This author treats the region with love, tenderness
594573
North Georgia is where my ancestors are from.  I read anything I can about this area, trying to get a feel about my grandmother and grandfather, and the great-grands, who were born here in the 1810-1869......
This author treats the region with love, tenderness, and a protective hand in holding onto her piece of Heaven.
Bonnie
971463
I wasn't sure when I started to read this book that it was something that I would enjoy, but it took place in an area that I love so I decided to give it a shot.  The more I read, the more deeply I was drawn into the story.  The people are real although not so much so as to make the book uncomfortable to read.  This deals with issues that many would like to think aren't issues in a heartfelt way that isn't offensive to anyone.  A little romance, a little mystery, a little history, all combine to make this a welcome read.
1720084
'The Tapestry of Love' is one of those novels you need to read slowly and savour to the full. Rosy is as much a painter as a writer: she sketches the scenery and the characters with care, then colours them in with a beautiful sunset palette.

This is the kind of novel you want to read in summer, lounging in the garden, relaxing in a rural or Mediterranean holiday setting - or on a cold day in front of an open fire. Every page takes you one step further into the beautiful Cvennes region, and into the lives of the people who've grown up there.

What I loved most about 'The Tapestry of Love' is the romantic realism that oozes from the pages. Rosy writes with a gentle touch, with wisdom and a mature, assuaged acceptance of the ups and downs of everyday life. She takes an honest approach to human relationships and emotions, showing joy as well as pain, love as well as loss, without overdramatising.

It's a great book to curl up with on the couch - or a deckchair - with a good glass of wine, and escape to the French Cvennes in the company of Catherine, her neighbours and her lively English family.
2661119
This is definitely a "gentle" read, it is so well written that I became immersed in the story. Ms. Stratton has created a writer's world that I would love to inhabit and populated it with lovely layered characters that are easy to connect to emotionally. Is there passion? Surprisingly yes, it was quite passionate and romantic even though it was more on the mild side. I liked the sweetness of the story, the strength of the character's connection and the happily ever after was lovely. The secondary characters were finely drawn and the scene has been set for the next book. I for one, will continue the series.
Well done.
*I received my copy from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
2642802
According to a recent story in the New York Times Book Review there were 175,000 new books published in the U.S. in 2003. That was a 19% increase from the previous year and there is a good chance it will increase again this year. Unfortunately, such a deluge of new titles necessarily means that a number of worthy books will never be brought to the reader's attention. This may be such a book and it will be a shame if readers are not made aware of what Publishers Weekly calls "...a love letter to nature." To be sure it is that but it is so much more. It is a rare jewell worthy of the reader's attention.

Hinchman is a published author, artist, illustrator, graphic designer and keen observer of both the landscape and people she encounters in a manner that not only enables the reader to see and feel her visions but to subtly allow the reader to begin to see and feel their own surroundings in a different way.

Hinchman lives in Augusta, Montana, with her dog, Sisu, in some of the wildest country along the Rocky Mountain Front. The regional telephone book lists some 400 souls and main street has a general store, gas station, motel, two cafes, a bed & breakfast, hair salon, small library, coffee house and three bars. It is Lewis & Clark country and a place where solitude is valued and companionship treasured...sometimes. Single and approaching middle age, Hinchman moved to Augusta for the solitude and to concentrate on the landscape via her art. The result is this wonderful book that has hand-lettered text throughout and scores of watercolors, drawings and maps that are exquisite, detailed and thoughtful. She has captured the flora and fauna of the region in intricate detail and whether its hiking mountain terrain, exploring wetlands and marshes, or walking the vast grassy plains with the ever present Sisu, the reader is treated to a visual and written landscape that is unique and memorable. She also takes us to the Augusta rodeo, the Buckhorn Bar & Grill and Latigo & Lace, a coffee house, book store, art gallery, hand made clothing store, et al.and lets her language and imagery introduce the inhabitants of Augusta. Its almost like the reader is invited into her world and encouraged to sit a spell. The blending of her observations of the natural world with many of the colorful characters of the town, all in a highly readable manner, is both refreshing and unusual.

