Lauren K. Denton’s debut novel embodies everything I enjoy about Southern fiction! From the charming setting of Sweet Bay, Alabama, to the quirky characters that inhabit The Hideaway, this story enchanted me from beginning to end. I loved the intertwining of past and present that led to an unexpected journey of self-discovery. A heartfelt tale of family and friendship, The Hideaway is sure to be one of my favorite summer reads!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.
About the book:
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.
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