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A review by kairosdreaming
The Garden of Happy Endings by Barbara O'Neal
3.0
I'm not sure what I had expected going into this book. It had popped up as a recommendation awhile ago, and even that I'm fuzzy on the origin. But it had "garden" in the title, was supposed to be romantic, and supposed to be about food, and so I was in!
Elsa is a Minister who's having a crisis of faith; needing to recover she is somewhat forced by her sister and an old friend to come back to her hometown to recover. But unfortunately they both have issues of their own, some of them serious, that cloud issues. And a new project she's on, while great for the community, doesn't make everyone happy.
All of the characters are likable; Elsa, her sister, the priest, the random guy who helps out with the community gardens, the kids, etc. Elsa is probably our main character and her struggles are really relatable. Her sister, maybe not as relatable, and to be honest her issues are kind of something that will never happen to the average person. But she was a quilter, so that makes her alright in my book! Her daughter's struggles are even less relatable, and honestly a little bit too good to be true.
I think a lot of the happenings in this book happened quick, somewhat implausibly, and resolved too quickly as well. While I liked the general theme of the book (and was surprised by it being centered on religion and losing faith aspects), I think the way it was told was just a bit too unbelievable. Maybe if it was a longer book, or maybe if there was one less story line or conflict it would have helped shape the book up much better.
Review by M. Reynard 2020
Elsa is a Minister who's having a crisis of faith; needing to recover she is somewhat forced by her sister and an old friend to come back to her hometown to recover. But unfortunately they both have issues of their own, some of them serious, that cloud issues. And a new project she's on, while great for the community, doesn't make everyone happy.
All of the characters are likable; Elsa, her sister, the priest, the random guy who helps out with the community gardens, the kids, etc. Elsa is probably our main character and her struggles are really relatable. Her sister, maybe not as relatable, and to be honest her issues are kind of something that will never happen to the average person. But she was a quilter, so that makes her alright in my book! Her daughter's struggles are even less relatable, and honestly a little bit too good to be true.
I think a lot of the happenings in this book happened quick, somewhat implausibly, and resolved too quickly as well. While I liked the general theme of the book (and was surprised by it being centered on religion and losing faith aspects), I think the way it was told was just a bit too unbelievable. Maybe if it was a longer book, or maybe if there was one less story line or conflict it would have helped shape the book up much better.
Review by M. Reynard 2020