The Loft

My father cringes when I come into the room!  I keep pushing food at him (and medication, special drinks).  I want him to get better! He keeps telling me that nothing tastes good.  I told him too bad, he has to eat!  I am not being mean, just practical.  The doctor gave me orders, and I am carrying them out!  Do you have a stubborn parents (or child)?  I have discovered that he will eat home cooked meals (as opposed to the TV dinners which he normally loves and enjoys).  I will do whatever it takes to make him better.  My father will be 80 years old next month and I want him to be around for many more years to come.

The Loft by Bette Lee Crosby is the second book in the Memory House series.  Annie Cross is marrying Oliver Doyle.  It has been a year since Annie stumbled across The Memory House Bed and Breakfast and Ophelia Browne in Burnsville.  Ophelia and Annie are a family.  Annie is leaving on her honeymoon when she has a feeling that something is wrong with Ophelia.  They turn around and find out that Ophelia decided to drive herself to church (after not driving for a year) and suffered a heart attack.  Ophelia needed surgery and then has to have six to eight weeks of rehabilitation.  The doctor states that Ophelia will need to make some life changes and that includes no stairs (the stairs in her home lead to her beloved loft). Oliver and Annie decide to build a duplicate to Ophelia’s precious loft on the ground level.  They enlist the services of Max Martinelli.  Max is an architect with a special soul.  She can feel the wonderful memories in the house.  Annie and Max hit it off right away.

Ophelia, though, while in rehab makes some new friends and discovers a new life.  A life of living with friends and fun (instead of living with her memories of her deceased husband).  Ophelia meets Lillian Markowitz.  Lillian is loud and brassy but extremely friendly.  Lillian and her friends show Ophelia that there is fun to be had with new friends and, maybe a new home!  Can Ophelia move on without hurting Annie’s feelings?  Annie has a new husband and the beginnings of a new life.  Is Annie ready to embrace this new life or will she cling to the Ophelia?  Oliver just wants Annie to be happy, but he also wants her to love him as much as she does Ophelia.  Just when things are going good for Annie, something tragic happens.  Annie had so much happiness that the scale was tipped too far in one direction.  Annie will have to have faith and love to get the scale back in balance.

The Loft was such a lovely novel.  It is a Christian themed novel, but it is not in any way preachy.  It is well written and enjoyable to read.  The book just moves along nicely (no chopping endings or rough transitions).  You will smile, laugh, sigh, and cry while reading The Loft.  I give The Loft 4.5 out of 5 stars.  The ending is the one thing that bothered me.  We are left with a question.  We will have to wait until the next book to find out the answer. The first book in the series is Memory House.  The Loft came out today!

I received a complimentary copy of The Loft from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

Thank you for checking out my latest review.  Have a great afternoon and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader