Postcards From Cedar Key

Berkley Whitmore doesn't know why her mother abandoned her during the summer of 1972, leaving her behind with her grandmother in Massachusetts. Neither woman was willing to talk to Berkley about the reasons for the trip, even after she became an adult.

When her mom passes away, she finds a stack of postcards from the summer in question that lead her to Cedar Key, Florida. Berkley moves to the island and opens a chocolate shop. In between her time working at her store and spinning yarn for her internet business, she searches for clues to why her mom ran away to Cedar Key when Berkley was five. She hopes that a few of the lifelong residents of the island will remember something about that summer and help her solve the mystery of her show more mother's past.

I seem to have the minority opinion about this book, because most of the other reviewers loved it. I picked up this book because I enjoy stories where clues to family secrets are revealed in old-fashioned correspondence (letters and postcards!). Unfortunately there were things in this book that didn't sit well with me, the main one being the big secret her mother Jeanette was hiding. I think the reason Jeanette fled to Cedar Key was very understandable, but what I don't understand is why she kept it a secret from Berkley after she reached adulthood.

Apparently the summer Jeanette left Berkley was so detrimental to her well-being that she could never have a meaningful relationship with anyone. Honestly, when I started reading the book, based on Berkley's issues I thought her mom had abandoned her for good, but it turns out it was just the summer months when Berkley was five. Regardless, it just seems her mom and grandmother should have been honest with her a looong time ago.

The other part of the story was Berkley's budding romantic relationship with a local mystery writer named Saxton. Let me tell you that Saxon was a delight - smart, charming, witty, British - but I just didn't feel a spark between them. As friends, they were perfect together. More like "kissing cousins" than two people dating exclusively.

What I did love about the book was the setting and secondary characters. Cedar Key sounds absolutely beautiful and welcoming (and it's a real place off the west coast of Florida). The colorful characters were a lot of fun getting to know.

POSTCARDS FROM CEDAR KEY is part of the Cedar Keys series, but can be read stand-alone.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher. show less

This was, quite simply, another amazing Cedar Key story but one with a decidedly unexpected twist at the end. Berkley has relocated to Cedar Key in an attempt to ascertain what her mother was doing there 40 years earlier. All she knows is that when she was five years old her mother disappeared for a few months and didn't even say goodbye before leaving. Her mother is deceased, as is her grandmother, and the only relative she has left is an aunt she's only seen twice. The only clues Berkley has regarding her mother's disappearance are postcards from Cedar Key. For most of the story Berkley is simply settling in with her chocolate and spinning business. She hasn't come to Florida for much more than answers about her mother but she soon show more discovers more about herself as well as love in the form of Saxton Tate III.

Each book in this series provides slightly more insight into the people of Cedar Key and this was no different. I enjoyed learning more about Saxton, Doyle, Mr. Carl, Miss Raylene and of course Berkley. POSTCARDS FROM CEDAR KEY is about family, longing, friendship, romance (at any age), past regrets, forgiveness and secrets, and in some ways its even a coming-of-age story for both Berkley and Saxton.

I started reading this book on Tuesday, December 11th and was only able to read a few pages before a migraine interfered. I picked the book back up on Thursday December 13th and completed it in one sitting. I found POSTCARDS FROM CEDAR KEY to be a captivating story that held me to the very last page. show less

Postcards From Cedar Key by Terri DuLong
Wanted to read this book as I've been following the series and know there are many things I like about it. To me a good book is one that takes me places and I learn something new. This book has done that and so much more.
The knitting - there can never be enough books about knitting. Also the mystery and just the island living how everybody helps one another out when needed.
There is so much I love about this book: chocolates, knitting, crystals, soft shell crabs, fall foliage, spinning yarn, hurricane, charity community service, Pages and Paws program, mystery of the plant in the chocolate, Jordan Marsh Muffins and all the food.
Berkley Whitmore has postcards from her mom to her grandmother from the show more summer of 1972 when she had come to the island-Berkley as a 5year old stayed with her grandmother.
Now that she's cleaned out the house up north and has arrived at Cedar Key with postcards they do hold a clue as to what happened that summer and she starts asking around.
Neither would talk about that time and she feels she's missed a very important part of her life. Then again maybe some things in the past are better left alone....
Berkley Whitmore runs the chocolate shop:she has seashore themed chocolates and spins/sells her own spun yarn from her own alpacas at the local knitting store.
She also has invited her aunt-her mom's sister to come visit as she might have some photos or more clues.
One customer, a male, Saxton that comes in daily is becoming friendly and they share a meal once a week and with others take a cruise on the water. He has issues also as he's not seen his daughter in 20+ years now and after talking to Berkley is considering contacting her.
There are others who capture the storyline moving it along at just the right speed, never dull or boring. Even though there are a lot of characters in the book they do each play a small part in the whole scheme of things but it's not overpowering enough to take you away from the main plot. I love catching up to date with the others in the community and what everyone is doing to help others and the community out.
Such a relaxing book, hearing about the locals and how they clash and sometimes get along well.
Some parts of this book had me laughing out loud-this I do very rarely, and at times I sped up my reading to solve a mystery, and at other times my hands were clenched in annoyance as I've been through some of the scenes in real life.
Love how at the end everything comes full circle and how life continues on. show less

