Happy Sunday! I hope you are having a pleasant weekend. Here are some of the books that will be published on August 4: Piecing It All Together by Leslie Gould, A Life Once Dreamed by Rachel Fordham, The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart, and Peace in the Valley by Kelly Irvin. I will be sharing my thoughts on all of these books this month. Which one do you wish to read first?
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| Herb Farm |
Book Summary
The Last of the Moon Girls by Barbara Davis has Lizzy Moon learning that her grandmother, Althea has passed leaving
Moon Girl Farm to her. Lizzy left the family
farm eight years ago after two teenage girls were murdered, and their bodies
found in the pond on their property.
Althea was never charged, but the gossip did its damage. Lizzy returns to the farm to obtain the
family journals and put the farm up for sale.
She was unprepared for the emotions and memories that come rushing back
or the condition of the farm. Lizzy
finds a journal that Althea left for her titled A Book of Remembrance which is meant
to help her remember the good times as well as assist her with her gift. Andrew Greyson, their neighbor, arrives to
fulfill a promise he made to Althea. He
has been in love with Lizzy since they were children. Andrew never doubted Althea’s innocence in
the girl’s deaths. Lizzy realizes there
is only one way that she can move forward and that is to clear Althea’s
name. She sets out to discover who
murdered the teenage girls eight years ago.
Someone is not happy with Lizzy resurrecting the case and delivers forbidding
messages. Can Lizzy clear Althea’s name
and embrace her legacy?
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| Drying racks for herbs |
My Thoughts
The Last of the Moon Girls by Barbara Davis is not quite what I expected from the description. Moon Girl Farm has been in the Moon family
since Sabine Moon purchased the property in 1786. It has passed from mother to daughter through
the generations and now Lizzy Moon, as far as she knows, is the last Moon
girl. Lizzy left the farm eight years
after a scandal rocked Salem Creek, New Hampshire and the Moon family. Two teenage sisters did not make it home one
night. After the sheriff’s department
received an anonymous tip, they dragged the lake on the farm and found the
girls who had been missing three weeks. People
believed Althea Moon, Lizzy’s grandmother, killed the girls despite the lack of
evidence. Lizzy is notified that Althea
has died leaving the farm to her. Lizzy
comes home to sell the farm and collect the family journals. After reading a special journal Althea left
for Lizzy, she sets out to learn what really happened to the teens. Lizzy was a conundrum. She went eight years without visiting her
elderly grandmother who raised her. All
her life all Lizzy wanted was to be normal (highly overrated). Lizzy has wanted nothing to do with the farm
or the scandal (as we are repeatedly told).
But then she doggedly pursues the truth.
I did enjoy the magic, the information about herbs and perfume, and
Lizzy’s soapmaking. I was disappointed
that the romance was so prominent. I
wish it had taken a backseat to the mystery and magic. Andrew
Greyson, Lizzy’s love interest, had cared for Lizzy since they were kids. He
was always there when she needed assistance.
They are now both back in town and Andrew is working to fix the
greenhouse. I did not like Andrew rescuing
Lizzy because I would have preferred Lizzy saving herself. My favorite
character was Evvie Broussard, the keeper of bees and jewelry maker. I thought the story was predictable and it
moved along slowly. You can foresee how
the story will play out after the first few chapters. There were various storylines all happening
at the same time which muddled this book.
Lizzy, the farm, the magic, and finding herself would have been
enough. The epilogue wrapped up the book with a bow. The Last of the Moon Girls is a good escape
novel. Some changes would have taken
this book to the next level and made it great.
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| Creating Perfume |
The Last of the Moon Girls is available from Amazon*. You can find other novels by Barbara Davis here. I appreciate you reading my review today. I did want to mention that I know information is the My Thoughts portion repeats parts of the Book Summary. The summary I write only appears here on my blog while my review appears everywhere else. Tomorrow I am featuring Peace in the Valley by Kelly Irvin. It is the third (and final) novel in Amish of Big Sky Country. I hope that you have a carefree day. Take care, stay safe, and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
*This
post contains affiliate links.
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