Happy BOOK BIRTHDAY to... A CUP OF SILVER LININGS by Karen Hawkins - REVIEW!

HI there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're grabbing our party hats and throwing the confetti as we celebrate the BOOK BIRTHDAY of the latest release in the Dove Pond series from author Karen Hawkins!  You might recall the MAGIC and BEAUTY that was the first title, The Book Charmer, and if you need a refresher, just click here for my review.  It was a pleasure to read with charm to spare and a great beginning to what we hoped would be a growing series to come.  That time has arrived and without further ado, here comes today's book birthday celebrant and book of choice...

A Cup of Silver Linings

Dove Pond series, Book 2

by

Karen Hawkins

9781982105563

Gallery Books

About the book...

Ava Dove—the sixth of the seven famed Dove sisters and owner of Ava Dove’s Landscaping and Specialty Teas—is frantic.

Just as her fabulous new tearoom is about to open, her herbal teas have gone wonky. Suddenly, her sleep-inducing tea is startling her clients awake with vivid dreams, her romance-kindling tea is causing people to blurt out their darkest secrets, and her anti-anxiety tea is making them spend hours staring into mirrors. Ava is desperate for a remedy, but her search leads her into dangerous territory, as she is forced to face a dark secret she’s been hiding for over a decade.

Meanwhile, successful architect Ellen Foster has arrived in Dove Pond to attend the funeral of her estranged daughter, Julie. Grieving deeply, Ellen is determined to fix up her daughter’s ramshackle house, sell it, and then sweep her sixteen-year-old granddaughter, Kristen, off to a saner, calmer life in Raleigh. But Kristen has other plans. Desperate to stay with her friends in Dove Pond, Kristen sets off on a quest she’s avoided her whole life—to find her never-been-there father in the hopes of winning her freedom from the grandmother she barely knows.

Together, Ava, Kristen, and Ellen embark on a reluctant but magical journey of healing, friendship, and family that will delight fans of Alice Hoffman, Kate Morton, and Sarah Addison Allen.

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Another Dove sister, another magically infused dilemma...

...but this time, the choice made once upon a time,..

...may come back to bite with a VENGENANCE.

OH yes.  Those decisions we make out of an abundance of love for someone, may be from the kindness of our heart, but they can still backfire in spectacular ways.  Ask Ava...she knows ALL about that...and yet to see her, to know her, to work with her, is to care for her and see just how very much she cares for those around her.  Her calling in life may be to work with plants, and the outlets she's cultivated through gardening and her specialty teas are a perfect match, but at the heart of it all, she's human.  She can make mistakes even when entirely laced with love and the repercussions of those chances taken can echo through the years.

It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming to be immersed in this story.  From the sister dilemma coming back to life from their shared past to their recent loss of a a dear friend and the challenges presented when change comes in like a wrecking ball...and in the form of a relation you never knew...there is so much here to love, you won't know which shoulder to cry on, or hug to embrace.  The tough times ARE TOUGH, and those Ava inadvertently wronged do not let her off easy, but the joys are equally uplifting, the sisterhood something to celebrate, and the second chances others didn't know they'd be getting a gem to remember.

All in all, a great addition to the series with characters to love and new charms to cherish.  You can feel the family fold growing despite the bloodlines not always being shared, but that's the beauty of family.  It's not always who was born into it, but WELCOMED into it that matters most.  Can't wait to see what the next release has in store for us!

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About the author...

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Karen Hawkins writes novels that have been praised as touching, witty, charming, and heartwarming. A native Southerner who grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee where storytelling is a way of life, Karen recently moved to frosty New England with her beloved husband and multiple foster dogs. The Dove Pond series is a nod to the thousands of books that opened doors for her to more adventures, places, and discoveries than she ever imagined possible.

SITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

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Special thanks to Lucy at Simon & Schuster for the ARC for review (THANKS!). For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now via Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing. 

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

S&S BLOG TOUR: The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Okay, so if you didn't know it already, I am TOTALLY and IRREVOCABLY in LOVE with...BOOKS!  Yep, that's right.  I'll take them any way I can get them.  I'm like SAM I AM in book nerd(ish) form.  So, yeah...the title of today's book of choice stopped me in my tracks.  I was CURIOUS.  I was INTRIGUED.  I was SO IN LOVE with not only the TITLE but also that GLORIOUS COVER!  Oh come on...don't tell me you didn't scroll down and PEEK at it already because we both know you did and that's TOTALLY OKAY!  It's SO DESERVING of peek-age.  Anywho, while I grab a handful of sea-salted popcorn (snackage of choice while reading and blogging!), you get cozy as we settle in to explore between the pages of a recent (YESTERDAY) book birthday celebrant...

