‘When great love is lost forever, what does it take to find the courage to move on?
When Jill met Jay Greenfield she knew she had found her forever love. She was a kindergarten teacher, he was a high-powered attorney and their lives were perfect. But when a tragic accident takes Jay’s life, this young bride is left to pick up the pieces.
Jill finds herself a young widow facing multiple decisions she thought she had a lifetime to decide. With support from her childhood best friends, Lanie and Stella, Jill attempts to piece her life back together. With nightmares plaguing her dreams and the struggles of constant grief over Jay’s passing, Stella and Lanie keep near constant vigilance over her.
In the process of settling the estate, Jill learns that her husband was not quite the man she thought he was. She finds herself transported to the small beach town of Oak Island, North Carolina. But the fairy tale ending she envisioned no longer exists. She must face the reality that Jay is gone as she finds herself having a chance at love one more time.
Safe & Sound follows a yearlong journey of love, loss, friendship, and conquering the unexpected.’
- Published by Advantage Media Group
- Category: Contemporary Fiction
I was given a copy of this book in return for an honest review
An emotional, but by no means mushy or maudlin, story which pulled me in straight away. Following Jill’s journey as she works through the trauma of losing her husband so early in their marriage is heartbreaking. Although Jill has her two best friends, Lanie and Stella, to help and support her she understandably struggles to get back to some sort of normality.
After coping with scattering Jay’s ashes and going through the house packing up his things I could only feel empathy for what Jill is going through. She is a realistic and likeable character and it’s easy to relate to her. I love the friendship aspect of the story and how it’s explored in-depth, showing how close the three women are, always there to offer help, strength and support to one another. So many emotions are delved into, grief, love, loss, laughter and anger but it’s also about hope and faith and no matter how dark the day there’s always something to be grateful for even if it’s hard to see or appreciate at the time.
And when the time eventually comes for Jill to settle Jay’s affairs and his estate an unexpected surprise gives her a welcome feeling of hope and peace. A heartwarming and fascinating story and a situation that could relate to anyone.
Great writing and characterisation, all the characters come across as true to life and the intricacies of human behaviour and experiences, good and bad, were handled sensitively. I liked the sense that this is a journey of discovery too. The tragedy has changed Jill’s take on life in subtle ways and she’s emerged a stronger, more resilient person who can open her heart to love again.
T.S. Krupa was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Raised in a Polish household with a blended American culture, she is fluent in Polish. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Franklin Pierce University,where she also played field hockey. She earned her Master’s from Texas Tech University and plans to graduate with her Doctor of Education from North Carolina State University in 2014. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and her dog. Safe & Sound is her first novel.
You can connect with T S Krupa on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and her website
betweenthelinesbookblog.com 
Hallo, Hallo! 🙂
How wonderful to find another reader of “Safe & Sound” on the very day I posted my own review! Thank you for following my blog! I completely agree with you on how the tragic loss of Jay has transformed Jill into an empowered widow who can take the world by storm! She grew quite a heap through the difficulties surrounding his tragic death (Krupa knitted in quite a hard-hitting sub-plot!) and its how she emerged out the outside which staid with me the most! Including seeing how she was honoured by giving her the breath of grief she needed to feel, and to walk through. Jill to me was a living character with such a strong human condition that your empathy for her enveloped you as the story moved forward.
The only qualm I had was in the Epilogue, did you read it!? I was struck by the curious differences in tone; from how Jill was presented at the end of “Safe & Sound” to how she could have been reflected in the last Chapter withheld from publication (its on the author’s site).
I was so caught up in talking about Jill, I had forgotten to lay a mention about how much I appreciated the small towne beachy vibe of its setting!
Jorie’s Review of Safe & Sound
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Hello 🙂 Just been over to read your review, it’s excellent. I didn’t know about the epilogue and have just been to read that too. I see what you mean, it didn’t quite ‘sound’ like the Jill at the end of the book.
You know, I didn’t mention about the setting either and the description is just the type of place I love.
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Hallo Ms. Cathy,
Thank you for the lovely feedback on behalf of my review! 🙂 I am so hopeful more readers will pick up “Safe & Sound” and find what we did inside! I think the reason we both missed out on mentioning the setting is because the journey Jill goes through is such an incredible one! Your mind is distracted away from the calm serenity of where the story takes place by focusing on the character’s struggle to overcome her loss.
Quite powerful and stirring! 🙂
I was thankful to read you had the same reaction I did to the unpublished final chapter! Perhaps it was one path Jill could have taken!? Maybe not as fully healed as the Jill you and I know!?
The other bit though, I must confess, I celebrated because you know you why that is truly a wicked wink at the end! 🙂
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I think you’re right, it’s definitely very powerful and it must be quite difficult to get into the mindset of someone bereaved in that way and to make it moving without being over sentimentalised.
I think I’ll stick with the Jill at the end of the book 🙂
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That is exactly what I decided to do, because I felt as though she truly did transition out of her grief into the light of a new day! She became more than a widow whose heart was hinged tight to her deceased husband. His love is what set her free and it was love which repaired her broken heart. The internal message is knitted closely to love and hope and how each of them are important to our healing processes as much as our pursuit of happiness.
I sided with the Jill at the end of the novel whilst adding in the bit I cherished knowing in the last Chapter. Oh, its hard not to spoilt it for the readers! Laughs.
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You nailed it! Exactly. Love is the healer and the hope giver.
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PS Thanks so much for the shout out on Twitter 🙂
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Ooh, of course!
I am always most happy to share blog posts which resonate with me &/or have turnt into a joyous discussion about books or bookish culture! Inbound new tweet by the way!
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