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| Pretty cover! |
September 2015, Touchstone, 352 pages, Paperback, Review copy from NetGalley
Content: clean romance, lots of humour, tissues needed
Summary from Simon and Schuster
Frankie is a runaway bride. Or rather, she is running away from her
fiancé’s funeral, the unthinkable event that has thrown her entire life
into crisis. Frankie and Alex were high school sweethearts and each
other’s first loves. They should have been together forever. But Alex
died in a surfing accident, and now Frankie is walking away from her
family, driving north and east, letting her body do the thinking, all
the way into the Cascade Mountain range.
At Alex’s family cabin, Frankie can give in to her grief and think about nothing. There are no aunts trying feed her just a few polpette or just a taste of affogato, despite her lack of appetite; none of Alex’s family around to look questioningly at her left ring finger, no one there to perform for. Except for Jack, the cabin’s caretaker, who has been tasked with forcing Frankie out of the property that isn’t rightfully hers. And except for Bella, Frankie’s wild-child younger sister who deserted the family years ago only to reappear at Frankie’s lowest moment to dredge up painful memories from the past.
But Frankie learns she can’t hide—not from her family, not from the past, and not from truths about Alex she’d rather not face. The seasonal magic of the forest and its welcoming residents remind her that everything—flowers to bud, bread to rise, a heart to heal—takes its own time.
At Alex’s family cabin, Frankie can give in to her grief and think about nothing. There are no aunts trying feed her just a few polpette or just a taste of affogato, despite her lack of appetite; none of Alex’s family around to look questioningly at her left ring finger, no one there to perform for. Except for Jack, the cabin’s caretaker, who has been tasked with forcing Frankie out of the property that isn’t rightfully hers. And except for Bella, Frankie’s wild-child younger sister who deserted the family years ago only to reappear at Frankie’s lowest moment to dredge up painful memories from the past.
But Frankie learns she can’t hide—not from her family, not from the past, and not from truths about Alex she’d rather not face. The seasonal magic of the forest and its welcoming residents remind her that everything—flowers to bud, bread to rise, a heart to heal—takes its own time.
Nayu's thoughts
A touching read about
a woman who loses her fiance, which means you need a pack of tissues.
I may not have been married, but I know a little what it's like to
lose someone you love. Grief affects us all differently, and when the
opportunity presents itself Frankie is able to take herself off to
her fiance's cabin and stay there. I liked to think of her as an
elegant squatter, because there's a time when her husband's parents
behave horribly and want her out, even so much as sending a lawyer
and an eviction notice.
Not that Frankie pays much attention. She
gets to know her new temporary-ish neighbours, as well as some other
member's of her husband's family who have a sense of a humour and in
their own way don't want her to leave the cabin. The strength of
support from people who had been strangers to Frankie is heartwarming
and places much hope in people's compassion, a stark comparison to
how his parents treat her. Along the way Frankie bakes her way
through the trials and tribulations she faces – food can be
healing. I didn't try any of the recipes but they all sound
delicious. I wish everyone who grieves has the support which Frankie
eventually got, as it helped her adjust to her new life, and later to
let love in.
Find out more on Hannah's website.
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