The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton (TLC Book Tours) and GIVEAWAY!

Do you ever really know your grandparents?  Sara Jenkins has been ashamed of her grandmother and her eccentric ways since she was a teenager. She moved out of her hometown of Sweet Bay Alabama to New Orleans to start a new life with her very own shop, Bits and Pieces.  It isn’t until her Grandmother passes away unexpectedly that Sara goes back to Sweet Bay to bury her grandmother and find out what Mags wanted done with her old ramshackle B&B.  The Hideaway isn’t like other B&Bs, it’s a large ramshackle Victorian home on the Bay that has seen better days.  It seems to collect eccentric folks who come to stay . . . forever and never leave.  It turns out it was Mags’s last wish that Sara fix up The Hideaway.  Along the way, Sara finds out more about her Grandmother and her own family history.  Will she be able to find herself and love along the way?

Half of the book is told from Mags points of view from when she was a jilted wife who first happened upon The Hideaway to finding true love and disappointments along the way.  I really loved her story although it was a sad one.  Mags had a great spirit and discovered what she really wanted out of life and how conforming to everyone’s wishes is not always the best way.

I really enjoyed this book.  I loved the alternating view points from Sara in contemporary times to Mags in the 1960’s and beyond. They each had their own unique voice and prospective.  They also each had a strong story.  Often in books with alternating viewpoints I grown to love one narrative over another.  In the Hideaway both Sara and Mags had a strong story and they perfectly complemented one another.

I enjoyed that the story really had Sara discover just who her grandmother was and learn to think of her as an adult that did a lot of good in life, not just an embarrassing old lady.  I’ve always loved to hang out with my grandparents and hear their stories, but I do know that a lot of people just make fun of the elderly until they are older and realize that they’ve missed their chance to really get to know their family.

I also love old homes and fixing them up so I enjoyed that aspect of the book as well.  I wish I could go to The Hideaway!

My favorite quotes:

“Truth be told, I think she’s a stronger woman now because of who I turned out to be.  If I’d remained under my parents’ thumbs, always worrying about how others perceived me, I would have been a wispy shadow of a real woman.  And I have to think that somehow my refusal to bow to the norms helped shape Sara – even if she hasn’t consciously realized it.”

“We stood there, two statues full of emotion, neither able to make the first move.”

“And I found that people who love old houses tended to be trustworthy.”

“I, on the other hand, took her for exactly who she was on the surface, never bothering to consider that a full, rich life had been waiting just underneath.”

“But life doesn’t always work out the way it’s supposed to, does it?”

Overall, The Hideaway as a truly enjoyable book about really learning to love and cherish your family, learning how to start again when life deals you blows, and learning to love and appreciate life.  It’s a great summer read!

Book Source:  Review Copy as part of TLC Book Tours.  For more information and a look at the other tour locations check out this link at:  http://tlcbooktours.com/2017/02/lauren-k-denton-author-of-the-hideaway-on-tour-aprilmay-2017/

 Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a copy of The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton. If you would like to win this book, please leave a comment on what interests you about this book.

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a Monte Carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to addresses in the United States and Canada.

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday May 12th!

Please make sure to check the week of May 15th to see if you are a winner. I send emails to the winner, but lately I've been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.

Good luck!