Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes (Book 1 in The Winter Series) by Joanne DeMaio, audiobook, 4h 45m
Synopsis from Audible: Reluctant to leave her cherished New England hometown after her sister's winter wedding, former journalist Vera Sterling makes a sudden decision. She takes what's left of her severance pay and invests it in real estate...in one particular drafty colonial home and old timber barn set upon the pretty banks of Addison Cove. In that rough-hewn barn, she discovers a secret treasure left behind by the previous owner, the proprietor of the long-forgotten Christmas Barn gift shop.
While restoring her run-down, wood-sided home--its creaking floors, broken banister, and neglected widow's walk--that secret slowly unfolds like a bit of snowflake wonder, crystallizing hopes and dreams for many in this small Connecticut town. But mostly for Derek Cooper whose own tragic story has headlined Addison's news. And whom Vera has come to love. When the first snowstorm hits during Derek's annual Deck the Boats Festival at the cove, residents become stranded. It is then up to Vera to not only bring the town together, but to mend one man's heart she fears she may have lost. Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes is a heartwarming story, one that reminds us to look to winter's stars. Because snowflakes can grant very special wishes...if only we believe.
BOOK REVIEW: This review is for the audiobook. While the synopsis is one that I did read before selecting it for book club, it was the cover that drew me in. I am not a fan of the cold and snow if I have to be in it. I do enjoy looking at it from inside a warm and cozy home and this cover has everything that I actually enjoy about the Christmas season. But then I started listening to it.
First thing that threw me is that the opening scene is female characters in a bridal shop and the book is being narrated by a man. That did end up growing on me when we meet the main male character. He didn't try to make his voice too high when doing the female voices and had a good range of different voices for all the characters.
This audiobook rates at a high 3/low 4 for me. At times it felt like we would go from Vera to Derek and back to Vera but not within the same day or even locations. It also felt like there were chunks of time that were just gone. Specifically we go from February in Chapter 1 to sometime in the fall in Chapter 2 with the only transition is Vera stopping at a house for sale. There were times that I had to replay parts because I thought I had missed something but after listening to the first 6 chapters, I had to bump up the speed to 1.5 because I was having a hard time staying in the story. It is a cute story. I didn't know it is a series but from what I can tell you don't have to have read book 1 to read book 2. I might read book 2 at some point but I won't listen to it. The lower 4 really is because I just wasn't connecting with the narrator but not enough to bump this review down to a 3 star.
4/5 Stars
2024 Reading Challenge: 54/50 complete
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