Saturday 4 April 2015

Book ~ "Memory House" (2015) Bette Lee Crosby

From Goodreads ~ Is it possible for a memory to outlive it's owner? 

Ophelia Browne knows the answer is yes. She knows because she’s been granted the unique gift of finding and caring for those forgotten memories. But now she’s nearing ninety and Browne women seldom live beyond ninety. 

Before time runs out Ophelia must find a successor. Someone who can take hold of the gifts and keep the memories from fading.

 When broken-hearted Annie Cross shows up on the doorstep of The Memory House Bed and Breakfast, Ophelia knows she is the one. The two women forge a bond of friendship as they sip magical dandelion tea and share stories. When Annie starts to sense the memories, Ophelia is delighted but then a thread of violence begins to unravel and Ophelia fears things have gone too far.

Annie is recovering from a broken heart and is not happy with her job as an actuary.  She needs a weekend away and stumbles upon the Memory House Bed and Breakfast, where she plans on spending a couple days but ends up staying a few more.  Ophelia will be 90 in a few months and is running the bed and breakfast along with an apothecary.  She has a special gift in that she can feel the memories of others on objects she has picked up along the way.  She senses that Annie also has the gift and the two women become friends, with Annie visiting the bed and breakfast on a regular basis.

This is the fourth book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  It's a nice story of a friendship between two women with many years and experiences between them.  It's kind of airy-fairy because Ophelia is able to feel and remember other people's memories on objects in her collection but I was buying it.  I liked the main characters, Annie and Ophelia.

It is written in third person perspective in present tense, though some chapters are in first person perspective ... they are short and italicized and the name of the person is at the beginning of these chapters so you know who the focus is. This style worked for me as it let me get into their heads and know what they were thinking.

The author has mentions of characters from her other books ... like Ethan Allen from Spare Change, Jubilee of Jubilee's Journey, and Delia of Passing Through Perfect.  It's okay if you haven't read these books as they are just brief nods.

I look forward to reading more in what a I hope will be a series.

I received a copy of this ebook from the author at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

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