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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
A "real" book I checked out from the library! I love, love, love Debbie Macomber books and this first book in her new series did not disappoint. I know what to expect from her, and she delivers yet again. Good "women's fiction" as I like to call it, set in the same place as her Cedar Cove series, but this time, we have an inn and its new proprietor, Jo Marie Rose. The book explains how she comes to be in Cedar Cove, and we meet her first two guests, and their stories. I like the new premise, and I always enjoy her writing. Reading her books are like a pair of cozy pajamas to me :)
What a sweet, easy, heartwarming story. I can't wait to read the rest of this series!
Neste primeiro volume deparamo-nos com Jo Marie. Esta vive envolta em memórias, alguma tristeza, fechada no seu mundo.
Jo Marie está presa às memórias do seu marido, incerta da sua morte no Afeganistão.
Em Cedar Cove vive os seus dias ao ritmo das memórias e na pacatez da pequena vila. No entanto Jo conserva uma réstia de esperança de que ele esteja vivo.
E o que Jo não sabe é que será aqui o seu lugar para sarar, para novos começos, o seu, e de outros, “porto” de abrigo.
Jo Marie está presa às memórias do seu marido, incerta da sua morte no Afeganistão.
Em Cedar Cove vive os seus dias ao ritmo das memórias e na pacatez da pequena vila. No entanto Jo conserva uma réstia de esperança de que ele esteja vivo.
E o que Jo não sabe é que será aqui o seu lugar para sarar, para novos começos, o seu, e de outros, “porto” de abrigo.
Years ago, Abby Kincaid was driving a car with her friend Angela. There was a crash; Angela died; and Abby has never forgiven herself. Now, years later, she’s back in Cedar Cove, Washington to attend the wedding of her brother. She’s terrified to be back, convinced that the entire community still holds over her head the death of her friend. After all, the dead girl’s parent still hold her responsible.
Abby isn’t the only resident returning reluctantly to the small community. Josh Weaver has come home, too. He’s here to settle the affairs of a dying stepfather, a man who years earlier had accused him of stealing money and had never forgiven him. The old man is crotchety and hateful by every measure, and somehow Josh must soldier on and deal with the old man’s final days.
Both Abby and Josh have come to a newly opened bed and breakfast, The Inn At Rose Harbor. It’s new proprietor is Jo Marie, who is herself carrying a burden—a burden of grief resulting from the death of her beloved husband, Paul, in Afghanistan. She has moved to the community and opened the inn she purchased with life insurance money hoping to make a fresh start and feeling that her late husband would approve of what she’s doing.
And so begins this series set at the new inn. Abby must learn how to forgive herself; Josh must learn how to forgive an old man who neither seeks his forgiveness nor accepts Josh’s overtures.
I can accept the predictability of this book. It’s as formulaic a romance as the genre gets—love glooms tentatively, meets obstacles, nearly dissipates, but somehow conquers all odds. Ok, maybe that’s a bit cynical, but it’s pretty close. I can deal with that. But I really struggled with one aspect of the book. One of the characters is Michelle, a woman who has been caring for Josh’s hateful bitter stepfather. She and Josh had attended school together when she was the heavier-than-all-the-other-girls-in-class overlooked teenager. Upon his return to Cedar Cove, Josh meets a significantly changed Michelle. She is slim and entirely unrecognizable. But it is she who skillfully builds bridges between Josh and the old man. It is she who quietly orchestrates miracles, and it is she who gives and gets Josh’s love at some point. Bringing tears to your eyes yet? The not-so-hidden message seems to be that you have to starve yourself into a size 2 before you’re lovable. What if a more accepting more mature Josh had discovered her much as she was back then and still recognized in her those traits that the more clueless teenager hadn’t seen? Maybe I’m being a bit hypersensitive on this, but I’m nonplussed by the idea that it is always the girl who has to physically change before she can be an object of love. I’d like to hope I’m misreading these characters. That message seems out of character for this author, although I don’t know quite why I think that.
The 30 thousand-foot picture is this is a book about healing and forgiveness and the reality of ongoing life beyond the grave, if you will. It is a story tenderly told, and references made to eternity are proffered by a talented writer without apology, and that makes it worth the read. I just had that one major hiccup with the book that negatively tainted the rest of it for me.
Abby isn’t the only resident returning reluctantly to the small community. Josh Weaver has come home, too. He’s here to settle the affairs of a dying stepfather, a man who years earlier had accused him of stealing money and had never forgiven him. The old man is crotchety and hateful by every measure, and somehow Josh must soldier on and deal with the old man’s final days.
Both Abby and Josh have come to a newly opened bed and breakfast, The Inn At Rose Harbor. It’s new proprietor is Jo Marie, who is herself carrying a burden—a burden of grief resulting from the death of her beloved husband, Paul, in Afghanistan. She has moved to the community and opened the inn she purchased with life insurance money hoping to make a fresh start and feeling that her late husband would approve of what she’s doing.
And so begins this series set at the new inn. Abby must learn how to forgive herself; Josh must learn how to forgive an old man who neither seeks his forgiveness nor accepts Josh’s overtures.
I can accept the predictability of this book. It’s as formulaic a romance as the genre gets—love glooms tentatively, meets obstacles, nearly dissipates, but somehow conquers all odds. Ok, maybe that’s a bit cynical, but it’s pretty close. I can deal with that. But I really struggled with one aspect of the book. One of the characters is Michelle, a woman who has been caring for Josh’s hateful bitter stepfather. She and Josh had attended school together when she was the heavier-than-all-the-other-girls-in-class overlooked teenager. Upon his return to Cedar Cove, Josh meets a significantly changed Michelle. She is slim and entirely unrecognizable. But it is she who skillfully builds bridges between Josh and the old man. It is she who quietly orchestrates miracles, and it is she who gives and gets Josh’s love at some point. Bringing tears to your eyes yet? The not-so-hidden message seems to be that you have to starve yourself into a size 2 before you’re lovable. What if a more accepting more mature Josh had discovered her much as she was back then and still recognized in her those traits that the more clueless teenager hadn’t seen? Maybe I’m being a bit hypersensitive on this, but I’m nonplussed by the idea that it is always the girl who has to physically change before she can be an object of love. I’d like to hope I’m misreading these characters. That message seems out of character for this author, although I don’t know quite why I think that.
The 30 thousand-foot picture is this is a book about healing and forgiveness and the reality of ongoing life beyond the grave, if you will. It is a story tenderly told, and references made to eternity are proffered by a talented writer without apology, and that makes it worth the read. I just had that one major hiccup with the book that negatively tainted the rest of it for me.
Sweet Stories in the Pacific Northwest. Some of the details were a bit redundant, much like a Danielle Steel Novel. I enjoyed it nonetheless and will continue to read the series
Not a horrible story, just not my style. No post-apocalyptic drama, futuristic teens dealing with emotional robots, zombies, or vampires. And there were far too many descriptions of food. Seriously.
Really liked this book and that Debbie set it in Ceder Cove. I can't wait to meet the next set of guest at the inn.
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent