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winecellarlibrary 's review for:
High Hopes
by Sue Lilley
This review is also available on my blog: Wine Cellar Library
I tend to gravitate toward fiction where the main characters are forced to confront certain difficult topics while emotions run high. When I read the official review for this book on Online Book Club, I was immediately drawn to it.
Grace has come to Penrowan to finally come clean with a secret that she has kept hidden for two decades: she has a daughter—whom she quietly gave up for adoption—by her best friend Sam. Sam is married to Dixie, and he was dating Dixie at the time of his tryst with Grace. Dixie has always harbored jealousy of Grace, even though the two women are friends, so this news is sure to destroy everyone involved.
The thing is, when she arrives, she cannot muster the courage to divulge her secret right away. Each time she has an opening, she changes the subject. Her openings are becoming fewer as the days leading up to the birthday party that Sam and Dixie are hosting for Grace draw nearer.
In the midst of everything, Grace gravitates toward Sam and Dixie's 25-year-old gardener. Although he is almost two decades younger than everyone else, he is often the voice of reason, rescuing all of the older adults from themselves. He is the most loveable character by far. As for the other characters, you will have a love-hate relationship with them. Their overreactive emotions can be irksome, but with secrets of this magnitude, I really wouldn't expect anything else.
This story is not a romance, despite how it has been marketed. It would be better classified as women's fiction. There are a few quick, steamy scenes, but the theme is not one of romance.
The author chose to break up the chapters into many sections, with each section being given from a different character's point of view. Sometimes, the breaks in chapters and sections seemed to have no rhyme or reason in their placement. Aside from this, the story was well-constructed, though the conclusion could have been a little more developed; the ending felt a bit rushed after how much time was spent building up to it.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read with memorable characters.
I would like to thank Online Book Club and Book Sirens for introducing me to this author. I received a free Kindle ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I tend to gravitate toward fiction where the main characters are forced to confront certain difficult topics while emotions run high. When I read the official review for this book on Online Book Club, I was immediately drawn to it.
Grace has come to Penrowan to finally come clean with a secret that she has kept hidden for two decades: she has a daughter—whom she quietly gave up for adoption—by her best friend Sam. Sam is married to Dixie, and he was dating Dixie at the time of his tryst with Grace. Dixie has always harbored jealousy of Grace, even though the two women are friends, so this news is sure to destroy everyone involved.
The thing is, when she arrives, she cannot muster the courage to divulge her secret right away. Each time she has an opening, she changes the subject. Her openings are becoming fewer as the days leading up to the birthday party that Sam and Dixie are hosting for Grace draw nearer.
In the midst of everything, Grace gravitates toward Sam and Dixie's 25-year-old gardener. Although he is almost two decades younger than everyone else, he is often the voice of reason, rescuing all of the older adults from themselves. He is the most loveable character by far. As for the other characters, you will have a love-hate relationship with them. Their overreactive emotions can be irksome, but with secrets of this magnitude, I really wouldn't expect anything else.
This story is not a romance, despite how it has been marketed. It would be better classified as women's fiction. There are a few quick, steamy scenes, but the theme is not one of romance.
The author chose to break up the chapters into many sections, with each section being given from a different character's point of view. Sometimes, the breaks in chapters and sections seemed to have no rhyme or reason in their placement. Aside from this, the story was well-constructed, though the conclusion could have been a little more developed; the ending felt a bit rushed after how much time was spent building up to it.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read with memorable characters.
I would like to thank Online Book Club and Book Sirens for introducing me to this author. I received a free Kindle ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.