13 | March | 2020 | Berit Talks Books

About the Book

An intimate portrait of the life of Jackie O…

Few of us can claim to be the authors of our fate. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy knows no other choice. With the eyes of the world watching, Jackie uses her effortless charm and keen intelligence to carve a place for herself among the men of history and weave a fairy tale for the American people, embodying a senator’s wife, a devoted mother, a First Lady – a queen in her own right.

But all reigns must come to an end. Once JFK travels to Dallas and the clock ticks down those 1,000 days of magic in Camelot, Jackie is forced to pick up the ruined fragments of her life and forge herself into a new identity that is all her own, that of an American legend.

Let’s Connect

Happy Friday all!

“May you not live in interesting times”. I don’t know how things are going where you are, but it has gotten a little crazy here! No toilet paper, no water, no sanitizer, no NBA, no MLB, no Coachella, no Disneyland. You need a sweet little escape read and this book is perfect for that!🌸

My Thoughts

This was a sweet small town story of family, second chances, and moving on. I would classify this as women’s fiction with a splash of romance rather than a true romance, but for me that worked just fine. I loved the small town of Summers Lake; The quaint shops and the quirky residence. Anna returns to her summer home in Somers Lake for the first time after the death of her husband Greg. Convinced that this is the last summer the family will spend in this small town and determined to make it as normal as possible for her two children. Anna’s aunt Hope has just opened a dance studio/boutique in the same small town and is hoping she can change Anna’s mind. Just as Anna starts to think she has completely made a mistake by returning to Summers Lake she meets Aiden. Aidan is also suffering from his own loss. Handsome, strong, silent, and hiding a secret of his own. I am certain you know where this is going. But the journey was filled with much more depth and emotion than I was anticipating.

I really liked Anna and felt for her as she tried to navigate this tough situation with her children. I thought the portrayal of grief was very raw and realistic. I loved the inclusion of Aunt Hope to the story. Especially loved the dance shop and all the little ballet tidbits. I’d venture to guess the author danced at some point in her life or had a child who danced (my daughter danced for many years competitively and all this brought back memories of that time). Aidan was a good guy and a good father. I was trying to figure out what he could have possibly done that was so bad that he was pretty much in hiding. That leads me to what I thought was the weakest (for lack of a better word) part of the story. There were a lot of so-called secrets and big reveals and I wasn’t always convinced that they were as big of a deal as they were made to be. I think people were a little underestimated when it came to some of the things in the story. In spite of this I really enjoyed the story. The setting was delightful, the characters were enchanting, it left me smiling and wanting a smoothie.

This book in emojis 🩰 ⛰ 🍔 🥤 🏊🏼‍♂️

*** Big thank you to Bookouture for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

About the Book

Can one summer house bring two broken hearts together?

Summer escapes to Lilac House have always been a source of comfort for Anna Harris. Though things will never be the same since her husband’s death, she knows that it is there, nestled in Lake Summers in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, that she and her children Zac and Evie can begin to build a new life.

The house is just as beautiful as Anna remembers, and caught up in the rhythm of small town life, helping her Aunt Hope run the little shop on Main Street, Anna begins to feel a sense of herself she hasn’t felt in years. Then she meets Aidan. Handsome, strong and quiet, he also knows what’s it’s like to lose someone. In each other they recognise something they’ve both been missing and they feel a spark.

But Aidan’s past holds a different set of complications. He’s hiding a secret about why he came to Lake Summers. And just as the Lilac House finally starts to feel like home, Anna learns something devastating about Greg’s death that makes her question everything…

The summer might have brought Anna and Aidan together, but can Anna finally let go of the past now she really has the chance for a new beginning?

A beautiful story about moving on and finding yourself, The Lilac House will restore your faith in love and teach you that it’s never too late the find the person who will change your life. For fans of Carolyn Brown, Jenny Hale and Mary Alice Monroe.

About the Author

Barbara Josselsohn is novelist and journalist. Her articles and essays appear in a range of publications including New York Magazine, American Baby, The New York Times, Parents Magazine, and Writers’ Digest. Online, you can see her work on WorkingMother.com, NextAvenue.org, and GrownandFlown.com. She teaches novel writing and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., and other venues.

http://www.barbarasolomonjosselsohn.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraSolomonJosselsohnAuthor

@barbarajoss

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://bit.ly/2VX9fFG

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2PXkx9c

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3aQm35h

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2TQxeUA

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