Hinchman designed, lettered and illustrated the book personally, which is unusual for a major publisher to allow. However, when you see the wonderful watercolors, pen and ink, pastels or colored pencil illustrations and the hand-lettered text it will become apparent this is no ordinary book and the author is no ordinary writer. Highly recommended.
1603711
This factual, tender, and personal treatise immediately transported me back to my childhood in South Philadelphia in the 50's. The content is both from an historical and cultural perspective,and is interspersed with wonderful photographs and humorous commentary. Much of the thorough historical information (the author is a journalist) was new to me and fascinating. However, it was the exploration of the cultural heritage  which launched me on a wistful, nostalgic journey.  Mr. Dubin, whose experiential reverence is evident, has infused the story of South Philadelphia with a rare intimacy.  This reader feels very appreciative.
4529921
Anyone who has already fallen in love with France and its South or may want to, but has dared not, order in this beautifully written memoir of the author and his family's love affair with the French and Provencal people and cultures.  Travel guides about Provence abound.  This book is much more than a sight seers handbook, intended to lure us to the villages, marketplaces, restaurants, and ruins of one of the most interesting, beautiful, and ancient regions of France.  Its uniqueness lies in its author's careful crafting of his philosophy of life and how Provence has supported his ongoing search for meaning, value, satisfaction, true pleasure, and spirit.  Those of us who have been torn between two loves, in this case, the love of our own country and that of some foreign land, will find validation in Professor Christensen's self-disclosure and exploration of his ambivalence, which he did not allow to interfere with his family's choice to make France their home, while honoring that choice and his commitment to teaching at his Texas university.  As a frequent visitor to Provence and to the area in which Professor Christensen and his family made their home, my own senses and memories were stirred--the sights, sounds, aromas, tastes, and grace of my favorite place to nurture my soul.  If you have not shared this experience yet, you just may want to, if you read this inspiring book.
3585581
Amy McVay Abbotts Whitley County Kid is a thoroughly enjoyable collection of essays that unabashedly celebrate the rural, small town life of South Whitley, Indiana, where she was born in 1957 and lived until going off to college in 1975.  Each essay is an unfurling petal of recollected formative and defining experiences that blossom into an engaging, exuberant, emotionally powerful portrait of a tight-knit community.  For Abbot, whose ancestry in the region reaches back to the 1830s, the imprint of South Whitley, its rural rhythms, its people, its rituals, its ways of being and doing, remains an important part of who I am.

Abbot is a writer whose acuteness of vision and richness of perspective deftly captures the particularities of place, people, and events.  Her writing is clear, crisp; animated by sharp images and the telling detail, buoyant with humor.  A journalist by trade and a long-time columnist, Abbot knows how to launch into a story, find its center of gravity, tell it compellingly in spare but lively prose, and reflect on its lasting significance.

And the stories she tells in Whitley County Kid depict a place where the pace of life pulsed much less hectically than today; where summer was a commodity spent slowly and enjoyed by children who roamed outside all day, scheduled only by their own interests; where talents were given the time and encouragement of emerge; where the business district was commercially vital, and a persons word and a handshake sealed a bank loan; where no one suffered the perplexity of King Lears anguished question, Who is it that can tell me who I am; where the village raises the child ethos was an everyday reality; where Christmas manger scenes were uncontroversial; where the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer were still part of the school day; where rustic lake cabins offered a cooling retreat from the humid hug of southern Indiana summers before being displaced by condos and luxury homes; where the local hospital, having witnessed the births and deaths, the illnesses and recoveries, comes to represent what a high-tech health care facility never can: the heart of the community; where a continuity of values passes down through the generations and the past remains very much present in the present; where the spirit of generosity and the largeness of attentive concern generate a quiet energy of well-being.

If small-town life is Abbots subject, memory is her theme.  Her memory is an electromagnetic flux line, along which the past falls into place and is given shape and texture.  Memory re-members. It gives the self continuity and coherence, allows one to be in time without getting lost in it, and, by making the past present, with its fullness of feeling intact, provides a context for understanding.  Memory allows one to not just look homeward, but reinhabit it, too.  The title of this essay collection signifies: the Whitley County kid Abbot was is a part of who she now is.

Because the essays in Whitley County Kid enact connection, they will appeal to anyone who feels disconnected to the headlong gallop of our times, who feels forced by the cultural environment into adopting a series of improvised selves and carefully curated poses, who regrets the eclipse of human personality by opaque institutions, who values openness and relationships of trust rather than guile and suspicion, who yearns for a sense of communal belonging with its shared knowledge and considered purposes, implicit understandings and ethical standards.  Yes, its true that, as Abbot frankly acknowledges, memory plays tricks, that she is romanticizing my hometown by leaving in the bad but enhancing the good.  But it seems to me the charm of these essays, their rich harvest, their evocative force and emotional potency, lies precisely in their augmentation of reality.  To romanticize is simply to sing the song of truth in a different key.
981036
The author does an amazing job of portraying the tenderness of two people in love, woven with the struggle of a declining quality of life. Every page brings wonderful descriptions that allow you to get to know the characters intimately. I hope I never have to face these decisions, but if I do, Ill be better prepared for having experienced the struggle through this book.
578832
This is a hugely enjoyable book, written with much love and tenderness and though a sad story it ends in hope. Merryn Glover paints a wonderful picture of the Indian sub-continent, with all the violence and sadness of partition and the troubles after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and yet in all its fascinating beauty. The broken relationships within a missionary family and the problems of children sent off to boarding school at an early age are explored with great sensitivity. All in all a great read with much food for thought.
439896
Readers will find themselves whisked away to the Emerald Isle in this well written romance.  Author Josie Riviera's vivid descriptions made me feel as if I had indeed been transported across the Atlantic to Ireland.

