Laura Drake

True to the times

More my mother's time than mine (I was 10 when Kennedy was assassinated), but I sure remember the culture and mores of the time. This is a well-written, optimistic view of the time. I feel like I stepped into my childhood.
I loved it.

A Special book

Catherine Ryan Hyde has an amazing way of talking about subjects in her books that no one else does. Things that others gloss over, so they may seem like small things, but after reading her books, you know they're the only things that matter.

That's why she's an autobuy author for me.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on this book before release. Loved everything about it. O'Neal's descriptions put you in the scene so well, I almost feel like I've been to the cities in the book. And the food descriptions - I can almost taste them!

But it's the characters that bring me back to her stories with every new release. The deep emotional connections. The two main characters in this one were SO different. A brash Olympic competitor trying to adapt to a body and mind that was shattered in a horrific tragedy. An empty-nest mom, recently flattened by a divorce she didn't see coming, that not only took her beloved home, it made her question everything she thought was true about the world, and her place in it.

So different, yet despite the age and life differences, they are so much alike. They have different things to learn, but they both need to learn to navigate these new lives they've been thrown into and somehow let go of the past to embrace a future that is a blank canvas.

Excellent book, told by a master story-teller.

very good

Enjoyed it - Hard to keep track of all the characters in the beginning. I'm going to buy the next!

Excellent!

Wow, what a trip! Twists and turns and ended up right where it should have.
Cronin is a master - pulls you into his imagination, and what a wonderful place it is.
I hated to leave it.
Highly recommend.

A delicious love story, but way more. As someone who fought weight all my life (and with a mother like the one in the book), it took me decades to give up on the weight-loss merry-go-round. I'm bigger, happier, healthy.

Thank you, Ms. Stout, for the great story, and I hope it will help others on the weight-loss road.

Highly recommend.

always great

So many twists - you see one coming, but there are 5 you didn't see. God, I love his books.

love every single book he writes

Like he said in his lessons - He loves to twist, then twist again. He thinks maybe he twists too much. Maybe, but I'll read a book of his written on used toilet paper.

Heartwarming

I enjoyed it, though it was clear from almost the beginning what was going to happen. Loved the England thread.

I wasn't ready for it to be over!

Such a luscious read, full of scents and tastes and feels. Strong emotion, so much like this beautiful life we've been given.

I love all Barbara's books, but this one may be my favorite.

Wow. Kimberly Brock has such a lyrical, beautiful voice - she created shimmering threads and wove them together into a gorgeous story. It reminds me of many things: ghost stories and The Great Gatsby, and fairy tales and epic Southern Fiction.

There are a lot of characters, and skips back and forth in time, but hang in with it - you'll be as entranced as I was!

Sparkling characters, humor, clever plot. The main character is 11, bright and adorable, as are her 4 siblings. I lived in Southern California for 30 years, so I loved revisiting the area, back when it was Eden. So cleverly written - from a child's perspective, but with commentary about the times back when June Cleaver was the ideal, and men ruled the roost.

A wonderful, refreshing book, written by a master storyteller.

So good. So hard to read.

Loved it - I have highlights all through it. Such great writing, great descriptions of deep, heartfelt emotions that drag you through the worst life has to offer.

And brings you through to the sunshine on the other side.

Such a great book.

not his best

Love every single one of his books. But this is my least favorite. I didn't relate to the main character at first. The twist at the end was too pat - unbelievable. And yes, still a 4 star. That's how great his writing is.

oh my gosh - I couldn't have imagined how good this was!

I'm not into vampire books, but when this came up on a Kindle Daily Deal, I figured I'd give it a shot. Turned out it was about a lot more than vampires. It was about Southern women, and women in general, and how far they'll go to protect what they love. Really well written and I highlighted a bunch of it.

You won't regret this one!

Maybe his best.

I haven't read all his books yet - it takes time, because I need months in between, to absorb and appreciate. His books are like life, demanding and hard, but if you're up to it - beautiful.

God, I'm spewing in public...Martin does that to me.

A good story. I love Southern Fiction, and this was a good one, filled with legends, local lore and family secrets.
My only negative was that it slowed in places, and I found myself skimming.
But overall, a good story.

Simply wonderful

I don't know how to describe ribs my feelings upon finishing. Horror and sadness, gratitude that I have enough to eat, shame for the opulent century around me, that only luck has given me. There but for the grace of God....

Still crying good tears

Have you ever read a news story about a parent who lost a child? I always wondered how they lived through it. In this book, Kat Brat taught me how.
Wrenching and beautifully emotional - these won't be my last book by this talented author!

I've been a fan of Barbara's since she was writing romance as Barbara O'Neal. I've loved them all, but this may be my favorite.

I've never been in one of those classic NY apartments, I've never been able to grow things, I've loved music all my life, but there has never been one note in me.

But that's okay, because I know what all that feels like from having read this book. The characters are so real, so true, so human, that I'm going to miss them. I wish I had never read it, so I could go back and read it again for the first time.

I've read a bunch of Martin's books, so I knew the ending way before it came (no spoilers).
Even so, I couldn't put this book down.
I'd like to see the movie, but I won't. Some books, like Tolkien's and Rowling's are too perfect in my head - I'd just end up disappointed. Instead, I have the memory of the wonderful book.
One of those books that you wish you could wipe the memory, so you could read it again for the first time.
Sigh.

Interesting premise, and a good story. But the read was slowed by tons of adverbs, and unnecessary description.

I've read most of CRH's books, but this one - this one is special.

I usually don't read WWII books, because it was such a dark time, and they're so sad. But I trusted this author, and I'm so glad I did. She put me IN that time and space. I've been to Manzanar, and roamed all the areas the story covers - they mean more to me now.

I flew through the book. The prose is wonderful, and I highlighted much of it. But it's the way she describes complex emotions of the characters - feelings we don't talk about out loud.

Do yourself a favor, and read this wonderful book.

This author continues to amaze with her novels that take me to places I've never been, to spend time with tough, caring, real-on-the page characters. She doesn't pull punches, but puts you into the brutal world of Swallow Hill. But it's more than a story of survival - it's a story of caring for each other in impossible circumstances...

Humanity.

It's a story of humanity.

And I loved it.

I'm on my way to read all his, but so far, this is his best. I love his true, heartfelt emotion and wonderful characters. And this one had a twist at the end that I didn't see coming. Martin is my new fave author.