The Book Charmer

Dove Pond, Book 1

by

Karen Hawkins

9781982121976

Gallery Books

About the book...

Sarah Dove is no ordinary bookworm. To her, books have always been more than just objects: they live, they breathe, and sometimes they even speak. When Sarah grows up to become the librarian in her quaint Southern town of Dove Pond, her gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: the arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace Wheeler.

If the books are right, Grace could be the savior that Dove Pond desperately needs. The problem is, Grace wants little to do with the town or its quirky residents—Sarah chief among them. It takes a bit of urging, and the help of an especially wise book, but Grace ultimately embraces the challenge to rescue her charmed new community. In her quest, she discovers the tantalizing promise of new love, the deep strength that comes from having a true friend, and the power of finding just the right book.

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Alright, just take another moment or two and gaze at the cover.

*sigh*

Isn't it simply GORGEOUS?!

I mean from the title to the cover image to the font to the sparkle effect, it's a total winner.  Honestly, I'd love to have a chair like that...the print is so cute without being TOO cute, you know?  Anywho, we're not here to talk FURNIture, but LITERAture, so let's get to it.

From page one, I was gone...as in my heart was sold to the highest bidder and that bidder lived in Dove Pond with these AMAZING characters, living lives full of COLOR and RICHNESS, sharing time with their loved ones which was pretty much the WHOLE TOWN because everyone knew everyone in the way that small towns do, and their only desire was to be happy and spread that happiness to others.  What begins as a tale of two trouble orphan girls, a child from a magical family with the town's future riding on her shoulders, and a grumpy old book unwilling to give up the details to make destiny easier to grasp, turns into a story has heart in abundance, a profusion of friendship, and love springing eternal even when the intended parties aren't truly seeking.  While these situations play out, we are gifted the chance to get to know Mama G despite her coming transformation, meet a rather articulate Daisy, despair as things happen beyond our control, and celebrate the moments of closeness never imagined.  As truly moving as the overall story is though, its the characters that make everything THAT much more special.

I adored Mama G and all her magical qualities.  She was a kind soul who could see into the hearts of others and know who truly needed her; an interesting talent to be sure, but when seen in action, inspiring.  The scene when she is taking the measure of our little orphaned sisters, I just knew she had read them accurately despite voices to the contrary.  As things changed for her, both circumstance and health related, I couldn't help but smile through the tears at her gentle yet determined spirit still shining through.  Grace was a remarkable woman who survived the tough times, made it through the difficulties life presents us all, and trudged headfirst through the challenges that no one could foresee.  I could feel her pain and anger.  I knew how hard it hurt her heart to do everything she had to do, but she did it...she made herself the unwitting champion for the two souls she cared most about in this life, while still leaving room for others.  Daisy is certainly Hannah's daughter, but she has a calmer head on her shoulders...unruled by the clouds, and moored to her family.  Her spunkiness and individuality shined through as did at times a wisdom beyond her years.  Then there's Sarah, and Trav, and pretty much the rest of the town because, yeah, they all play their part in making what could be a mere stopover in Grace's life path, a potential permanent home.

In the end (since I seem to be rambling again), it was heart warming, friendship welcoming, moving, and all the beautiful things it promised to be. The idea of books actually talking to someone, even if only in their mind, was simply magical, as were the bonds of friendship, family, and love forged with every turn of the page.  My only wish...it was longer! ♡  Needless to say, I'll be keeping a spot on my reading list for book two when it makes its presence known.

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About the author...

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Karen Hawkins writes novels that have been praised as touching, witty, charming, and heartwarming. A native Southerner who grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee where storytelling is a way of life, Karen recently moved to frosty New England with her beloved husband and multiple foster dogs. The Dove Pond series is a nod to the thousands of books that opened doors for her to more adventures, places, and discoveries than she ever imagined possible. 

SITE  |  FACEBOOK  |  INSTAGRAM

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Special thanks to Hannah at Simon & Schuster for the ARC for review (THANKS!).  For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title celebrated its BOOK BIRTHDAY yesterday (July 30th, 2019) via Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.  Be sure to check out the rest of the sites participating in this blog tour celebration going on now throughout the blogosphere!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!