Blood & Water
“Delilah is leaving her cheating boyfriend and she has nowhere to go except the home of her brother, whom she hasn’t seen since their mother’s funeral five years before. David is a single father trying to manage his teenage daughter, and he’s not exactly pleased when his wayward sister shows up. From the opening of this absorbing novel, as Delilah nurses a black eye and ransacks her apartment, trying to decide what she can’t leave behind, I was fully along for the ride. The widening ensemble of characters each have their own voice, their own journey to define family and home. Blood & Water is Katie O’ Rourke’s most compelling and heartfelt novel to date, a story about family—past and present, predetermined and chosen—and the deep veins that keep them connected.” –Mary Vensel White, author of The Qualities of Wood
“In what is becoming her signature style, Katie explores interwoven relationships with kindness and insight. As always, a pleasure to read; I enjoyed this well written gem. ” -Cass McMain, author of Gringo
“This is the first novel I have read by Katie O’Rourke, and I’ll be sure Blood & Water is not the last… Blood & Water is an emotionally engaging story and one I would recommend for women’s fiction readers.” -Samantha March for Readers’ Favorite
2015 KINDLE SCOUT WINNER, Finding Charlie
“Well written and accomplished as I’d expect from Katie O’Rourke. There’s so much simple truth in here and its so accessible to the reader. If you liked Monsoon Season then you’ll like this one too. Family orientated drama with a dark thoughtful edge. If you have ever been through a family crisis you won’t fail to be touched by this. Looking forward to the next one.” –Kevin Keely, A Fistful of Salt
“Finding Charlie is about the ties that bind – the ties that bind until they chafe and more. Inter-family dynamics are explored as well as themes of independence, forgiveness, accountability, and love.” -Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson, Muddy Rose Reviews
“Very well-written book. Beautiful prose and wonderful use of figurative language, yet simultaneously simple, realistic dialogue that made it so easy to read I couldn’t put it down. In a unique form of storytelling, the characters’ individual struggles are all tackled one way or another, giving the reader a multi-dimensional picture.” –Holly Pepe. Lesson Plans
“What happens when a woman has children because that is what is expected of her? This is a richly layered story exploring each character’s feelings of entrapment, and abandonment. The challenge to forgive is handled realistically a nd sensitively – there is no hint of mawkish indulgence; there are no floods of tears with promises of ‘letting the past be the past’, and, ‘they lived happily ever after’. Each character is compelling and likeable. This is an intelligent tale of complex, family dynamics; it is easy to read and hard to put down.” -Jacquiline Christensen
A Long Thaw
“A big-hearted and deep-thinking novel about two young women navigating the peaks and valleys of love while relying on their friendship and family bond to keep them balanced along the way.” –Mary Vensel White, The Qualities of Wood
“O’Rourke’s prose has a definite talent for drawing me into the story from the first page; the world of her fiction comes to life with impressive clarity and her characters are immediately interesting.” (read more) -Casee Marie, Literary Inklings
“This broken family sets out to make things right, because life goes on, and as long as life goes on, there will be more chances to get it right.” (read more) -April Wood, A Well Read Woman
“Moving, honest, thought-provoking and highly recommended.” -Alice Adams
“This is the second book I’ve read by Katie O’Rourke, and it reminded me a lot of her first novel, Monsoon Season. Both books are compulsively readable, and more complex than you expect.” (read more) – The Book Stop
“I enjoyed the growth that all of the characters experienced and connected well with their individual personalities. I cannot wait to read more by Katie O’Rourke.” (read more) -Heathe McCain, Undercover Blonde
“This is a story of growing up, of learning to accept the hand we were dealt, and a story of redemption and the power of family bonds. Beautifully written and engaging, I can’t imagine anyone not getting lost in these pages.” (read more) -Ionia Martin, Readful Things
“In this book, as in real life, there is always more to every story, and O’Rourke reminds us that things aren’t always what they seem to be. Sometimes decisions have unintended consequences that change the course of your life.
” (read more) – Authors to Watch
Best-selling debut, Monsoon Season
“Katie O’Rourke’s debut novel reads in a wonderfully unique way; her lyrical prose and the unstructured path of her story make Monsoon Season a refreshing journey through the art of literature.” (read more) -Casee Marie, Literary Inklings
“Part coming-of-age, part love story, part family drama, it is peopled with vivid characters and tells a story that pulls at the heart and engages the mind. This is what it’s like to love someone, to make a mistake, to start over.” (read more) -Mary Vensel White, The Qualities of Wood
“Monsoon Season is a perfect example of how literary fiction can be gripping and compelling, and would be more popular outside of book club circles if more of it was written like this. Riley is one of the most well-defined characters I’ve come across. I think Katie O’Rourke is destined to become a household name. –John Breeden II, Old Number Seven
“Reading the first chapter immediately put me in mind of the likes of Margaret Atwood and Alice Sebold. This is literary fiction with real emotional strength.” -Malcolm Richards, The Hiding House
“This is really well-crafted. Beautifully told – no overwriting, no strangled metaphors, not a cliché in sight. I really enjoyed reading it.” -Sandie Zand, The Sky is Not Blue
“I like a book that makes me think, and this one did.” – The Book Stop
“There’s so much about this novel that was spectacular. It’s a book that stays with you, and changes you just a little bit. This is another one of those books I wish I would have read as part of a book club. I’d definitely recommend this to just about any reader over age 18.” (read more) – Authors to Watch