The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton - Review

I received this book free from the publisher:

Book details:

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 11, 2017)

ISBN-13: 978-0718084226

About this book:

When her grandmother’s will wrenches Sara back home from New Orleans, she learns more about Margaret Van Buren in the wake of her death than she ever did in life.

After her last remaining family member dies, Sara Jenkins goes home to The Hideaway, her grandmother Mags's ramshackle B&B in Sweet Bay, Alabama. She intends to quickly tie up loose ends then return to her busy life and thriving antique shop in New Orleans. Instead, she learns Mags has willed her The Hideaway and charged her with renovating it—no small task considering Mags’s best friends, a motley crew of senior citizens, still live there.

Rather than hurrying back to New Orleans, Sara stays in Sweet Bay and begins the biggest house-rehabbing project of her career. Amid Sheetrock dust, old memories, and a charming contractor, she discovers that slipping back into life at The Hideaway is easier than she expected.

Then she discovers a box Mags left in the attic with clues to a life Sara never imagined for her grandmother. With help from Mags’s friends, Sara begins to piece together the mysterious life of bravery, passion, and choices that changed Mags’s destiny in both marvelous and devastating ways.

When an opportunistic land developer threatens to seize The Hideaway, Sara is forced to make a choice—stay in Sweet Bay and fight for the house and the people she’s grown to love or leave again and return to her successful but solitary life in New Orleans.

Meet the author:

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren K. Denton now lives with her husband and two daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, faith, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. On any given day, she’d rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books. The Hideaway is her first novel. Website: laurenkdenton.com Twitter: @LaurenKDenton

My thoughts:

When I read what this book was going to be about it drew me in. I thought it sounded like an interesting book that was going to have a twist or two in the story. Needless to say I was not disappointed. The author did a good job of describing the settings. I can see myself at the bed and breakfast with this nice cast of characters enjoying a good meal and company. I also like how the author went back and forth between Sara's story and her grandmother Mag's story. This was a touching book but at the same time it had a light-hearted feel to it. There was also a touch of romance in it but not over powering. A great book to take to the beach with you or sit under the shade tree. I am glad I gave this new to me author a try and look forward to more books by her.