I would be able to throw them all away as he would be around to tell her in person, but then he got called for a third tour and he never came home. Next, I came across a letter I knew all too familiarly. It was all creased from being unfolded and refolded a million times. I recalled finally having to put the letter up in storage because I was reading it every night, and instead of trying to live in the present, I was reliving the past. Slowly unfolding the letter I hesitated a moment but then realized it didn’t matter because I had long memorized each line; thankfully it no longer evoked the same torrent of emotion that it once had on me.
Dear Andrea,
If you are reading this letter, I’m so sorry. It was never supposed to end this way but we both understood the sacrifices it might take. Words cannot express how much my life with you has meant to me. You brought me meaning, hope and love. Then you gave me the greatest gift of all, the gift of being a dad. My life with you and Hayden Grace has been the greatest joy in life.
I can only imagine how hard this will be on both of you. I know you are strong and can live through the pain – I always told you that you were the tougher Parker. But Hayden Grace is so young; I fear this might break her tender spirit. Please let her know that she was and always will be my little girl, and I am and always will be so
very proud of her.
There is nothing more I have to say that we haven’t already said or vowed to each other. Know that I loved you more than my own life, and you now deserve the love and happiness of someone that truly understands you for you.
Look for me in the stars as always. I will be there looking down on both of you.
Love,
Stefan
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I carefully folder the letter back up. Flashes of memories from our wedding flooded my thoughts. The sadness that crept through me was different than the sadness that I felt six years ago; this sadness was bearable. I now knew life would go on and that he was true to his word because I had already felt him among the stars. Next in the trunk was a piece of college ruled paper labeled ‘Rules’.
This one brought a smile to my face although it often made Hayden Grace very grumpy. It was a list of rules for both of us, but mostly for Hayden Grace in his absence. It hung on the refrigerator during his last tour and stayed there for nearly two years after his death. It wasn’t until Hayden Grace finally asked me to take it down that we moved it.
Again, even though I had this list memorized, I couldn’t help but read through it.
Hayden Grace:
Rule 1 – No dating until you’re 18.
Rule 2 – No cell phones in your room at night, no passwords we don’t know.
Rule 3 – No boys in your room.
Rule 4 – No staying home alone until you’re 16.
Rule 5 – When you drive, both hands on the wheel at all times.
Rule 6 – School is important – As and Bs are expected.
Rule 7 – Chores are a must – mow the lawn, clean the house, do the laundry – you get the idea.
Rule 8 – Don’t fight with your mother. (She said that is not realistic) Talk to your mother. There is no room for secrets and don’t bottle things up inside.
Rule 9 – Remember to say please, thank you and you’re welcome. Show respect to those around you.
Rule 10 – Love unconditionally no matter who comes into your life (this one is REALLY important).
Andy:
Rule 1 – Take a deep breath, have patience.
Rule 2 – Don’t forget to ask for help, you don’t have to do this alone.
Rule 3 – Find happiness every day.
Rule 3 was much harder than Stefan could believe, but I was slowly working on it, I thought to myself as I put the ‘Rules’ back in the trunk. Scanning the trunk, I finally spotted the corner of the small plastic bag of patches I was looking for and gave it a big tug, causing a small avalanche of items. When the slight cloud of dust settled, I examined the baggie. They were patches that had either been on Stefan’s uniforms or extras waiting to be added. I grabbed two patches and set them to the side with the letter.
I took a couple of extra minutes to sort through the rest of the items before finally closing the lid and pushing it back into place. After gathering the few items off of the ground, Molly and I finally made our way back downstairs.
Once downstairs I quietly crept into Hayden Grace’s room in search of her snowboarding jacket. Stopping only momentarily to check on her eye and other minor injuries and assessing that she was fine, I continued my search. Finding the white and black jacket on the ground by her closet door covered by another winter jacket and at least three pairs of various colored jeans, I crept back out of the room, trying not to wake her. Sitting on the sofa while a late night talk show buzzed in the background, I slowly stitched the two patches into the inside lining of her jacket.
Finished, I held it up to view my handiwork. The first patch was one that was in the traditional digital camouflage fabric—a rectangle with black stitching that read ‘PARKER’ and the second was the United States flag. Of everything that was on his uniforms, these were the ones I thought Hayden Grace would remember the most. Proud of both my idea and my handiwork, I finally headed to bed only to find Molly had already beaten me there.
Mum and teen are arriving at an intersection in their relationship:
A widow from war deposits Andy in the uncharted territory of seeking out a relationship with a bloke of whom she hadn’t even yet considered would be there for her in the long term. Her mind and her heart are still deeply attached to her husband, Stefan and of whom he would have been had he lived. Her mind is betwixt moving forward with Gregg her beau and sorting out the rougher unknowns of how to make amends with her teenage daughter who refuses to acknowledge her presence.
