A sweet story. Benedict?s wife has moved out of the house to take a break from him. They have tried many times to have children and not succeeded. He would like to adopt as he feels a strong need to raise a child. His wife Estelle wants to move on. One rainy night Benedicts?s niece from from his estranged brother shows up at his door, wet, hungry and needing to stay with him. She says she is taking a break from her dad and that he allowed her to come to Benedict?s. Benedict makes jewelry and runs a shop in the local village. Gemma, the niece, has heard stories from her dad about a book her grandfather has that tells the meanings of each gem. They begin to bond over the gems. She wants to help Benedict win Estelle back and she has very creative ideas to do so. We also learn about the estrangement between Benedict and Gemma?s dad. It is a troubling story for all. Gemma is trying to find her place in her dad?s life and hides the truths of why she has come to be there. All ends well after the gem stones are shared with others and Benedict and Gemma ?wake up? to find their lives changing in positive ways. Benedict and Estelle reconcile and Gemma finds her dad really does have a place for her in his lfie. Kirkus: Unabashedly heartwarming, Patrick?s (The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, 2016) second novel is set in a quaint English village where our hero drinks lots of tea and eats too many sweets.Benedict Stone is a mild-mannered, risk-averse jewelry maker who runs a shop originally owned by his late father in a town called Noon Sun. Much to his dismay, Estelle, his wife of 10 years, has left him, partly due to the couple?s unresolved feelings about their childlessness. Lucky for Benedict, his plucky 16-year-old niece, Gemma, suddenly appears, on the run from her family in the States. Gemma takes her uncle in hand, helping him spruce up his shop and turn out more creative pieces of jewelry. She also prods him to woo back his wife. (While clearly meant to be amusing, some of Benedict?s ploys¥one involving a sword; another a llamaÂ¥are deeply cringeworthy.) Gemma, meanwhile, is clearly harboring a secret; but so, it turns out, is BenedictÂ¥a secret that has alienated him from his brother, Gemma?s father, Charlie. The latter eventually arrives on the scene, and family fireworks ensue. Still, the ending is never seriously in doubt. And though the book is eventful, much of it is plodding; the pace only picks up toward the end. Throughout, there?s much talk of gemstonesÂ¥each chapter heading bears the name of a different stone and a brief description of its potential powers (e.g., Emerald: equilibrium, patience, honesty). Yet despite the attempt to confer a magical aura on the proceedings, the book remains stubbornly earthbound.It does bear some resemblance to the author?s first book, but it lacks the charm and genuine eccentricity of the earlier effort.

A gentle read that kept me mildly interested. Not nearly as good as the first book. The audiobook was okay, but the reader does a horrible job with female voices. Ehhh. ( )

I am a Phaedra Patrick fan, and Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone did not disappoint. I listened to it as I have for many of hers and the narrator did a good job of capturing various characters. It was a nice surprise to have a male main character. Benedict Stone is middle aged, overweight and coming to realize his dreams of children are not going to come true. His wife is moving away from him, pursuing a new path, and he is at a very low point in his life. That's when his teenaged niece arrives on his doorstep from America. He has never met Gemma as he is estranged from his younger brother and over the course of the novel, we learn Benedict's devastating secret. Benedict is a jeweler just as his parents were and Patrick uses gemstones and their meanings to organize her chapters and form a major element of the plot. I enjoyed learning more about them. A lovely, light but meaningful story. ( )

Sweet, with interesting characters. ( )

While quaint and charming, the story lacks spark as do the characters. It plods along with predictable elements putting the reader to sleep. I read most it but knew early on how it would play out. If you have interest in how precious stones can influence personality or events, you might find it interesting. Unfortunately I have neither. Rating is 2.5 stars. ( )