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Thursday, December 31, 2015

4/5 Review: Silver Lining by Debbie Macomber


 
Since opening the Rose Harbor Inn, Jo Marie Rose has grown close to her handyman, Mark Taylor. Jo Marie and Mark are good friends—and are becoming something more—yet he still won’t reveal anything about his past. When Mark tells her that he’s moving out of town, Jo Marie is baffled. Just when she is starting to open herself up again to love, she feels once more that she is losing the man she cares about. And as she discovers the secret behind Mark’s decision to leave, she welcomes two visitors also seeking their own answers.

Best friends Kellie Crenshaw and Katie Gilroy have returned to Cedar Cove for their ten-year high school reunion, looking to face down old hurts and find a sense of closure. Kellie, known as Coco, wants to finally confront the boy who callously broke her heart. Katie, however, wishes to reconnect with her old boyfriend, James—the man she still loves and the one who got away. As Katie hopes for a second chance, Coco discovers that people can change—and both look to the exciting possibilities ahead.
 
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Debbie Macomber is one of my favorite authors for relaxing reading. I've read all of the Blossom Street books, and many of the Cedar Cove books. As a few other reviewers have noted, 'Silver Linings' is not a fast paced story, especially in the first chapters. One problem is that the story shifts from first person in chapter one, to second person in subsequent chapters, with first person thrown in again here and there. That's not easily done and can snag a story's flow. Also, (early on in particular) the 'characters ' repetitious thoughts made it too easy for me to lose interest in them; it took quite awhile before they began to grow/develop enough to catch my attention.

There are several reasons why I didn’t rate this book higher. 1) Jo Marie’s story is told in her own voice. Whereas Coco and Katie’s vignettes are in third person. This was distracting and the transitions were jarring. 2) The story centers mostly on the events at the high school reunion with too much immature high school-like dramas. 3) Coco’s confrontation with her ghost was short-lived and anticlimactic. And, her encounter with an old crush immediately following her “healing” was a little too picture perfect.

This was a great story, as is all of the Rose Harbor series have been. I enjoyed revisiting old faces and meeting new people. Debbie Macomber does a wonderful job of using multiple characters without confusion. The entire story read like I was really part of their lives and it was hard to put down. I liked how she tied up some loose ends, but left enough to ensure that any true fan will be drooling until they can get the final installment of the Rose Harbor series. I definitely recommend this book.
 
 

 

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