Berkley Whitmore, in her mid-forties moves to Cedar Key, Florida after the death of her mother. While looking thru the house, she discovers a box of postcards sent back and forth between her mother and grandmother. Berkely makes the move to Florida to discover why her mother left her in her grandmother's care while she spent a summer alone in Cedar Key.

Despite her outward confidence, she doubts her ability to have a meaningful relationship. There, Berkley meets Saxton Tate III, a British mystery writer. With the locals' help, Berkley begins to unravel the secrets of her mother's mysterious past. And gradually she comes to find acceptance, forgiveness, understanding, and resolution - and the love she has spent years searching for.

I had show more never read a book by Terri DuLong before, but enjoyed her upbeat writing. The only thing I did not think was very authentic, was when Berklet met Saxton outside her chocolate shop and he introduced himself as Saxton Tate the third. I seriously doubt any man would ever willingly admit to having such a pretentious name as that...LOL show less

I forgot that I've read a book previously by Terri DuLong and had a hard time getting in to the story. This book was the same for me and I had to force myself to keep reading. A lot of things in this story didn't add up for me. The whole premise of why she decides to go to Florida was pretty flimsy. Maybe if her mother had left her permanently and moved to Florida I could have bought into it but a summer when she was five? Also I had several issues with the chocolate shop. I guess I can understand opening a store and buying things from another store to stock it but when it comes to food that seems pretty lazy. The only thing that's actually made by Berkley are the chocolate clams (which is BTW a horrible mental image). Why couldn't she show more make the other chocolates? Also I was horrified when I found out she was adding clippings from some plant that she didn't even know what it was. Really??? How is that legal to sell food items like that? There are laws in every state that govern the preparation of food. How is it that she doesn't know this? Also, randomly people attribute the good things that happen to them as being a result of eating Berkley's clams. Why? What would be the reason for that? It's never explained, but I think the reader is supposed to know it has something to do with the mysterious botanical clippings. How does she know she's not drugging or poisoning her customers? Lastly, I have to vote for Saxton and Berkley as having the most boring love affair of all time. These two are one big yawn. I'll definitely pass on any future Cedar Key books. show less

DuLong presents many areas that I found interesting. I loved many of the topics detailed from the world of yarn from the animal (alpaca) to the knitting of a piece of clothing. The sense of community spirit made me want to move to Cedar Key where each person is an important part of the town. Even in all this glow of love, loyalty, and compassion; DuLong infuses the results of domestic violence. DuLong does not dwell on domestic violence, but slyly inserts a chapter on this hardship. I feel that the friendships happened too quickly, and that defects in personality were neglected. But, I enjoyed the story with all the trips in and around Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina. and the mention of therapy dogs.

Berkley Whitmore moves from Salem, Massachusetts to Cedar Key, Florida to search for answers to her mother's mysterious absence for the summer of her fifth year. They had lived in Maine until that summer. She and her grandmother had moved to Salem while her mother went away. Some postcards are her only clue about what happened during those months. She opens a chocolate shop and markets the yarn spun from her alpacas who reside in Maine with a friend to the local yarn shop. One of her first customers is a British gentleman who sweeps her off her feet. She does eventually get answers for her questions, but I'll not give those away and let you discover them in your reading. This was my first experience with a Cedar Key novel although I've show more had the first one on my wish list for quite some time. I found that the characters were fleshed out enough that I had no trouble reading this as a stand-alone. I found the plot pacing to be a bit too slow in the beginning. I found myself picking up the novel, reading a couple of chapters, and then putting it down. About halfway through, the pacing picked up, and I began enjoying the book and the story. I will warn readers that Berkley's discoveries are not all pleasant, but they do help her to discover a side to her mother she had never known. I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program with the expectation that a review would be written. show less