The Keeper of Happy Endings by Barbara Davis (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: The Keeper of Happy Endings

Author: Barbara Davis 

Publication: 1 October 2021 -- Lake Union Publishing

Format: Kindle eBook via Amazon First Reads

Amazon Description: 

Soline Roussel is well schooled in the business of happy endings. For generations her family has kept an exclusive bridal salon in Paris, where magic is worked with needle and thread. It’s said that the bride who wears a Roussel gown is guaranteed a lifetime of joy. But devastating losses during World War II leave Soline’s world and heart in ruins and her faith in love shaken. She boxes up her memories, stowing them away, along with her broken dreams, determined to forget.

Decades later, while coping with her own tragic loss, aspiring gallery owner Rory Grant leases Soline’s old property and discovers a box containing letters and a vintage wedding dress, never worn. When Rory returns the mementos, an unlikely friendship develops, and eerie parallels in Rory’s and Soline’s lives begin to surface. It’s clear that they were destined to meet—and that Rory may hold the key to righting a forty-year wrong and opening the door to shared healing and, perhaps, a little magic.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I knew it was going to happen. 

I read the first page and I just knew.

It takes a lot to make me ugly cry over a book. 

Off the top of my head I can count on one hand the ones that have managed to do so in recent years: 

• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab
• The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley
• The Strange Adventures of H by Sarah Burton
• When We Danced at the End of the Pier by Sandy Taylor

And now The Keeper of Happy Endings.

By the end of the prologue I was already sniffling. 

By the end of the first chapter I was wondering if I should even attempt to read it at work when a guest may interrupt at any time. Few things are worse than ugly crying in front of a hotel guest.

I risked it, though, because I couldn't not read the book once I had started.

By the time I was about half way through I was a mess and needed to take fairly regular decompression breaks from reading or risk my tear ducts drying up or my work not getting done. Every time I took a break, though, I thought about the book and how soon I could get back to it. I missed Rory and Soline and even Esmée and Camilla.

The book jumps around. Sometimes it is Soline's story, and sometimes it is Rory's. Some chapters are set just before World War II, and some in the "present day" mid-1980s (with stops here and there along the way). Soline's chapters are always in the first-person. Rory's are always in the third-person subjective. All of the jumping around could easily make one's head spin, but Davis makes it work.

Both women have faced horrible tragedies and losses. They have more or less given up completely on their dreams and their futures. Dreams and futures, for both, that would have taken them off the paths that their own mothers would have put them on. Mother-daughter relationships can be tricky and Soline and Rory each know this all too well.

For Soline, her mother Esmée was known as The Dress Witch and Soline was to follow in her footsteps -- and the footsteps of generations of Roussels -- sewing charms and spells into wedding gowns that would guarantee a happy ending for the bride.

For more than two hundred years, there has been a Dress Witch, the keeper of our secret and the teacher of our craft. Our gift, though taught, is at its roots hereditary, the title passed from one generation to the next. When the mother lays down her needle, the daughter takes it up. And so goes The Work.

For Rory, it was more about escaping the seeming perfection that was her own mother.

Never a hair out of place, never a faux pas made -- that was Camilla Lowell Grant. The right clothes, the right home, the right art. The right everything, if didn't count the chronically unfaithful husband and the intractable daughter. Still, Camilla bore her burdens admirably. Most of the time.

Camilla waved a hand, clearly ready to change the subject. "Nothing. It doesn't matter now. But for the record, mothers are human too. We've had lives and been disappointed. We bleed like everyone else. But we have responsibilities, duties to fulfill and appearances to maintain. And so we keep moving forward."

Moving forward. It's not an easy concept for Rory -- or for Soline. 

Months after her life is turned upside-down and inside-out, Rory decides to follow her dream by leasing the fire-damaged storefront the was Soline's dress shop -- the one that she herself started when she followed her dream after her own life was turned upside-down and inside-out forty years prior. The two form a remarkable and unbreakable bond through their hurts and their memories as their lives are remarkably similar in spite of the age difference. They also share their hopes and dreams, just when they each thought that there wasn't much of anything left to hope for or dream about. They find ways to move forward. They do so together as kindred spirits.

