The Last Garden in England

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly 368 pages

Author Kelly employs one of my favorite plot devices, in this, her third novel: dueling timelines. Most writers use only tow, but Kelly has stretched her writing skills by having three timelines: present day, 1944 and 1907. She does a wonderful job in keeping the characters individualized with the descriptions, but I had a hard time with their voices---all three sounded similar. This caused an occasional problem for me as I sometimes forgot whose story was being told. However, the descriptions of the times and other characters involved held ground me.

The first plotline/character we meet is Emma. Her firm has been hired to restore the garden to Scotland’s Highbury House to its original grandeur. The garden hasn’t been maintained and is grossly overgrown.

The second character is Venetia Smith in 1907. She was hired by the original owners to design the garden in the formal English style. She lays it out in a series of “rooms,” different areas for different emotions…like the Children’s Garden, The Poet’s Corner, the Winter Garden, etc. Interesting enough, Venetia is based on a real-life designer, one that Emma holds in the highest esteem.

The third plotline is 1944. Actually there are three women in this section: Highbury House’s mistress and its cook plus a “land girl,” come to work the land since all the men were off to war.

Three generations of women plan and care for the garden, each with her own story. I found Venetia’s story the most compelling. In the early 20^th century there were not many women who owned a business. Second, I found the discovery of Venetia’s original plans in the present day the highlight of the novel. It had the most tension and the most excitement.

The Last Garden in England is touted as for fans of Kate Morton’s novel, The Lake House, but I don’t feel it even comes close. The tension was sporadic, and I still don’t understand the title. Therefore, The Last Garden in England receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

The Grace Kelly Dress

The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz  336 pages

 

When a close friend married a few years back, late in life, he was amazed, nay shocked, that the main focus of the event was “the dress.” And as any bride will tell you, it’s all about the dress.

 

“The dress” in the novel is one dress that spans three generations, but not “the dress” the American movie superstar Grace Kelly wore to marry her Prince Rainier of Monaco. That dress is the inspiration for this novel, which begins in 1956, when Grace abandons Hollywood to become Her Royal Highness, Princess Grace to Monaco. Grace was living every girl’s fantasy. Grace’s dress is beautiful, and every bride in the world wants to imitate it.

 

This story is told in three alternating timelines with from a daughter’s, mother’s and grandmother’s point of view. In begins in 2010 in Brooklyn. Rachel, who goes by Rocky, owns a gaming company and is more comfortable in jeans and combat boots. When she becomes engage, her mother, Joan, is certain that she’ll wear her dress. Lacy with Princess Diana sleeves, it screams NOT ROCKY! But how does she not accept a family heirloom without hurting her mother and their relationship.

 

The second story is Joan’s story. After her sister died, it’s up to her to be the best…be good enough for both of them. This section was my favorite as it has the most suspense. I don’t want to say anything more for fear of spoiling the plot. Still when Joan’s mother brings out the dress, Joan would rather get married in her underwear. But once she makes some changes to it, it becomes the most beautiful gown in the world!

 

The third story is Joan’s mother’s story. Rose is a seamstress in 1958 in Paris. A young bride has come to the highly regarded bridal boutique where Rose works. The bride wants a Grace Kelly dress, and as the work begins, the plot takes several twists that keeps the reader on edge.

 

Rocky’s story is the weakest of the three and that weakness is why I am compelled to give  “The Grace Kelly”  4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

We Hope for Better Things

We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels    400 pages

As a reader and a writer, I’m always looking for compelling reads that linger long after I’ve turned the last page. Erin Bartels’s debut novel, “We Hope for Better Things,” is such a novel. Bartels startles with her ability to take three separate timelines and weave them into one excellent story.

The story lines cover contemporary times, 1960s Detroit and Civil War-era Detroit outskirts. At the heart of each plot is forbidden love, one of the most that forbidden loves of all times, between whites and blacks. There are also the stories of race relations of each time period that could easily overpower the story, but Bartels uses her skill to not let that happen.

The main protagonist is journalist Elizabeth Balsam, who works for the scandalous rag, the “Free Press.” She is about to break a story that will have major repercussions in Detroit’s political powerhouse. Before that happens, Elizabeth has been contacted by a man who claims to have a box of photos and a camera that belongs to her family. Someone she has never heard of.

Elizabeth, who loves a good story, rather reluctantly agrees to take the camera, and if she can contact the woman named Nora, and if she wants the, she’ll arrange to have the photos returned.

Nora is Elizabeth’s great-aunt on her father’s side. Her sister knows of her as does a cousin, Barb, that is also a stranger. In contacting Barb, now unemployed, Elizabeth has somehow managed to agree to see if old Aunt Nora is still fit to live alone. Elizabeth goes to visit Nora, and there she begins to learn her family history, a history that is foreign to her, and one that she participates in.

Sometimes the timelines between the contemporary story and the 1960s story was a little confusing. Nora is such a major character in those periods that it threw me off a tad when the story switched, although Bartels clearly delineates each section.

 “We Hope for Better Things” is a wonderful read, and it receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.