Book on CD read by Jane Alexander

Lilly Constable, reeling from the sudden death of her husband, decides to go to her family’s Maine cottage to regroup and reflect on her marriage to the love of her life, Cam McCall.

I thought this would be a book about her marriage, but at least half of it was about Lily’s first love, at the tender age of eleven to the “boy next door,” Jon Lowell. It was tender and sweet, with drama provided by Peaches, a girl who has lost her parents and is being raised (and coddled) by her grandparents. Still, it’s an idyllic summer that Lily remembers; or it was idyllic until tragedy struck.

I’d previously read another book by Siddons, and I liked her writing. But that was a horror / supernatural read and this one was not. Oh, she does include a “presence” (ghost?) in the story, but it’s not the focus of the book. In any case, I kept turning pages, but it was hardly memorable.

Jane Alexander does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She has a lot of characters to handle. But she sets a good pace, and I found her performance easy to listen to. Still, I read at least a third of the book in text format. ( )

Surprise ending I did NOT expect. Not sure that I like the ending but what am I gonna do about it. A good read nevertheless. ( )

This book left me with such a let down by end. Lilly thinking she had the perfect marriage and only had issues with her childhood. Cam, her husband, letting another woman so into his life was shocking - not that it was Peaches but that it happened at all and repeatedly. This was Lilly as a girl's first experience with the opposite sex thinking and caring for her. Jon had a terrific personality yet you felt sorry for him carrying the burden of his brother's death. It was understandable the loss of a friend being traumatic for Lilly. The mother's behaviors were strange but OK until the episode with the old man ( what would the father think?). The father definitely considered his daughter a replacement in the years after mother's death but was happy he found a life with another woman. ( )

Loved this book! Siddons is one of my all-time favorite authors and this is one of her best works to date. I didn't want it to end. There is a surprise ending that I had to go back and read a couple of times to tie up all the loose strings. It leaves you emotionally drained but wanting more! Would be a great book for a book club discussion. Anne Rivers Siddons comes through with another winner! ( )

This book was good and kept you guessing until the very end. This was the first of her books I had ever read but I will definitely check into some of her other ones. I would definitely recommend it to anyone but particularly women.