"We're all a collection of out stories, chérie. Our joys and sorrows. Our loves and losses. That is who we are, a tally of all our agonies and ecstasies. Sometimes the agonies leave a mark, like a bruise on the soul. We do our best to hide them from the world, and from ourselves too. Because we're afraid of being fragile. Of being damaged. That's what makes us kindred spirits, Rory -- our bruises."

I could go on and on about the nuances and intricacies of The Keeper of Happy Endings, but this is really one that you need to read for yourself in order to understand. It's about breakdowns and breakthroughs. It's about holding on and letting go. It's about healing and strength and love and la magie. It's about faith. Faith in what was and what could be. Faith in others and, most of all, faith in oneself.

Without faith, even our work is doomed to fail. Faith is everything.

Just like the charms that Soline would sew into her dresses, and the complex layers of depth and wonder in Rory's textile seascapes, Barbara Davis has created something undeniably special with her words. Even through the blur of the ugly tears, it's beautiful.

As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Threshold of Deceit by Carol Pouliot (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

Title: Threshold of Deceit

Author: Carol Pouliot

Publication: 24 September 2019

Format: Kindle eBook

Amazon Description: 

On a sunny spring day in 1934, local lothario Frankie Russo is murdered in broad daylight. It seems no one saw anything, but things are not always what they seem in this small New York town.
Tackling the investigation, Detective Steven Blackwell discovers Frankie’s little black book, a coded list of dozens of flings, affairs, and one-night stands−and a solid motive for the widow. Soon, what appeared to be a straight-forward case gets complicated. A witness goes missing, a second body turns up, the victim’s cousin disappears, and an old flame surfaces. Faced with conflicting pieces of evidence, lies, and false alibis, Steven creates a psychological portrait of the killer. He realizes he’s looking for someone wearing a mask. But the killer is not the only one in disguise.
Two months ago, Steven came face-to-face with 21st-century journalist Olivia Watson when time folded over in the house they share−80 years apart. They’ve experimented within the safety of its walls and proven Einstein was right: there is no past, present, or future. All time exists simultaneously. Now, Steven and Olivia test the boundaries of time travel, risking the exposure of their secret. Olivia travels to Steven’s time, where she is embraced by the community, unaware of who she really is. She unwittingly falls in with Steven’s main suspect, an action that threatens her life.
Can Olivia outsmart a killer before becoming the next victim? Can Steven and Olivia solve the case of the poisoned philanderer in time to protect her true identity and their time-travel secret?

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I started Threshold of Deceit immediately after completing Doorway to Murder. Well, within a couple of hours at least. I was anxious to see if any of my lingering questions were answered and to find out what was going to happen with Steven and Olivia next.

Yes, this is where I urge you to pick up and read Doorway to Murder before this one. You really need the background from the first book. Really. Do it.

The basics (which does not get you out of reading) : Steven lives in 1934. Olivia lives in 2014. In the same house. Sometimes at the same time because of Einstein and time stuff. They've traveled back and forth to each other's times but never left the confines of the house until now. It started with a simple dinner in 1934 at the pub that exists in both times. It went quite well ... and then the next morning a body was found. Dead, of course.

Olivia has her own mystery to deal with -- finding out what happened to the twin of her dear elderly friend Isabel who was born in the very pub Olivia and Steven had dinner at in 1934. She is especially eager to help since she was indirectly involved with Isabel's life in 2014 being not quite what it was (... would have been... was supposed to be???) before Olivia and Steven met. 

I know. I'm confused, too.  This is one of those "you really have to read the first one" situations.

Oh, heck. 

There will be a lot of those. Just read that one and then read this one and then, I'm fairly certain, I'll be telling you to read the next one.  And don't be surprised if Olivia annoys you a bit. It's still a worthwhile read and Steven, thankfully, makes up for it.

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two
of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two
from anywhere in the book currently being read.

I will likely not be posting the third book here. It fell way flat for me ... and the book that I now have lined up for Friday's post? Oh man ... kleenex and ugly crying and all of the good stuff.

Doorway to Murder by Carol Pouliot (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: Doorway to Murder

Author: Carol Pouliot

Publication: 24 September 2019, Level Best Books (originally 28 October 2016, Bridle Path)

Format: Kindle eBook via NetGalley

Amazon Description: 

In a small New York town, secrets lurk and betrayal is just around the corner. The morning after the worst blizzard of 1934, Detective Steven Blackwell takes on a highly charged murder case. The investigation starts badly: one clue, lots of lies and alibis. To make things worse, Steven is seeing visions of a woman in his house. One night, she speaks. Her name is Olivia Watson and she lives in 2014. She believes time has folded over in the house they share. As their relationship deepens, Steven’s investigation intensifies. Soon he can no longer trust anyone in his own time. Can Olivia help crack the case—and catch a killer?

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

All I was doing was looking for books for my A to Z challenge. 

I was missing, amongst others, an author whose last name begins with P.

Hopped on NetGalley. Saw the cool cover. Hit the button to get the book. Saw that there was another one being released soon. Hit the button for that one, too. Hopped onto Amazon, got the one in the middle because ... you know ... if I'm going to commit to the first and the third I might as well get the second.  

Because of magic.

I finally finished Cat Among the Pigeons, started plotting out the quotes for this post (yes ... before reading any of it), and then the magic happened. This was, of course, to be expected because it's a time travel mystery and all that ... but that's not what I'm talking about. This was a different kind of book magic.

The book took me home. 

Well, it took me back to several homes.

You see, I'm a Valley Girl.

The Mohawk Valley.

The Main Street of my elementary school days. Little Falls, Herkimer County, NY.
Photo from Mohawk Valley Today

****Now we take a brief pause for a New York State geography lesson.****

This is the county by county map of New York State.

I was conceived in Otsego County. Born in St Lawrence. In my almost 46 years on this earth I have lived in Rockland, Jefferson, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida (a few times), Schenectady, Albany and now Onondaga. My grandparents were in Oneida and Ulster. I spent many weekends visiting friends and boyfriends and whatnot in Rensselaer. Oh, and my freshman year of college was done in Clinton. We don't talk about that much.

This is the Mohawk River. 

It goes pretty much from the edge of Rensselaer County to Oneida County with the surrounding area (variable depending on who you talk to) referred to as The Mohawk Valley. Most of my life has been spent on or within a short drive of the river and valley.

The book emojis on the map were the magic that "took me home" as both were mentioned during the search for the 56% blurb. Syracuse is my home now. Saratoga is 45 minutes north of Albany -- home for 5 1/2 amazing years finishing my degree and working at The College of Saint Rose. The heart in the middle is my beloved Little Falls, pictured above at the beginning of all of this. I was only there from kindergarten to fifth grade, but it will always be home. The Mohawk River ends at the Delta Dam -- which was basically spitting distance from where my momma grew up and generations upon generations before her. 

It's part of who I am to the very depths of my soul.

I will always and forever be a Valley Girl.

So. 

Geography/autobiography lesson over. For now. I make no promises.

Onto the book.

I grabbed my quotes, made my little teaser collage deal, and started to read. 

We've already established over the years that I love history and mystery and time travel. Throw them all together and we have a winner, folks. It wasn't a guarantee, of course. It could have been poorly written ... but, thankfully, it wasn't. Even without the personal ties to the location, this was a great book. 

Einstein believed that time can fold over itself -- which is pretty much what happens with Detective Steven Blackwell in 1934 and professional researcher Olivia Watson at the same address in the same fictional Mohawk Valley town of Knightsbridge eighty years later. Somehow they end up being able to see each other, hear each other, touch each other, and ease the loneliness each was feeling in their own timeline. 

Oh, and solve a bank robbery-slash-murder that took place in Steven's timeline. 

Not only did the mysteries of the robbery and murder keep me guessing, but also the whole wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff. How long would time fold over for them? Who else would be able to see or hear them? Then there's the whole time paradox issue. Will they do something that would negate Olivia's very existence? 

Doc Brown would definitely be having a stern word or two for them already!

I still have a lot of questions to be answered but, thankfully, at least two more books to be read. 

As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

Title: Cat Among the Pigeons

Author: Agatha Christie

Publication: 1959 (reissue 17 March 2009)

Format: Kindle eBook

Amazon Description: 

Late one night, two teachers investigate a mysterious flashing light in the sports pavilion while the rest of the school sleeps. There, among the lacrosse sticks, they stumble upon the body of an unpopular games mistress—shot through the heart point-blank.

The school is thrown into chaos when the “cat” strikes again. Unfortunately, schoolgirl Julia Upjohn knows too much. In particular, she knows that without Hercule Poirot’s help, she will be the next victim.…

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

It's rare that I'll use the same book for back-to-back teaser posts but some just deserve it. 

For this past Book Beginnings & Friday 56 I used the Prologue for the beginning. I went with the first bit of Chapter One for today's Tuesday Intro. I almost did the next book on my list since I will likely be starting it within the next couple of hours, but that can wait. The explanation of where the title came from for today's teaser really couldn't. Well, it easily could have ... but ... oh never mind. 

I did make the horrible mistake of watching the Poirot episode this weekend (season 11, episode 2 if you're curious). Great casting but ... even though it's not my favorite Poirot novel, read the book. Watch the episode, too, if you must. The book is still better.

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two
of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two
from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 Title: Cat Among the Pigeons

Author: Agatha Christie

Publication: 1959 (reissue 17 March 2009)

Format: Kindle eBook

Amazon Description: 

Late one night, two teachers investigate a mysterious flashing light in the sports pavilion while the rest of the school sleeps. There, among the lacrosse sticks, they stumble upon the body of an unpopular games mistress—shot through the heart point-blank.

The school is thrown into chaos when the “cat” strikes again. Unfortunately, schoolgirl Julia Upjohn knows too much. In particular, she knows that without Hercule Poirot’s help, she will be the next victim.…

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I cannot remember a time in my life when I was not a huge Agatha Christie fan. I grew up watching the movies every time they were on television and as soon as I was able I started reading the books off of my grandmother's bookshelf until I loaded up my own.  Back in 2015 I had every intention of reading/re-reading every Christie I could get my hands on. I then met NetGalley and it all went terribly awry .... much like the summer term at Meadowbank in Cat Among the Pigeons.

Goodreads lists the book as number 36 out of 42 in the Hercule Poirot series. It's not the best of the bunch and Hercule doesn't even show up right away, but it does have some fabulous moments and anything penned by Christie will always be better than most anything by anyone else.

Maybe I'll go back to trying to get through the entire Agatha Christie library. I may even have to forget that I just read the ones I did back in 2015 and start all over from the beginning. Perhaps I'll do series by series this time ... or the stand-alones first and then the series ... or ...

My little grey cells are hurting just trying to figure it out. 

As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

Title: To Have and to Hoax

Author: Martha Waters

Publication: 7 April 2020 - Atria Books

Format: Kindle eBook

Amazon Description: 

Five years ago, Lady Violet Grey and Lord James Audley met, fell in love, and got married. Four years ago, they had a fight to end all fights, and have barely spoken since.

Their once-passionate love match has been reduced to one of cold, detached politeness. But when Violet receives a letter that James has been thrown from his horse and rendered unconscious at their country estate, she races to be by his side—only to discover him alive and well at a tavern, and completely unaware of her concern. She’s outraged. He’s confused. And the distance between them has never been more apparent.

Wanting to teach her estranged husband a lesson, Violet decides to feign an illness of her own. James quickly sees through it, but he decides to play along in an ever-escalating game of manipulation, featuring actors masquerading as doctors, threats of Swiss sanitariums, faux mistresses—and a lot of flirtation between a husband and wife who might not hate each other as much as they thought. Will the two be able to overcome four years of hurt or will they continue to deny the spark between them?

With charm, wit, and heart in spades, To Have and to Hoax is a fresh and eminently entertaining romantic comedy—perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory and Julia Quinn.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff 
I really wanted to love this. 

I really thought it would be one that I flew right through because I couldn't put it down.

Every time I put it down I found myself only picking it back up again because I felt I needed to ... or I needed sleep and figured it might help speed things along.

I cannot recall ever disliking the "heroine" of a book nearly as much as I dislike Violet. If I could have reached into the pages (or screen) of the book and slapped her I probably would have. Multiple times.

So why keep reading? Mainly for the secondary characters .... who will end up being the main characters in the next two books .... which are hopefully less irritating than this one.

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two
of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two
from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 Title: Portrait of a Scotsman

Author: Evie Dunmore

Publication: 7 September 2021

Format: eARC provided by Berkley via NetGalley

Amazon Description: 

Going toe-to-toe with a brooding Scotsman is rather bold for a respectable suffragist, but when he happens to be one's unexpected husband, what else is an unwilling bride to do?

London banking heiress Hattie Greenfield wanted just three things in life:

1. Acclaim as an artist.
2. A noble cause.
3. Marriage to a young lord who puts the gentle in gentleman.

Why then does this Oxford scholar find herself at the altar with the darkly attractive financier Lucian Blackstone, whose murky past and ruthless business practices strike fear in the hearts of Britain's peerage? Trust Hattie to take an invigorating little adventure too far. Now she's stuck with a churlish Scot who just might be the end of her ambitions....

When the daughter of his business rival all but falls into his lap, Lucian sees opportunity. As a self-made man, he has vast wealth but holds little power, and Hattie might be the key to finally setting long-harbored political plans in motion. Driven by an old desire for revenge, he has no room for his new wife's apprehensions or romantic notions, bewitching as he finds her.

But a sudden journey to Scotland paints everything in a different light. Hattie slowly sees the real Lucian and realizes she could win everything--as long as she is prepared to lose her heart.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I was expecting a fluffy historical rom-com. 

I was expecting some laughs and maybe some feels.

What I got was far more worthwhile than what I was expecting.

Portrait of a Scotsman is the third in Evie Dunmore's League of Extraordinary Women series and, normally, I would insist on reading them in order. I've actually had the first two on my TBR since the series began two years ago ... but then I was accepted for an advance copy via NetGalley for this one and I just couldn't resist ... or wait. 

I was in the mood for fluffy historical rom-com, after all. 

I got some comedy and I got more than a bit of romance ... and I got so much more.

I will be reading the others. 

I have no choice at this point. 

Dunmore pulled me in to the world inhabited by Hattie and her friends and I need more. I believe the series is only supposed to be these three but I'm hoping for Aofie to get a book all of her own ... well, her and Susan ... or whomever.

As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

The Sign of Death by Callie Hutton (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: The Sign of Death

Author: Callie Hutton

Publication: 13 April 2021

Format: eARC provided by Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley

Amazon Description: 

Bath, England, 1891. Mr. James Harding was a lot of things--businessman, well-to-do, probable scoundrel--but a drinker he most assuredly was not. So when Harding is believed to have drunkenly fallen to his death into the icy River Avon, Lord William Wethington is immediately suspicious. Finding Lord William's name on a letter in the victim's pocket, the local constabulary summons William to identify the victim. Police detectives learn that William had been one of Harding's business clients--and undoubtedly not the only client the dead man had cheated.
William entreats Lady Amy Lovell, a fellow member of the Mystery Book Club of Bath, to help him deduce what really happened to the late Mr. Harding. Lady Amy, a celebrated mystery author herself, once called on William to help her solve a real-life mystery, and now she fully intends to return the favor. But it won't be easy.
Practically every one of Harding's many clients had ample reason to want to do him in. And there's precious little time to narrow down the list: William and Amy soon become prime suspects themselves when the police discover them ruffling through files in Harding's house. Lady Amy will have to be as clever as her characters if she's to save William from the gallows...and herself from Harding's real killer.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I finished Hutton's first Victorian Book Club Mystery, A Study in Murder, this morning and was quite pleased with myself for already having the next two in the series lined up and waiting thanks to NetGalley. It was splendidly delightful and I was anxious to continue and to find out what Lady Amy and Lord William were going to get themselves into next. The two books briefly overlap -- the "six months later" epilogue from the previous book occurring at the beginning of Chapter 3 of this one. I haven't made it further than that as of yet (I jumped to the 56% mark for the blurb), but I'm already quite pleased that I decided to plunge right in rather than pick up something else to stagger them out.

(Sorry if the formatting is a bit whack. I'm attempting the blogger app on my phone and will check/edit/whatever once I get to the computer. I've never been a fan of phone blogging but didn't want to wait!)

As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.