Synopsis

Tessa Cordelia appears to have it all—a loving husband who’s just opened a dental practice, a beautiful baby girl, a big house in the suburbs, and a large, supportive family. But when her husband’s reckless choices resurrect a trauma from her childhood, she must decide which is more costly: keeping his secrets or revealing them. He manipulates Tessa into believing his career and their happiness depend on her silence. She feels like she’s losing her mind. Is her husband’s habit so awful?

In many ways, he’s an ideal husband; should she let him have this one thing? Determined to maintain the lie that she’s living the perfect life, Tess lies to everyone she knows—except for CeCe, a woman new to the area whom she’s just befriended. But after confiding in her, Tessa learns that CeCe has an explosive secret of her own, and her world is further upended.

A gripping, nuanced exploration of the havoc addiction can wreak on a family, A Week of Warm Weather is the story of a woman who has to figure out how much she is willing to lose in order to find herself.

Praise

“Lee Bukowski’s debut novel is a page turner that depicts an unflinching portrayal of a marriage through the eyes of addiction. The characters are relatable and the story shows it’s impossible to know what goes on behind closed doors in any family, even one that looks perfect from the outside. A Week of Warm Weather is an engrossing, heartbreaking, and probing novel.”  —Leslie A. Rasmussen, award-winning author of After Happily Ever After 

“As I drilled into A Week of Warm Weather, I wondered if love could be that blind? In this emotional page-turner, Bukowski transports us into the downward-spiraling life of a young mother struggling to face her husband’s addiction and her own abandonment. The true-to-life cast of characters and harrowing storyline kept me in my chair, grinding my teeth, until this heartbreaking family saga reached its conclusion. An engaging, gripping, and thought-provoking debut to be sure.” —Valerie Taylor, international award-winning author of What’s Not Said and What’s Not True

Review

This story tells the tale of Tessa’s struggles with her husband’s addiction and trying to make it work for many years before realizing that she has to take care of herself and her children first and if he wants to beat this he has to put in the work.

Tessa is dealing with a lot and it doesn’t help that her biological mother left them when they were young due to alcohol addiction. She didn’t understand it at the time but she is getting a dose of addiction and the behaviors of those affected by her husband, Ken. He has all of the traits you associate with an addict – lying, secretive, blaming others (especially Tessa) when things don’t go right, and violent at times. I have never been around an addict but my heart went out to Tessa and everything she was dealing with on her own. What is worse is that she hasn’t told anyone and has no support system.

I was amazed that she put up with everything for as long as she did, for three years. I think the final straw was when he missed their anniversary trip that he planned. But I gave her kudos for going alone. I think it was exactly what she needed to put everything in perspective.

There are a few other curve balls that are thrown her way, but when she is finally able to get the support she needs from family and friends it really makes a difference in her life.

This could be anyone’s story, even people we might know. I felt like the story was a true and fair representation of what life would be like with an addict and it opened my eyes to a life that I was not familiar with at this time.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Born and raised in a large family in eastern Pennsylvania, Lee Bukowski has always had an interest in reading, writing, and storytelling. She holds a BA in English and Secondary Education from Millersville University and taught seventh grade English and writing for fifteen years. In 2017, she obtained an MFA in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. Currently, she teaches writing at the college level and freelances as a proofreader and editor. When she’s not teaching or writing, she loves reading and traveling, especially visiting her grown daughters in Boston and Fort Lauderdale. Lee lives with her husband in Reading, PA. A Week of Warm Weather is her debut novel.

Website * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter