Adele Griffin

What I liked best about this book was the scrapbook pages before and after each chapter. Pictures, letters and little mementos were drawn by the illustrator (Lisa Brown) to accompany Jennie's memories and stories. The process of taking pictures of the dead wasn't unknown to me before now; there were several such pictures at family member's old house and though its creepy it was highly fascinating at the same time.

What didn't work as well for me was Jennie's narration. I'm not entirely certain why, just that no matter how interested I became in the story Jennie would draw me out of it almost immediately. She had a very formal sound to her voice, not stiff exactly, but as if sharing the story wasn't the first thing she wanted to do.

I know very little about Civil War America, as far as the culture and what happened outside of the battles is concerned. It was fascinating to read about Jennie's family and in hindsight what she couldn't see about her Aunt and Uncle, or even her cousins, she observes and discounts. She observed her cousin Quinn's odd behavior from the first, but chose to discount it. She was so worried about not being tossed out (now that her fiancee was gone) she didn't want to see I think.

The ending is darkly hilarious--secrets are laid out and Jennie finally gets back her own. I was kind of disappointed, only because the epilogue made her exit feel less climatic. I think this will appeal to fans of history (this is chocked full of historical tidbits) or of suspense/mysteries honestly. It has a gothic appeal to it in fact.… (meer)

I loved the book so much but at the same time I really wanted to punch both Evelyn and Nora. I loved their friendship, but it was easy to get mad at Evelyn and Nora because of their faults and mistakes they made. They both had a reason to be mad at one another but they should've communicated it before it blew up like it did. They obviously aren't perfect but they could've talked it out. But OH MY GOSH the ending!!! Literally caught me so off guard. Nora and Evelyn are a fun duo that just happened at complete random which I feel made the story even better.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Adele Griffin for giving me the opportunity to receive an arc for this book… (meer)

3.5 Stars

Story about unlikely friendships, family, infertility, social media and the ever present money issues! What is a price you are willing to pay and when is enough actually enough.

Quick read, with a lot to discuss. Can relate to most of the book and found it realistic to a point. I did have a hard time with Nora and Evelyn’s friendship…just too much fan girl. I found most of that annoying…Evelyn was manipulative, throwing her money around and Nora immature and star struck. Didn’t buy into the relationship between Nora and Jacob. The fixation with the Poet was an odd twist I’m not sure I liked.

I enjoyed the writers style, easy flow between characters and situations. First book by this author and look forward to her next book. Good beach read because of so much going on!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.… (meer)