Description: A house shrouded in time.
A line of women with a heritage of loss.
As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.
When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.
With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.
My Thoughts: This book was heart breaking and captivating. Susan Meissner has a way of drawing out your emotions and making you feel the regret and loss of her characters. I can't think of another author that places me so firmly in the choices and lives of the characters as to feel like I am suffering the same.
This book is not a beach read, it is for someone who really wants to get deep into both the past and present. I will probably still be thinking about this story tomorrow and the next as I contemplate the choices made and how they are mirrored in my own life.
Note: After reading some other reviews where the "ghost" element was questioned, stating that in the Bible Saul was rebuked for speaking to ghost, I will give this allowance. At first, I agreed with this. I was confused at the tale of ghosts and why they were used. Once I had finished it however, I saw that the point was to let our ghosts (our skeletons in the closest) die. I do not want to give anything away but ask that you read to the end before making a decision about the author's and publisher's reasons for publishing this book.
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This looks like a very good book! Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteHeather
http://hbroadwayphann.blogspot.com/
You did a great job in the note at the end. If I started reading a book and questioned aspects of it, I'd probably read it to the end, to give it the benefit of the doubt. Sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I wanted to make sure that no one reading my review gave a snappy judgement.
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