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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What Did I Think of This Second-Chance Novel?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

When I discovered "Restored" was a second-chance novel, I had to read it. I'm not familiar with Tanya Eavenson or her work, so it was an intro to her, too. via @chautonahavig

We all know I’m not much of a sappy girl, but there are a few things that are “my jam.”  One of those: second-chance romances.  I love to see things that didn’t work… work!  So, when I had a chance to review the book Restored, by Tonya Eavenson, I jumped at it.  Restore

Note: Links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. Additionally, I requested a review copy and chose to review here.

What Did I Think of This Second-Chance Novel?

With a great premise and clean editing, Restored offers a glimpse into the difficult world of widowhood, cancer treatment, infertility, and unexpected medical trouble.  With a line-up like that, you’d expect it to be a difficult book to read, too implausible, or a little like that series, Cranford inspired by Elizabeth Gaskell—everyone dying all over the place.

But it wasn’t, and that part of the book was brilliant.

There were things I didn’t love as much as I wanted to, however—things that took this from being a great book to just a nice one.

Most things I took issue with were minor—a child’s speech patterns being spelled oddly or a little too cliche rather than authentic. A slow start (one that, in retrospect, might have been a good idea. I’m still pondering that). Much of the book could have been improved by focusing on showing rather than “explaining” things.

But my one real complaint is that I saw in the characters things I really liked, but the characters themselves came off a bit flat.  I didn’t connect with them the way I wanted to. Instead, they were… there. Perhaps the best way of stating my primary problem was that I felt like I was observing something rather than living the characters lives with them.

Still, with all that…

I’ll be reading more by this author. Something tells me she may be a favorite someday. Meanwhile, I’m not sorry I requested the review copy, and I hope she keeps going.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Because Fiction: A Chat with Split-Time Author, Melanie Dobson
byChautona Havig

I chatted with Melanie Dobson a few weeks ago, and boy was it a wonderful time of talking about my favorite books of hers and her latest release, The Wings of Poppy Pendleton. Listen in to the heartwrenching story that sparked the idea for the book and the delicious (and fascinating) research she did to write it!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

How a Family Mystery Sparked the Idea for a Beautiful Story

The Wings of Poppy Pendleton takes place during the dichotomous Gilded Age among New York’s famous Thousand Islands.  Combining a family mystery with that era, Melanie Dobson creates a wonderful story that echoes the tumultuous time at the turn of the 20th century.

We chatted about the research involved–both for Melanie’s family mystery of a missing child who was in a photo but no one knew who she was and for the era and area as well.  I loved hearing how her mother got involved in trying to discover what happened to… was it Marjorie?  I think.  And, of course, how that helped shape the story of this book.

The Wings of Poppy Pendleton by Melanie Dobson

In this compelling new time-slip mystery, a little girl goes missing from her family’s castle in the Thousand Islands of New York. Eighty-five years later, a journalist teams up with a woman living on Koster Isle to find out what happened to Poppy, once and for all.

1907. On the eve of her fifth birthday, Poppy Pendleton is tucked safely in her bed, listening to her parents entertain New York’s gilded society in their Thousand Islands castle; the next morning, she is gone, and her father is found dead in his smoking room.

1992. Though Chloe Ridell lives in the shadows of Poppy’s castle, now in ruins, she has little interest in the mystery that still captivates tourists and locals alike. She is focused on preserving the island she inherited from her grandparents and reviving their vintage candy shop. Until the day a girl named Emma shows up on Chloe’s doorstep, with few possessions, save a tattered scrapbook that connects her to the Pendleton family. When a reporter arrives at Chloe’s store, asking questions about her grandfather, Chloe decides to help him dig into a past she’d thought best left buried. The haunting truth about Poppy, they soon discover, could save Emma’s life, so Chloe and Logan must work together to investigate exactly what happened long ago on Koster Isle.

You can learn more about Melanie Dobson on her WEBSITE.  Also follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.

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