Rachel Hauck

Elizabeth Dorsey had a plan. High School. Bachelor of Science in Management Degree from MIT. MBA from Wharton. Job with a Fortune 100. Penthouse. Dream Car. Vacation in the South Pacific. That was the plan. There had been a medical interruption. A 2-year interruption. So, the timeline was already off track. With grit and determination, Elizabeth had gotten the plan back on track. She could do it again. But no one knows that another sidetrack is looming. And if it's permanent? Well, let's not show more answer that question. In the meantime, she's living with her grandparents in Hearts Bend, Tennessee, working in the financial office of family-owned Dorsey Furniture by day and moonlighting as Night Manager at Ella's Diner by night.

I loved this book. The characters' realistic life journeys show that not everything goes according to plan—not the carefully outlined plans, not even the best-laid plans, not the plans that lead to success. I loved the conversations in the relationships (grandparent/granddaughter, cousins, parent/daughter, boss/employee, friends). The contrasts between growing up in a city vs. a small town, surrounded by family and extended family vs. in a single-family household far from relatives. The reminders of being out in nature, taking us out of ourselves to see the land, the history, the vastness of our surroundings—and that sometimes there's something even more beautiful than sticking to the best-laid plans.

The color map of Hearts Bend at the beginning and the charming illustration opening each chapter—a strawberry milkshake complete with whipped cream, sprinkles, strawberry, and striped straw—add delightful visual touches to the story.

This was my first introduction to the author's writing, and now I can't wait to continue reading the series and explore more of her books.

Thank you Rachel Hauck, Sunrise Publishing, and LibraryThing, for the opportunity to read an eARC of this novel. show less

A good part of the drama herein felt rather manufactured - of all the many and definitely staggering changes and difficulties involved in marrying into a foreign royal family, giving up US citizenship? Should neither have been a shock nor, perhaps, such a sticking point - not at the late date of immediately before the wedding, at least.

The persistent conflation - intentional or not - between being American and being Christian and being part of the Kingdom of Brighton (and that definitely show more threw me off as well, as a name for the original country) and part of the Kingdom of Heaven (in this, mortal world?) was unsteadying and offputting to me.

Meanwhile some of the conflict that I had anticipated seeing after the early setup disappeared; not smoothed away but forgotten in the manufactured and strange drama, and never handled again.

Even the last-minute addition of an obstacle after the main conflict was resolved wasn't really handled, just dropped again immediately after being raised, without even actually saying what the outcome was. Despite it including things like official accusations of treason, which are hardly so easily dropped. show less

From the synopsis you think you are getting a novel about five New Yorkers meeting and sharing their stories in a magical Manhattan library. Nobody is more disappointed than me that this author did not live up to the promise in the synopsis. I gave this book until Chapter 11, and so far the intimate meetings of the Fifth Avenue Story Society consisted of 'Why are we here?' 'Will there be food?' 'Are you going to help me write my memoir?' 'Why is HE here?' 'Why should I continue?' and show more 'Library is closing'. Do these meeting last only fifteen minutes? Each chapter is from one character's point of view. The five characters were as dull as a butter knife. Lexa, workaholic doormat who fancies herself a CEO candidate, but goes for weeks without being able to make the assertion in a sentence that she deserves the job (I wouldn't hire her), frankly, I've seen her character before, nothing new here (her neighbor Abby seemed be living a more interesting life), Jett Wilder, sort of a ridiculous name, bland hot guy nerd who begins the story in the aftermath of a wedding brawl but can't seem to stand up to his Literature department head about a biography (and why is he confused his space navy Sci-Fi book was not a runaway best-seller?), Chuck, the Uber driver with poor impulse control and not much else going for him, Coral, heir to an elite cosmetic empire and tabloid fodder runaway bride, and lastly, Ed, a blue collar senior citizen. He's obsessed about writing the love story between himself and his late wife Esmerelda, but seems to have little love for his neighbors or the "Society" members. Given their busy lives and no evidence they read books, I find it highly implausible Lexa, Coral or Chuck would actually show up when given a vague invitation to a library event. I read books, and I'm not sure the invitation, as written, would compel me to go. I'd probably chuck it in the recycle basket. Too bad I didn't decline this novel's invitation.
Sorry, but if you can't grab my interest better than this by a third way into the novel and live up to your title, then it's time to move on. I would not recommend this book or this author, as her character development was weak, story progression inordinately slow with much repetition (I thought I was rereading a passage over again), overuse of allusion to interesting backstories (which might not be worth the wait) and writing skills mildly shaky. show less

Rachel Hauck is back with another winner!

I've read a few celebrity romance-themed books lately, and wasn't really a fan of them. This one is a pleasant change to that--I enjoyed it immensely! The characters are endearing (except for maybe Leroy, lol), and I really hope Hauck sets more books in Sea Blue Beach. There are more stories there for sure!

Hauck vividly brought to life the struggles of each era, including the Great Depression, life between two different world wars, the rising show more supermodel era of the 1980s, and more. I appreciated watching the Sea Blue Beach community come together across times of challenge and hardship.

With multiple narrators across several decades, it sometimes took me a second to make the mental switch and catch up with a given storyline, but Hauck did it well. I also enjoyed that she looped in characters and places from another of her book series--not that I can remember which series that was off the top of my head, but she does mention it in the author note at the end!

The read definitely made me want to pull out my Rollerblades. :) (I was a child of the '90s, after all--and I also appreciated the extra ankle support the blades give versus the skates!)

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. show less