My thoughts
What a story. This one will pull you right in and keep you turning the pages. It's maybe the happiest, sad, story I've read in a while. Of it's kind for sure. A true Southern story. From the hearts of a granddaughter, grandmother and grandfather. They tell you everything you need to know. This is a true love story. A love so deep. So true. So beautiful.
As you get to know these characters they worm and weave their way right into your heart. A young woman, Keaton, who just had her heart broke. A grandmother, Rebecca/Becks. And grandfather, Townsend. Keaton goes to her grandparents family home to fix it up to be sold. Her mother and uncle have finally decided it's time. What happens in this small town in Beaufort, NC is going to melt your heart. Bring big ugly tears to your eyes. Make you laugh a bit. But mostly it will make you fall in love with Becks and Townsend and dream of a love as deep as theirs. So true and open. So honest and complete. The way they know each other. It's beautiful.
This is a beautiful story. It has sadness in it but mostly it's full of the life of a couple who started life together even though neither's parents were very happy about it. It was the religious thing. But they lived a long and very full life together. Had two beautiful children. And grandchildren that they never got to meet.
This was a light read but with a couple of heavy subjects. Cancer and Alzheimer’s. It is about two people who try to hide these diseases from each other. Two people who know each other so well that of course they know. Of course they see the changes. Of course they know that the other is sick. They have a deep connection that will prevail and outshine almost anything.
I enjoyed reading this story even through the tears that I shed and there was some big ugly tears too. Especially near the end. But it's such a good story. I'm so excited to read more of this author's books. This one really touches the heart. Brings into focus things that we may take for granted. Love and love hard while you can. No matter who it is. Go in with your whole heart.
Thank you #NetGalley, #KrisyWoodsonHarvey, #GalleryBooks, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.
FIVE huge stars and probably that many boxes of tissues. It's great.
About
“Full of Southern charm and characters that will stay with you” (Jennifer Probst, New York Times bestselling author), this tender novel follows a young woman who discovers the family she has always longed for when she spends a life-changing summer in North Carolina—from New York Times bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey.
Present Day: Keaton Smith is desperate for a fresh start. So when her mother needs someone to put her childhood home in Beaufort, North Carolina, on the market—the home that Keaton didn’t know existed until now—she jumps at the chance to head south. But the moment she steps foot inside the abandoned house, she’s confronted with secrets about grandparents who died before she was born. And as she gets to know her charming next-door neighbor, his precocious ten-year-old son, and a flock of endearingly feisty town busybodies, she soon finds she has more questions than answers.
1976: Rebecca “Becks” Saint James has made a name for herself as the best hostess North Carolina has ever seen. Her annual summer suppers have become the stuff of legend, and locals and out-of-towners alike clamor for an invitation to her stunning historic home. But she’s struggling behind the façade. Becks strives to make the lives of those around her as easy as possible, but this summer she is facing a dilemma that even she can’t solve. And as the end of the season looms, she is brought to a decision she never wanted to make.
As both Keaton and Becks face new challenges and chapters, they are connected through time by the house on Sunset Lane, which has protected the secrets, hopes, and dreams of the women in their family for generations. For fans of Summer of ‘69and The Notebook, “A Happier Life is that wistful, sparkling summer song whose notes will long linger in readers’ memories” (Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author).
Present Day: Keaton Smith is desperate for a fresh start. So when her mother needs someone to put her childhood home in Beaufort, North Carolina, on the market—the home that Keaton didn’t know existed until now—she jumps at the chance to head south. But the moment she steps foot inside the abandoned house, she’s confronted with secrets about grandparents who died before she was born. And as she gets to know her charming next-door neighbor, his precocious ten-year-old son, and a flock of endearingly feisty town busybodies, she soon finds she has more questions than answers.
1976: Rebecca “Becks” Saint James has made a name for herself as the best hostess North Carolina has ever seen. Her annual summer suppers have become the stuff of legend, and locals and out-of-towners alike clamor for an invitation to her stunning historic home. But she’s struggling behind the façade. Becks strives to make the lives of those around her as easy as possible, but this summer she is facing a dilemma that even she can’t solve. And as the end of the season looms, she is brought to a decision she never wanted to make.
As both Keaton and Becks face new challenges and chapters, they are connected through time by the house on Sunset Lane, which has protected the secrets, hopes, and dreams of the women in their family for generations. For fans of Summer of ‘69and The Notebook, “A Happier Life is that wistful, sparkling summer song whose notes will long linger in readers’ memories” (Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author).
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