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Mary Ellen Taylor

Author of The Union Street Bakery

11 Works 1,039 Members 71 Reviews 2 Favorited

Series

Works by Mary Ellen Taylor

The Union Street Bakery (2013) 199 copies
Honeysuckle Season (2020) 167 copies
The Brighter the Light (2022) 159 copies
Winter Cottage (2018) 143 copies
Spring House (2019) 82 copies
Sweet Expectations (2013) 76 copies
The Words We Whisper (2021) 73 copies
When the Rain Ends (2023) 64 copies
The View from Prince Street (2016) 37 copies

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Members

Reviews

This is not the genre I usually read, but I picked it up because it's set on the Outer Banks, which is a place I love. I found the story engaging enough to keep reading, and even though it's labeled as a romance, that part of the story was pretty low key (which was good for me, because that's really not my jam).
 
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ledonnelly | 7 other reviews | Mar 11, 2024 |
This beautifully written and emotional book kept me up past my bedtime. I got so involved with the lives of the two main characters that I had to find out if and how they solved their problems. This book deals with some heavy subjects - death and grief, love and loss, a parent with Alzheimer's and it is very sad in parts but also contains hopes for the future. It's told in alternating chapters by the two main characters so that the reader is able to see how two people deal very differently with grief.

One day Olympia packed her car and drove away from her small Virginia home town. She's traveled all over the western states to complete her deceased mom's bucket list. She appears to be resilient and strong as she travels, often sleeping in her car and only stopping to work to make enough money to continue her travels. Now a year later, she's back in her hometown for her only sister's engagement party. Her plans are to only stay in town long enough to sign divorce papers to end her marriage with Spencer, visit the graves of her mother and daughter and then get back on the road but things don't always work out like we plan.

Spencer is working hard to handle his father's diagnosis of Alzheimer's. He has given up his place on the golf circuit to come home and take care of the family business. He doesn't really understand why Olympia left but he still appears to be in love with her. He, too, is dealing with grief from the death of their daughter as well as his strong father's mental decline.

Along with the fractured relationship between Olympia and Spencer, there is a tenuous relationship between Olympia and her sister and her negative treatment from Spencer's parents. It looks at grief from all sides - not only grief from a death but also grief from ended relationships and losing trust in family. I really enjoyed both of the main characters and hoped that they would have a happily ever after.

This emotional look at grief and loss along with hope for happiness is a book that I won't soon forget.
… (more)
 
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susan0316 | Feb 18, 2024 |
Very readable but somehow we really never get into the actual issue of Dani having to deal with her loss of eyesight over time because the story only goes so far. A sequel would cover, perhaps, Jackson and Dani dealing with the changes as time goes by....perhaps 30 years into the future? Lots of attempts to deal with grief from really all of the characters in the book...was probably more the main subject of the book rather than a focus on Dani's eyesight.
 
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nyiper | 2 other reviews | May 13, 2023 |

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Statistics

Works
11
Members
1,039
Popularity
#24,780
Rating
3.8
Reviews
71
ISBNs
54
Languages
2
Favorited
2

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