The people portrayed are very real and I felt as if I knew them.  Ms. Riviera knows how to keep her readers emotionally involved in the story and moves us seamlessly between the high and low points in her main characters lives.  The book focuses on Clara and Danny, who on the surface appear to have little on which to base a relationship, but upon digging deeper have more in common than not. I not only became interested in Clara and Danny, but also in the supporting characters who have their own sub-stories that impact their relationship.

Josie Riviera is a fairly new to me author, but Im quickly becoming one of her biggest fans.

I received an e-copy of this book from the author.  The opinions here, however, are strictly my own.
3928943
Yesterday's Love is a delightful first novel written by Karilea Rilling Jungel.  Ms. Jungel, in her elegant and poetic language, has penned a story that will warm hearts and lift spirits with her recurring theme of enduring love and friendship that fills the pages with such beauty that it is impossible to put the book down.  I kept turning the pages, all the while, hoping that the story would never end.  Now that I have reached the last page, I simply want to read it again.

The story is rich with believable dialogue, well-developed characters and scenes that come to life under Ms. Jungel's masterful pen.  There is love, devoted friendship, anger, jealousy, betrayal and deep sadness all interwoven in this tale of a century old cold case that is carefully resolved and put to rest in the present day.  It is a mystery written with parallel love stories occurring in the past and the present.

If you are thinking about a gift for the holidays, I highly recommend giving a copy of this book to a good friend for a delightful winter reading experience.
2737962
The author weaves a rich and diverse tapestry of characters and events that is moving and full of heart. It comes together to show a Pakistan that is complex, dangerous, beautiful and hopefully headed for a better future thanks to the goodness, determination and faith of its people--portrayed with nuance and compassion by Saadia Faruqi. A truly wonderful read.
3168700
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This is the first book I have read from this author, and what a wonderful author she is!  I can definitely say that she could easily become one of my favourites.  Having been to this area of Newfoundland recently, I was captured by the details that she has brought to us when describing the area.  Ms. Barbour has given us a true love story in a picture-perfect area of Canada that is easy to cast ourselves into.  She has taken a regular, run of the mill idea and transposed it to a beautiful tale that is easy to find yourself drawn into.  The characters are quirky, especially Great Aunt Ida.  She would have a tale or two to tell herself, I'm sure.  They are strong, yet gentle, set in their ways, yet willing to bend when needed.  Even though this book is a standalone, it is part of a series, of which I am anxious to read all of.  There is nothing more romantic than having a strapping man, especially a Scotsman courting a delicate steamroller, as Elsie proves to be.  A must read, we tag along as Cam and Elsie find their way to their happy ever after.  Extremely well written, let Ms. Barbour whisk you away to Heart's Ease and escape to the realm of love.  I'm sure you won't be disappointed
4894075
Fernweh introduces the reader to a restless 28 year old young woman who is searching for a home and finds love in the heart of France unexpectedly.
This novel is both historical and beautifully written. I have immensely enjoyed this author's previous work and her latest publication does not disappoint.
It is easy to relate to Jordan who struggles with finding a place to call her own, and with characters such as Jax and Seth and Monseiur LaPouffe, it is impossible to not fall in love with this delight of a novel.
Of course the lead male, William, is quite literally a dream man. With a crooked smile.

It is obvious that this author loves France herself, the streets of Paris and the halls of Versailles are described with a keen eye for detail, which I admire in her previous work as well.

A treat of a book that gives one the desire to explore the world.
2805919
Sara's writing comes from place of compassion and warmth. The character portraits are compelling and provocative. You feel like you know the characters personally after a few paragraphs. Each story works its way to a perfect ending that leaves the reader aching for more. More interactions, more adventures, more connections. This is a beautiful collection of stories to snuggle up with on a Saturday afternoon.
867934
One of my favorite authors has not disappointed with his latest offering.  I traveled back in time through the vehicle of his story to my own childhood and connected with so many emotions, scents, sights and sounds from the past.  Phil Done tells a story like no one else can and I, as the reader, felt invited into his heart and home to share scenes from a treasured scrapbook with all the stories contained therein.  I remain an avid fan and strongly recommend this if you are looking for a read that offers beauty, hope, tenderness, and the ebullience of the human spirit.