Love, Alice

Greetings!  I hope everyone has had a good Friday.  There are only two more left in 2016 (after today).  I spent the day finishing the lights on the tree.  I used over ten sets this year.  I try to have a light on every single branch or stem (we like a brightly lit tree).  I can now start putting on the ornaments.  We also have Boyd's Bears and Anna Lee items that get stuffed up in the middle (so the whole tree looks full when I am done).  I will get pictures when I am finished.

Love, Alice by Barbara Davis is the story about grieving and moving beyond it.  Dovie Larkin is thirty-six years old and lost her artist fiancé a year ago.  He committed suicide two weeks before their wedding.  Dovie cannot move on because she has unanswered questions.  William, her fiancé, did not leave a note.  Dovie does not understand why he killed himself.  Was she not good enough for him?  Dovie takes her lunch each day at William’s grave (which people think is weird).  Dovie has been forgetful and flighty the last year.  She needs to get her act together or she will lose her job at the museum (and she worked very hard for her promotion).  Dovie is a curator at the Charleston Museum of Cultural Arts and is organizing a fundraiser for the new art education wing (with the help of the Austin Tate).  One day in the cemetery Dovie sees a woman who seems to be as grief stricken as Dovie.  Dovie watches her leave a letter at the grave that has Alice’s Angel on it. Dovie takes the letter and reads it.  This letter leads Dovie on a journey to help Dora.  It also sets Dovie on a path to get the answers she needs to help her move on with her life.

Love, Alice is about Dovie finding answers she feels she needs by helping Dora.  Ultimately, though, the book is a romance novel (it dives into a romance between Austin Tate and Dovie).  The story is set in 2005 with the letters taking the reader back in time.   I liked Dora and her daughter Alice’s story.  It was the best part of the book.  It was interesting how the author tied everything together.  I found the “surprises” were no surprise.  The reader can easily figure them out in advance of the reveal.  I wanted to give Dovie a good shake and tell her to open her eyes.  Dovie was too old to not see what was right in front of her (it was so obvious).  She is not some naïve twenty-something.  I give Love, Alice 2.5 out of 5 stars.  I found the book to be a too long.  It desperately needed some rewriting and trimming.  There are many slow sections in the book.  Dovie does her “thinking” and “questioning” which gets tedious (I skimmed through these areas).  Love, Alice was not my type of book.  If you are looking for a feel-good romance novel, then you will enjoy Love, Alice.

I hope you found today's review helpful.  I am currently reading A Pinch of Poison by Alyssa Maxwell.  I am off to get dinner.  I am going to enjoy Chinese tonight (yum).  I hope all of you have a lovely evening.  Find time for yourself amid the Christmas hustle and bustle.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader