The Lost Summers of Newport by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White

 

What type of books do you like to read on vacation?

The Lost Summers of Newport was the perfect vacation read for me.  It had an engaging plot with great characters that kept me enthralled.  Even my 11-year-old daughter kept asking me for updates on what was happening in my book. 

This novel is set at a mansion in Newport in three time periods:  1899, 1957, and 2019.  A mystery runs through all of the timelines.  Each timeline was a strong story and there were great cross connections.  I loved it!

In 2019, Andrea “Andie” Figuero is working on the reality show, Mansion Makeovers.  The show has traveled to Newport, Rhode Island, to focus on the lavish mansions that were built in the area during the gilded age.  The filming of the show does not go as planned with her boss constantly missing and not all of the family on board with the show.  When Andie starts digging into the house’s history, she discovers that there are many secrets that may be unearthed.

In 1957, Lucky Sprague grew up in Italy, but returned with her grandmother to Sprague Hall during World War II.  She married her handsome cousin Stu, but he has a wandering eye.  Will Lucky be able to find happiness?

In 1899, Ellen has escaped her past to teach music to young heiress, Maybelle Sprague at Sprague Hall.  Her brother wants Maybelle to catch a prince with her song.  As Ellen tries to keep the household together, she helps Maybelle to prepare for her big debut.  Will Maybelle marry her prince?  Will anyone find out about Ellen’s past?

I loved all three stories equally and really enjoyed the mysteries.  I love old homes and live in a National Historic Registry Home myself.  It was the home of a Wisconsin lumber baron and is pretty cool, but reading the size of the Newport Homes, my home pales in comparison.  I enjoyed the Mansion Makeovers show too, although I was on the side of Andie having a historical makeover of the home and not just a glitzy update.

This book is also perfect for fans of the great TV show, The Gilded Age, or of any of Edith Wharton’s novels.

Favorite Quote:

“That was the trouble with this family, wasn’t it?  Like Sprague Hall itself, you never knew what kind of rot lay behind the façade.”

Review Copy from William Morrow Books.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

On Folly Beach by Karen White

Title: On Folly Beach
Author: Karen White
Read by:  Lyssa Brown
Publisher: Listen & Live Audio

Length: 14 hours and 13 minutes
Source:  MP3 Audio through Wisconsin Public Library Consortium – Overdrive on my Droid

On Folly Beach is an intriguing novel that combines mystery, historical fiction, and contemporary fiction.  It is overall a novel of accepting what life has dealt you and learning how to move on.  I listened to it as an audiobook and vastly enjoyed it.  The story bounces back and forth between 2009 and 1943.

In 2009 Emmy Hamilton is a widow who has lost her husband to the war in Afghanistan.  Stuck in Indiana mourning her husband, her mother helps her to get interested in books from a store in North Carolina that has mysterious inscriptions in them.  Emmy buys the book store from a woman named Abigail and moves to Folly Beach.  Once there, she meets Abigail and her handsome architect son Heath.  She also meets Abigail mysterious aunt-in-aw, Lulu who happens to come with the store purchase.

In 1943, Lulu is a young girl that is being raised by her older sister Maggie after her parent’s death.  Their beautiful cousin Cat lives with them.  While Maggie always believes in the good in Cat, Lulu soon realizes that Cat is playing Maggie after she steals her love, Jim, and marries him herself.  Maggie meets someone new that she loves, Peter, but he has secrets of his own that could destroy them all.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book.  Lyssa Brown was a wonderful narrator.  The characters and plot were excellent and made me want to keep listening and learn more.  This is especially a great summer read!

Winner of Sea Change by Karen White

The lucky winner of Sea Change by Karen White is Tonya who left a comment on June 20th.  She has been notified via email.  Several past winners have not received their emails, so Tonya, if you haven't heard from me, please send me an email at laarlt78(at)hotmail(dot)com.

