Lavender Morning

Great author and wonderful storyteller! Jocelyn is a woman torn between two worlds. Her mother grew up in a world of private schools and afternoon tea, but she married the local handyman. After her mother died when Joce was only five, her father remarried into his own class, and Joce was an outsider - until she met Edi, sixty years her senior, but a kindred soul. When Miss Edi dies, she leaves Jocelyn all her worldly possessions, which include clues to a mystery that began in 1941, set in a small town in Virginia that Joce has never heard of. But, because of her benefactor's notorious past, the townspeople know who Joce is, and they've plotted out her entire future, including who she is meant to marry. But Jocelyn has her own ideas show more about men -- and secrets that no one wants revealed. show less

Jocelyn Minton was as different from her father and the Steps as night from day. They were a different breed altogether - preferring motorcycles, NASCAR and beer, whereas Jocelyn was quiet and sedate - preferring the company of her elders and a good biography to anything her family could provide. Miss Edi lived four houses down and in Jocelyn's mind saved her life. Without the compassion and companionship of the woman who was practically her second mother Jocelyn didn't know how she could have survived her stepsisters. Her dad, understanding this, let her spend as much time as she wanted in the companionship of Edilean Harcourt.

Then Miss Edi dies and leaves everything to Jocelyn along with a host of mysteries and deceptions and she's show more sent into a tailspin. She packs up her whole life and moves to Edilean, Virgina, a town she has never heard of despite the fact that it owe's it's whole existence to Miss Edi's family. There she is confronted with the mystery of Miss Edi's life and two men - one that she feels she belongs with and one that she is both simultaneously drawn to and aggrevated by.

This is a typical Jude Deveraux story - the heroine a little sheltered and hurt by others in her life and the beutiful hero who sweeps in and saves her. It's a formula that works for her, and it works for me too. Deveraux's books are always a nice diversion and a quick read. One of the things I like about Jude Deveraux is that as a romance author she avoids the heaving breasts and throbbing members. The closest we got to anything sexual in this book was innuendo. I don't object to a good sex scene in my romance novels - but I definitely prefer the subtle to the in your face. If you like a sweet love story and just a little bit of intrigue and mystery, Lavender Morning is a good read. show less

Although I found Dear Reader's 'Chapter-a-Day' intriguing, after 3 hours (27%), I didn't care about the characters and wasn't entertained. I decided to quit forcing the issue. (Narrator not bad, but not great.)

The love triangle Deveraux attempted to create was lack-luster and felt more like a sibling rivalry over a shiny new toy. I skimmed the print edition, and still had no enthusiasm. Chalk one up to 'life's too short to read bad books.'

I'm not as impressed with Deveraux as her popularity would seem to indicate I should be. Going to try some of her 'oldies but goodies' and see if I like her better.

Charming, fun and intriguing. Jocelyn never really felt as though she fit in with her father's new family, so when Miss Edi, an elderly neighbor extends a hesitant hand in friendship, Jocelyn feels right at home.

Many years later, after Miss Edi's death, Jocelyn finds out that not only did Miss Edi leave her a mansion in a small town called Edilean, but she hid a huge secret about her experiences in World War II. Oh, and Miss Edi expects Jocelyn to marry a young lawyer in town. Or does she?

This was so much fun! The characters are charming and winning, and though it takes a little while to get going, the story is intriguing and fun.

I can't wait to hear more about the mystery surrounding Miss Edi!

And the only reason the book didn't get a show more full 5 stars? Practically zero sexy time. : ( But I can overlook that in this case!

Recommended. show less

Not sure why I keep trying this author. When I was much younger, I used to like her historical romances for light diversion from grad school. HEr writing evolved, and she wrote a couple of books with time travel in the plot that I really enjoyed (Knight in Shining Armor is one that comes to mind. But for the last few years, every time someone leaves a book of hers on a OBCZ shelf or gives me a copy of one of her books to BookCross, and I read it, I've been terribly disappointed. This one certainly fits the latter experiences.

Unfolding of the plot was flat and confusing. Very difficult to keep characters straight. Didn't particularly like a single character or care what happened to any of them. Character development was very inconsistent show more in that they all seemed to be acting out of character all the time. Convolutions of the plot were annoying, not particularly interesting, and a lot of the plot devices seemed to be thrown in just to make it novel length. The one portion I liked were the bits devoted to the backstory of Miss Edi and David, but even then, the same distractions mentioned above applied.

So why did I even bother to finish this? I had to have a procedure done, and spent a long time waiting doing that. I had meant to discard the book unfinished, but forgot to and it was the only book I had in my bag. It was this or a 1997 tattered copy of Ladies Home Journal. This one out, barely. Now I'm thinking LHJ should have won.

Sorry, Ms Deveraux. You've lost me as a fan. I suppose I'll still try and read a book of yours if someone gives me one, but I'd probably only start it under duress. show less

A great first book in the Edilean series. I really enjoyed it. Loved the interactions with Joce and Luke and seeing them come together. Wonderful side characters and friends filled the book. Besides being a romance story they also work to solve a mystery that started during WWII. The flashbacks were great. Really good dynamics. As a avid baker myself I enjoyed Joce's cupcake skills and her using them to make a living. This was a real page turner. I couldn't put it down.

I enjoyed this book as far as it went. The main relationship happened without really much developement. It was kind of a "why exactly are you in love?" feeling. I liked the secondary romance that took place in 1944 better. There was a conflict in the middle that was sort of a non-conflict. I sort of wanted to ask the heroine "exactly what are you upset about?" Still the writing was good as to be expected of a long time author. The story carried along swiftly and was easy to read.