Official Review: Trampled Underfoot:The Dirt on Vic and Lia

MrsCatInTheHat · Post by **MrsCatInTheHat** » 09 Jun 2016, 08:44

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Trampled Underfoot:The Dirt on Vic and Lia" by Elizabeth Good.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Elizabeth Good’s Trampled Underfoot: The Dirt on Vic and Lia is rife with conflict. Conflict arises in love, marriage, family relationships and decision-making. The conflict all has one underlying them: religious strife. Trampled Underfoot is contemporary fiction, taking place in the mid-1970s to early 1980s in a blue-collar beach community on the Jersey shore.

Trampled Underfoot is told in third party form, with the focus on the protagonist, Lia. As the story begins, Lia is a young woman, married, pregnant and newly married to Vic. Lia is a devout Jehovah’s Witness and believes her husband has been converted as well. Some of Lia’s family adheres to the same religion as Lia, while others are distraught that some of the family has converted to the Jehovah’s Witness faith. Lia’s faith is the root of conflict that influences every facet of her life. Lia wants to remain faithful to her faith but at the same time do what she feels in her heart is right; often, those two things are in conflict with each other.

As life goes on, a baby is born and a father is often absent. Lia loves her husband and tries to find ways to show her love but at the same time has a need to know the real deal. She is often surprised as things are not always as expected. The people who are there for her are not always the people that Lia things will be there to help and sustain her.

By far, the way Good demonstrated the conflicts between religion and relationships is my favorite part of the book. One is really drawn into the relationships in Trampled Underfoot. Relationships are heavy hearted throughout the story, as we watch Vic’s inability to remain faithful, with spurts of hope that he can be who Lia wants him to be. Relationships between mother and daughter and between sisters bow to discord as the Jehovah’s Witnesses have expectations for behavior, from the mundane to things of a more serious nature. Lia’s mom and one sister put more stock in the concern of elders over the needs of the family. There is a great deal distress in the conflict of family versus faith. Medical concerns become weighty issues due to the dictations of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. There is little that I did not like in Trampled Underfoot, except perhaps wanting to know more about what happens to a couple of the key players in the end. The author kept me captivated throughout the story, making me want to know what decisions Lia will make as she resolves her conflicts. It is important to note that this is not a work of Christian fiction as it does include steamy explicit sexual situations. If you are looking for something clean and faith based, this is not it.

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Trampled Underfoot:The Dirt on Vic and Lia
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Elizabeth Good · Post by **Elizabeth Good** » 14 Jun 2016, 18:08

Thank you, CatInTheHat, for a very lovely review of Trampled Underfoot. I truly appreciate your interest and honest opinion of my hard work which was, for me, as enjoyable to write this follow-up story as you say it was for you to read it.
Thank you again, and thank you to onlinebookclub for the opportunity.

Post by **Annelore Trujillo** » 14 Jun 2016, 23:48

Thank you for pointing out that there are some steamy scenes in the book. I wish everyone did that in reviews! I don't always like reading books with those scenes, so it's nice to know they will be there before I come across it in the book.

Elizabeth Good · Post by **Elizabeth Good** » 15 Jun 2016, 05:38

Hi there,
Actually, there are only two explicit scenes in Trampled Underfoot.
(Just clearing that up

Regards,
Elizabeth

MrsCatInTheHat · Post by **MrsCatInTheHat** » 17 Jun 2016, 16:23

Elizabeth Good wrote:Hi there,
Actually, there are only two explicit scenes in Trampled Underfoot.
(Just clearing that up
Regards,
Elizabeth

Elizabeth,

I do understand that the book wasn't full of steamy scenes. I just didn't want someone to pick it up that doesn't like that, especially if they were really looking for something in the Christian fiction genre.

Cathie

Elizabeth Good · Post by **Elizabeth Good** » 17 Jun 2016, 16:56

Cathie, And it was the perfect and right thing for you to do by steering readers clearly; My book is definitely NOT typical Christian fiction!
Thank you again
Elizabeth

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 27 Jun 2016, 15:16

Wonderful review! I can definitely get the sense of what this book is about. I particularly liked how you mentioned the relationship aspects of the book. I feel that these are so important to a story.

Congratulations to the author for receiving such a glowing review!

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 01 Jul 2016, 08:26

I love the plot. It's not just interesting, I think it's also relatable, 'Lia wants to remain faithful to her faith but at the same time do what she feels in her heart is right'. I hope I get the chance to read it. Great job on the review. Congratulations to Elizabeth Good on such an obviously well written book.

Elizabeth Good · Post by **Elizabeth Good** » 02 Jul 2016, 06:56

kimmyschemy06 wrote:I love the plot. It's not just interesting, I think it's also relatable, 'Lia wants to remain faithful to her faith but at the same time do what she feels in her heart is right'. I hope I get the chance to read it. Great job on the review. Congratulations to Elizabeth Good on such an obviously well written book.

Thank you, Kimmy.
My book reads very quickly and it's non-stop family drama with twists you won't see coming. I hope you enjoy it!
Best,
Elizabeth

MrsCatInTheHat · Post by **MrsCatInTheHat** » 03 Jul 2016, 10:55

Elizabeth Good wrote:
Thank you, Kimmy.
My book reads very quickly and it's non-stop family drama with twists you won't see coming. I hope you enjoy it!
Best,
Elizabeth

I loved the twists! Part of what made it a great story was that it wasn't predictable.