Krupa gives a resonating sense of awareness to her readers, as she underwrites drama with a proper sense of place, emotion, and setting. She has found a way to envelope you in the height of an emotional scene without having to overwrite the obvious whilst giving her characters the benefit of what they are feeling and how those feelings are translating to the reader. When I pick up a novel by Krupa, I know I am going to soak inside a world lit with adversity but with a propensity for finding the strength to carry-on when life throws you a curveball you were blindsided by. In this, Women’s Fiction has a strong voice for convicting narratives and strong female characters who do not back down, but still own the fact they do not always feel as confident in their abilities as they would hope to have embraced.
Krupa highlights the fragilities of ordinary lives, knitting into the recess of space between where we tell ourselves we’re alright and the shadows of doubt which illuminate the state of our mind.
My Review of On the Edge:
Eerily Hayden Grace has a ghost living with her and her Mum, although neither mother nor daughter are willing to acknowledge this when we first meet-up with them in On the Edge. To be honest, I am not even sure if Andy realises she’s turnt her husband into a living ghost rather than a living memory of a father Hayden Grace lost as a 9 year old child. His direction of presence is shrouded around everything Andy does, from how she approaches child-rearing to where she rests her head on the pillow as she slumbers. She’s a widow who longs to have her dearly beloved with her but in some ways, the echoes of her lost love are remindful of how much she hasn’t allowed herself to ‘let go’ and live forward past his death.
Krupa has defined this family with such precision, you feel as if you simply walked in the front door alongside them, without anyone suspecting you were not meant to be there! You can truly see the etchings of anguish on both Mum and daughter – but also, a true willingness not to let their sorrow overstep their ability to survive. This is felt and seen in the small gestures of motherly kindness, where Andy tries to continue to reach through the barrier Hayden Grace is well apt at providing except for when her Mum tells her about the stars on an evening where solace was needed most. There is a beautiful double-meaning in this scene, where Krupa captures the human heart’s desire to keep a connection alive even if one side is disrupted; she finds ways to regather the pieces of what was once a loving bond between a parent and child. There is a quickening of emotion but also, periods of reflective pausing for both Hayden Grace and Andy are attempting to figure out what they each want out of life and how they want to go about reaching their innermost desires.
Stefan (Andy’s husband, Hayden Grace’s father) had a special resolve inside him to put his affairs in order long before he ever felt it was necessary to do so. His forthright approach allowed him the time he needed to write letters to his daughter well in advance of her life-changing growing-up years, including a particular epic moment for a snowboarder and her defining moment when she finds the one she wishes to marry. Stefan like his Army Dad, knew the risks involved and knew the living reality of what can happen when the greatest sacrifice is the one where you do not always get to be there for the ones you love and hold most dear. I can only imagine the shattering of normalcy and the incredible weight of the sorrow that comes with such a loss; as although I’ve loved and lost my own family over the years, none of them died as tragically as a deployed serviceman.
Andy is a natural at skiing the backcountry on her home mountain; the elation of joy seeing her swish and swirl her way through the snow was quite lovely, as you were graced by seeing her in her natural element outside of her daily stresses. Andy put a lot on hold when her husband died – but I was thankful one of the things she kept up was her love of skiing. You can take a lot of adverse hits in your life, but if you never allow yourself any fraction of joy, you nearly become withered before your time. Krupa tapped into the rush of what being in the backcountry means for those who are experts whilst giving those of us who’ve never been to the backcountry a strong impression of what we’d find there.
I liked seeing there was an interesting ‘twist’ to whom Andy was skiing with in the backcountry as she instantly won props from her daughter for having been able to keep up with someone who was as infamous as her backcountry companions! It was smartly set-up, too, as you would not have truly connected the dots until lateron – the blessing there is that Krupa managed to slice through the orb of celebrity and prove that even if someone is famous for a particular occupation or sport, doesn’t mean they are not humble or approachable in person. A clever life lesson to interweave for readers but also for Hayden Grace who was still spinning with the thoughts of how her Mum couldn’t have known the company she was keeping. I spilt a few laughs over that, as it is entirely plausible you might not realise who your hanging out with if you hadn’t known them well enough to recognise!
The most enjoyable part of reading this story is being so very caught up inside the chapters – your tagging along with a teen whose passion for sport has taken her further than she dared believe possible whilst at the same time, she’s sorting through her past emotions in order to simply live and breathe a bit outside of where her memories would tempt her to doubt her confidence. Krupa pulls back the layers of Andy and Hayden Grace – she puts them through measures of growth but also, helps them identity singular moments of unexpected joy arriving in ordinary hours – and that’s the best part of all!