Tonya was chosen using random.org.  Thank-you to all that entered the giveaway and left great comments.  I loved Sea Change - it was a wonderful book.  I hope that you will be able to experience the book as well.  I know I'm looking forward to reading more Karen White novels.  Thank-you to Penguin Books for allowing me tor review Sea Change and to provide this giveaway.

I still have one giveaway currently ongoing - a June audiobook giveaway that ends at midnight tomorrow night.  Check out the right sidebar for more information.

Sea Change by Karen White (Review and GIVEAWAY!)

I have found a new favorite author – Karen White. Sea Change is a suspense novel that reminds me of works of some of my favorite authors including Daphne Du Maurier and Mary Stewart.


The novel starts with Ava Whalen, a mid-wife. In her mid-thirties and the youngest child and only girl, Ava has lived most of her life sheltered in her small town. She unexpectedly elopes with a child psychologist, Matthew Frazier, and moves with him to his ancestral home on St. Simons Island (off the coast of Georgia). Ava neglects to tell Matthew she is deathly afraid of water, and Matthew forgets to tell Ava that he was married once before and his wife had a tragic death. Ava finds herself in a new mysterious home, with a man that is full of mysteries. Did Matthew kill his first wife, Adrienne? What secrets of her own childhood did her own family neglect to share with Ava?

Sea Change also has a parallel historical fiction story. Geoffrey and Pamela Frazier live in the Frazier ancestral home back when it was new in the very early 1800’s. Pamela is a mid-wife and has a great and abiding love with Geoffrey. Together they have one beloved son, Robbie, but Pamela also has a jealous and spiteful sister, Georgina. When the British occupy the island during the war of 1812, fate will wreak havoc on the lives of them all and make them into legends. Ava becomes obsessed with their story in the future.

I loved Sea Change. The novel had so many elements that I love in a good book (and that remind me of the gothic tales of Du Maurier and Stewart) including a husband with a mysterious first wife, an old ancestral home with secrets, and a historical secondary story. There isn’t time travel in this book, but Ava harbors memories from the past that hint of reincarnation. I really enjoyed the characters, and the mysteries kept me riveted. I didn’t know what exactly was going to happen until the very end. I highly recommend this novel.

Book Source:  Review Copy from Penguin Books

Giveaway Details


Penguin Books has graciously offered a giveaway of one copy of Sea Change by Karen White.

If you would like to win a copy of this book please leave a comment about what intrigues you about the 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 US and Canadian residents (Sorry!).

No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday June 29, 2012.

Good luck!

Falling Home by Karen White

If you are looking for a novel of romance filled with great characters, Falling Home is the perfect book for you.  This was the FLICKS Book and Movie Club pick for March and we all agreed that the characters were our favorite part of the book. 

Cassie left Walton, Georgia at age twenty after her sister eloped with her boyfriend Joe.  She moved to New York and has created a very successful career in advertising and is engaged to the firm’s owner, Andrew.  She gets a sudden call from her sister, Harriet, fifteen years later that her father is dying.  Returning to Walton to say goodbye to her father, Cassie rediscovers the friends and family that she left behind.  Her sister Harriet and Joe now have five children, and an old childhood friend, Sam, has become the good looking town doctor.  Sam and Cassie always seem to cross each other the wrong way, but there is no denying that sparks are flying.  When Andrew shows up in town, Cassie must make a decision to return to her life in New York that she loves, or to stay in the town she grew up. 

There was also an appealing mystery that ran throughout the book that I don’t want to ruin here.  I thought the mystery was interesting, but I figured out the entire ending of the book probably halfway through.  Although I knew how the book was going to end, I enjoyed the journey and getting to know the characters.  In other words, don’t read this book expecting a great new plot that will blow you out of the water. Instead it is a story that seems familiar and has a great cast of characters.  As I’m constantly stressed out lately, it was a good book to relax and wind down from the day .

Overall, if you are looking for a good romance with well-developed characters, Falling Home is the book for you!

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library