Kimberly Wakefield

Well-developed characters and the most charming descriptions of the Maple Sugar Inn were wonderful foils for a variety of feel-good themes which appeared throughout the novel, such as the value of female friendship, moving forward after a loss and making meaningful connections with others, to name a few. I was so taken by the inn, Hattie, and the community which lovingly supports her as she works through the challenges of widowhood and single parenting. The book club members and their stories drew me in as well and I really wanted to know how everything worked out for them. The perfect Christmas read - you'll wish the Maple Sugar Inn were a real place!

This book shines a light on how important one's mental and emotional health is and debunks the ridiculous claims which trashy tabloids made against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It's easy to understand exactly why they felt they had to leave Britain. It's also clear that the British Royal Family has some major emotional and behavioral issues (including those of spouses) but it's the institution and courtiers that are as much to blame as the family members for the deepening divisions and worsening of said issues. I doubt anyone reading this book would have qualms about stepping away from such toxicity had they been the victims of all the media bias and constant personal attacks made without any justification or support whatsoever. The former Kate Middleton has a lot of work to do on herself if she can't acknowledge that she's a normal woman who is sometimes at the mercy of her own hormones and is offended because Meghan identifies the reason for her lack of memory! Why not just accept it and move on? Based on that interaction and others it would appear Kate suffers from delusions of grandeur and needs to get over herself. Sure, be a princess but remember that you're human, too! It was also really upsetting to learn how unwilling the "Palace" was to set the record straight each time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were attacked in the tabloids for things they had neither said or done. Believe me, I'd want to sue, too, but mostly, I'd be hurt and disillusioned about the whole institution that had failed me at every turn.

Don't read this book if you have a weak stomach. Do read this book if you want to learn more about domestic violence and its frustrating cycle of repeated offenses. The story is an emotional rollercoaster and made me angry enough to want to flatten the main character's father and husband before sending them both off to jail indefinitely, hopefully destroying the carefully curated public images which hid their twisted psyches. There's no excuse for their behavior. NO. EXCUSE. They were weak, pathetic men who took out their own inadequacies on the women they had promised to love, honor and cherish. I don't care that they might have been decent fathers or perfectly nice to anyone else. Such @$$%$&*! need to be held accountable for their actions and repeated abuses. It was even worse to learn that it was based on real events. There's no avoiding the fact that people who behave like this are just as perverted and gulity of criminal activity as any pedophile or human trafficker. The story drew me in but I was so disgusted by the repeated violence, followed by excuses and broken promises that I almost didn't finish the book. It paints a very bleak picture of dysfunctional relationships and the endless cycle of violent transgressions, victimization and criminal behavior. May all such poor excuses for human beings one day discover how it feels to be on the receiving end of such abuse and seek the mental help they clearly require to get their heads on straight so that they take responsibility for their poor choices rather than blaming others for their own shortcomings and failures. It was infuriating to watch it all unfold and not be able to stop it. Seriously, you need to be in the right frame of mind to read this as it's not for the faint of heart, so I only gave it 4 stars.