I loved the action sequences of competition (brought back happy memories as I was a competitive swimmer) against the backdrop of sorting out relationships, re-building a stronger mother-daughter bond and finding that family above friends are the people who strengthen you when your down. Krupa paints a healthy portrait of a family in transition – both Mum and daughter are finding their own path and aligning together at the same time! It’s a lovely story to become wrapped up inside and simply take part in seeing how their choosing to change their lives whilst never quite willing to give up on love, hope and happiness.
Definitely a wicked good contribution to Contemporary Women’s Fiction, as it has a strong female lead whose championing single motherhood against the tests of career and the challenges of raising an independent daughter driven to excel in her sport of choice. A story I think would appeal to most readers, as I know I am not the only girl who gets a fit of giddiness about the X-Games and the Winter Olympics – those stunts and the incredible strength of the athletes is what leaves me pinned to my tv!
Smashingly eager for Krupa’s first non-fiction release:
Right after I concluded my readings of The Ten Year Reunion, I was in touch with Ms Krupa about using a few graphics for the blog tour when she revealled she has an upcoming non-fiction debut Chasing Perfection tentatively scheduled to be released June 2016! I was quite curious about this release as I was wondering if Krupa might dip between fiction and non-fiction worlds; her entire writerly career has been landmark and inspiring as she’s one of the Indie Writers who is carving out her career by following her passion whilst re-defining how to succeed in a very traditional field. I applaud her efforts and other authors I am following who are taking this innovative path towards creating their stories and launching their bibliographies as there is something to be said for being in control of your own intellectual and creative properties.
The publishing house for The Ten Year Reunion will also become the one for On the Edge as they transition and set-up their company – it’s a tag team effort between Ms Krupa and her husband, which has formed Avalon Haddam Press!
I would be quite keenly interested in knowing which part of her life she’s attaching to Chasing Perfection especially if she focused it on her career, University studies or how she pursued her passions before she stepped into her author and professional endeavours. It could approach her story from different angles and of course, she might have picked someone else entirely to focus on as well! I hadn’t confirmed who was at the center of the story, I simply presumed it was a feather out of her own life’s tapestry!
This book review is courtesy of: Royal Social Media Book Tours
{ follow the convo on Twitter: #OnTheEdge }
courtesy of T.S. Krupa and:
Information about her debut novel from 2014:
Published By: Advantage Media Group, 1 January, 2014
Author Connections: Site | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads
Converse via: #SafeandSound
Genres: Fiction | Women’s Fiction | Contemporary Romance | Life Shift
Available Formats: Softcover and E-Book
Page Count: 312 | Add to Riffle | Public Library
Visit my ruminative thoughts to find out what I thought about Safe & Sound!
I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary! Especially if you read the book or were thinking you might be inclined to read it. I appreciate hearing different points of view especially amongst bloggers who picked up the same story to read.
.@TS_Krupa definitely knows how write strong #WomensFiction & coming-of age after tragedy! Click To Tweet
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{SOURCES: Author photograph of T.S. Krupa, author biography, excerpt from the novel, book cover art for “Safe and Sound” and “On the Edge” as well as the “On the Edge” book synopsis, and the banners for the Cover Reveal itself were provided by Royal Social Media and used with permission. Tweets were able to be embedded by the codes provided by Twitter. Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission. Comment Box Banner & Stories Sailing Into View Banner made by Jorie in Canva.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2016.
I’m a social reader | I tweet as I read | Share if inspired:
I’m currently reading On the Edge on @riffle. Have you read it? http://t.co/jRMSDC8hAs
— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) June 27, 2015
#currentlyreading #OnTheEdge by @TS_Krupa #womensfiction novel where Mum & teen are at an intersection in their relationship; snowboarder
— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) June 27, 2015
#nowreading#OnTheEdge war widow attempts to move forward; whilst holding onto past. teen tries to fly free w/o Mum ready. #womensfiction
— Jorie Loves A Story (@JLovesAStory) June 29, 2015
#reading | #WomensFiction#OntheEdge by @TS_Krupa
Krupa highlights fragilities of ordinary lives & how to cope with life's adversities
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) May 24, 2016
#reading | #WomensFiction | @TS_Krupa
Teen #snowboader & a widowed Mum are #OnTheEdge of recovering their renewed thirst for life & love
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) May 24, 2016
.@caitlinobauer#BookReview of #OnTheEdge#WomensFiction by @TS_Krupa
Mum & Daughter storyhttps://t.co/1mWXApadyR pic.twitter.com/ZXroOSsJw3
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) May 26, 2016
Comments via Twitter:
.@TS_Krupa I wanted it to be a bit of a surprise who Andy ends up w/ in #OnTheEdge; let's just say I was wicked happy & would <3 a sequel :)
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) May 26, 2016
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