Blog Tour: Hiding Cracked Glass by James J. Cudney (@jamescudney4 @Shalini_G26 #DigitalReadsBlogTours)

Hi Blisses,

I’m here for another blog tour hosted by Shalini from Digital Reads Blog Tours. I’m featuring another book by James J. Cudney, Hiding Cracked Glass. It’s the sequel of a book I recently reviewed and one that I really liked.

TITLE: Hiding Cracked Glass
BY: James J. Cudney
SERIES: Perceptions of Glass #2
GENRE: Mystery, Fiction, Family Drama
PUBLICATION: October 8th 2020 by Next Chapter

BLURB

An ominous blackmail letter appears at an inopportune moment. The recipient’s name is accidentally blurred out upon arrival. Which member of the Glass family is the ruthless missive meant for?
In the powerful sequel to Watching Glass Shatter, Olivia is the first to read the nasty threat and assumes it’s meant for her. When the mysterious letter falls into the wrong hands and is read aloud, it throws the entire Glass family into an inescapable trajectory of self-question. Across the span of eight hours, Olivia and her sons contemplate whether to confess their hidden secrets or find a way to bury them forever. Some failed to learn an important lesson last time. Will they determine how to save themselves before it’s too late?
Each chapter’s focus alternates between the various family members and introduces several new and familiar faces with a vested interest in the outcome. As each hour ticks by, the remaining siblings and their mother gradually reveal what’s happened to them in the preceding months, and when the blackmailer makes an appearance at Olivia’s birthday party, the truth brilliantly comes to light.
Although everyone seemed to embrace the healing process at the end of Watching Glass Shatter, there were hidden cracks in the Glass family that couldn’t be mended. Their lives are about to shatter into pieces once again, but this time, the stakes are even higher. Someone wants to teach them a permanent lesson and refuses to stop until success is achieved. 

REVIEW

I read and reviewed Watching Glass Shatter few days ago and in my review, I gushed about how amazing the author’s writing is and how I enjoyed the book despite it having a trope that I’m not a fan of. That said, I was excited to read the sequel. I’m happy to say that I was right to be excited because Hiding Cracked Glass is even better than book 1.

First of all, let me just point out how witty the titles are. Titling is one of the things the author is really good at. His other series has the wittiest titles as well.

So the book…Hiding Cracked Glass takes place eight months after Ben Glass died and the events of book 1. Olivia is back from Italy and is ready to be the best matriarch to the Glass family but new conflicts arose when a mysterious letter arrives and the recipient’s name is accidentally erased. I loved the tension that arose once it’s known that someone wants to harm the family. In book 1, lots of secrets of the family were revealed but it turns out, the Glass family are still hiding something from one another.

I think the plot is brilliant and really clever. It’s layered and it’s like the drama is unending. And the way things unfold, slowly unfold, as I read is a very enjoyable ride. I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it even more is because I loved the characters so much. I’m still very invested in each one of them because I just read book 1. I’m still very familiar with their personalities which I loved, including their flaws. The author really created such realistic characters. They feel so human to me and that is why it is so easy to get invested in their stories and care for them. It is also very apparent that they all went through some development. In book 1, I said I have no favorite but in this one I think Olivia really stood out. She’s one incredible, unforgettable character.

Once again, I liked how and where the story went. The mystery kept me invested till the end. I liked that we get to know more about the side characters in book 1. The resolution is very realistic as well. The thing about this series is I always have an idea on how it will end but just like in book 1, I was wrong. LOL. And then after reading I realized that it makes sense that the story went that way.

Finally, the writing style changed a bit too. Compared to book 1, Hiding Cracked Glass has more parts that are almost lyrical. It’s obvious right from the very start. This kind of writing is not common in this genre so I love it. 🙂

RATING: 4.5 blissful pages with lilies

This is indeed a powerful sequel and it will be a shame not to be read by many. Also, it is of course better to read book 1 BUT if you have an amazing comprehension ability (LOL) I think you can read this without reading book 1. Olivia basically summarized book 1 in chapter 1. Still I highly recommend reading book 1. It’s a very enjoyable read.

LINKS

Amazon Link:

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54399989-hiding-cracked-glass

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James is my given name, but most folks call me Jay. I live in New York City, grew up on Long Island, and graduated from Moravian College, an historic but small liberal arts school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a degree in English literature and minors in Education, Business and Spanish. After college, I accepted a technical writing position for a telecommunications company during Y2K and spent the last ~20 years building a career in technology & business operations in the retail, sports, media and entertainment industries. Throughout those years, I wrote some short stories, poems and various beginnings to the “Great American Novel,” but I was so focused on my career in technology and business that writing became a hobby. In 2016, I refocused some of my energies toward reinvigorating a second career in reading, writing and publishing.

Websites & Blog

Website: https://jamesjcudney.com/
Blog: https://thisismytruthnow.com
Amazon: http://bit.ly/JJCIVBooks
Next Chapter Pub: https://www.nextchapter.pub/authors/james-j-cudney
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/james-j-cudney

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamescudney
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesJCudneyIVAuthor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BraxtonCampusMysteries/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThisIsMyTruthNow/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jamescudney4/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamescudney4/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jamescudney4
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescudney4

BLOG TOUR HOSTED BY:

Have you read this book? Or planning to? What do you think of it? Let’s chat.