Showing posts with label Valerie Fraser Luesse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Valerie Fraser Luesse. Show all posts
About the Book
Author: Valerie Fraser Luesse
Genre: Christian Contemporary
Publisher: Revell
Release Date: April 29, 2025
When Edie Gardner's life in New York comes crumbling down, her grandmother Adele "Punk" Cheramie urges her to return to Bayou du Chêne, a tiny hamlet in coastal Mississippi where Edie spent many happy summers growing up. Punk and her three closest friends introduce Edie to the Trove, a fascinating gallery and antique shop that seems to have appeared out of nowhere.
The Trove's proprietor, Jason Toussaint, has a gift for reading his customers' needs. He gives Edie a Victorian parlor game called Confessions, which asks players a series of ever-more-personal questions. It seems like harmless fun at first. But the game has a way of uncovering secrets--including a heartbreaking disappearance that has haunted one of the players for decades.
Banding together, these women are determined to mend each other's hurts, encourage each other's dreams, and find the answers that will bring healing.
My Thoughts
I absolutely love the way this author writes her stories. She truly captures the essence of the setting and makes you feel like you are there. If you love that Southern charm look no further because this book is it. I wanted to be in the kitchen table with Punk, Edie and the Ten Spots enjoying some shrimp and grits while feeling the cool breeze and heat from a Mississippi summer.
Oh these characters captivated me and had me giggling and crying all at the same time. The friendships between these older ladies was so deep, they were like sisters. They had been through everything together and their bond with each other was one you want to strive for. I love that this story truly touches on every character and they each go through their own separate journeys throughout the story. However, the journey that Edie and Charlotte was beautiful. Despite it being full of grief it was good to see them work through it and rely not only on the Ten Spots but also God.
Another thing that the author did a great job in was the faith thread. I do believe that angels walk amongst us and God sends people to guide us at times and Jason in this story was just the person. That part of the storyline truly touches you and makes you think of how God is always with you.
I can't forget to mention the love story. Although that is not the focus of the story it was there and it was ever so sweet.
This book had everything needed to make it an amazing read and I definitely recommend you grab it!
I received a copy of this book for review. All views expressed are my own.
About the Author
About the Book
Author: Valerie Fraser Luesse
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Publisher: Revell
Release Date: August 15, 2023
Two Sisters. One Single Event. A Family Changed Forever.
At the turn of the twentieth century, sisters Emmy and Callie Bullock are living a privileged life as the only daughters of a wealthy Alabama cotton farmer when their well-ordered household gets turned upside down by the arrival of Lily McGee. Arrestingly beautiful, Lily quickly--and innocently--draws the wrong kind of attention. Meanwhile, Callie meets a man who offers her the freedom to abandon social constraints and discover her truest self.
After Lily has a baby, Callie witnesses something she was never meant to see--or did she? Her memory is a haze, just an image in her mind of Emmy standing on a darkened riverbank and cradling Lily's missing baby girl. Only when the sisters are separated does the truth slowly come to light through their letters--including a revelation that will shape the rest of Callie's life.
Bestselling author Valerie Fraser Luesse weaves a complex and suspenseful tale dripping with intrigue, romance, and Southern charm.
At the turn of the twentieth century, sisters Emmy and Callie Bullock are living a privileged life as the only daughters of a wealthy Alabama cotton farmer when their well-ordered household gets turned upside down by the arrival of Lily McGee. Arrestingly beautiful, Lily quickly--and innocently--draws the wrong kind of attention. Meanwhile, Callie meets a man who offers her the freedom to abandon social constraints and discover her truest self.
After Lily has a baby, Callie witnesses something she was never meant to see--or did she? Her memory is a haze, just an image in her mind of Emmy standing on a darkened riverbank and cradling Lily's missing baby girl. Only when the sisters are separated does the truth slowly come to light through their letters--including a revelation that will shape the rest of Callie's life.
Bestselling author Valerie Fraser Luesse weaves a complex and suspenseful tale dripping with intrigue, romance, and Southern charm.
My Thoughts
This is my second book by Valerie and I must say that I really enjoy her writing. She brings not only the characters to life but the setting as well. She truly transported me to 1911 Alabama and made me a part of this wonderful cast of characters. This wasn't your typical story it was haunting, beautiful and full of emotions. Immediately we meet Callie and Emmy who are extremely close sisters. They are like night and day but in the best possible way. They definitely compliment each other. Their family is very close knit and I absolutely loved that despite the color of their skin they would do anything for the other family in the story. Race to them had nothing to do with it. They not only helped each other but relied on each other as well.
I'm not going to reveal too much of the story, I think the book blurb gives you enough intrigue to whet your appetite for the book, but I will say that this story is heart tugging filled with grief, heartbreak and love that will keep you turning the pages but along with that came hope, faith and healing.
There are some things that may not sit well with some readers. There is a character that has visions and can sense things. I honestly did not see this as a negative. I know God puts people in our path that he reveals things to but I also understand that is not everyones belief so just so you have a heads up. Also the title may seem as we may be reading an epistolary type of book, at least that is what I thought it would be like before I received the book but the "letters" don't come into play until closer to the end of the book. I can see now how they would relate to the title and how meaningful they were to the characters.
Overall I really enjoyed this story and I can't wait to read more from this author.
I received a copy of this book for review. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
About the Author
Valerie Fraser Luesse is an award-winning magazine writer best known for her feature stories and essays in Southern Living, where she is currently a senior travel editor. Her work has been anthologized in the audio collection Southern Voices and in A Glimpse of Heaven, an essay collection featuring works by C. S. Lewis, Randy Alcorn, John Wesley, and others. As a freelance writer and editor, she was the lead writer for Southern Living 50 Years: A Celebration of People, Places, and Culture. Specializing in stories about unique pockets of Southern culture, Luesse has published major pieces on the Gulf Coast, the Mississippi Delta, Louisiana's Acadian Prairie, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Her editorial section on Hurricane Katrina recovery in Mississippi and Louisiana won the 2009 Writer of the Year award from the Southeast Tourism Society. Luesse earned her bachelor's degree in English at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, and her master's degree in English at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She grew up in Harpersville, Alabama, a rural community in Shelby County, and now lives in Birmingham.
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