I was very interested to read about the San Francisco history around which this book revolves: San Francisco in the late 1800s-early 1900s. Life was a tough existence then. I liked the characters - Henry, Marilyn, Lucy and Blue. They were well portrayed. The entire story was so sad. Henry and Marilyn are very much in love and lose their son to choking at two years old. Life just stops for them. Henry takes on a lover. Everyone is just rooted and cannot go on. The book is written to portray one day, the anniversary of their son Jack's death. I found it hard to go back and forth between the characters speaking. I did like the ending but it was just such a sad story. Maybe I was not in the mood for such sadness.

I really, really enjoyed this book. It is the story of Cara who is a single mother of 4. They have all lived with the fear of domestic violence and Cara and the children decide to almost singlehandedly build a 2 story brick house. The strength and determination of each family member and the growth that they experience both individually and as a family is remarkable. This book makes you believe that you can do anything and the sheer determination to make the most of your situation is amazing. Building a house is not boring; it is a lot of work and there were many ups and downs both with the house and with her divorced husband. But she never gave up! A toast to Inkwell Manor! Well done!

When I first started this book, I wasn't sure if it was for me. New author, unfamiliar territory, etc. But the characters of mother and daughter and other characters were interesting and well drawn. I enjoyed the style of going back and forth in time and between characters and liked how she tied up all the loose ends. I wanted them to win. I could not put the book down and will be recommending this book and author to others. I also liked her wry sense of humor. The plays on words were pleasant surprises. I now want to go back and read her other books. Thank you for creating characters that were believable and real. This book will stay with me for a long time.

I really really enjoyed this book written by a cooking mom and her two cooking daughters. I loved the recipes but I equally loved the story of their lives growing up as sisters and as daughters. I am Episcopalian so I totally related to their upbringing and their relation to the church. The book is joyful, full of wonderful stories of growing up, sisterly tiffs and awkward moments. Multiple generations are featured and you wish you had such a warm and loving family. No family is perfect but you feel like you are right in the middle being a part of it. It's a family of sisters I would have liked (I am an only child). Some of the stories growing up are hilarious. And at the center of it all is the ritual of cooking glorious food and sharing in the prep and eating. Loved this book!

I loved The Art of Hearing Heartbeats so I was sure that I would be open to liking Whispering Shadows as well. I was so happy that the author could write very believable mystery thriller fiction but also a very soft and touching romantic story. I loved the descriptions of life in China and learned so much about the Cultural a Revolution and how it shaped China into the country that it is today. The characters were strong and very detailed. I felt like I really knew each one. The emotions of each were especially well drawn. This was a great book and delighted that this is the first of a trilogy. The descriptions of nature were beautiful. I throughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to everyone!

I have read a number of books about the Kennedy family, the wives and extended family. It is such a complex set of characters and spell-binding, each and every one. So I wanted to read this book and was interested if there could be new information or perspective on JBKO. The author does indeed deliver. From the author's perspective, the widow suffers from PTSD, and the clarity of examples seems to affirm this theory. I learned a lot about the world that she lived in, and truly how fragile she was, in the first terrible year, but really for years to come. This would be a good book for book clubs to discuss and ponder and would also be of interest for anyone who is interested in the Kennedy history. The book is well written and clearly presented.