Summary (from Goodreads): At Madeline’s Tea Salon, the cozy hub of the Avalon community, local residents scrapbook their memories and make new ones. But across town, other Avalonians are struggling to free themselves of the past: Isabel Kidd is fixing up her ramshackle house while sorting through the complications of her late husband’s affair. Ava Catalina is mourning the love of her life and helping her young son grow up without his father. Local plumber Yvonne Tate is smart, beautiful, and new to Avalon, but finds that despite a decade of living life on her own terms, the past has a way of catching up—no matter where she goes. And Frances Latham, mother to a boisterous brood of boys, eagerly anticipates the arrival of a little girl from China—unprepared for the emotional roller coaster of foreign adoption.
Enter Bettie Shelton, the irascible founder of the Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society. Under Bettie’s guidance, even the most reluctant of Avalon’s residents come to terms with their past and make bold decisions about their future. But when the group receives unexpected news about their steadfast leader, they must pull together to create something truly memorable.
By turns humorous, wise, and deeply moving, The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society is a luminous reminder that the things we hold most dear will last a lifetime.
Review: As an avid crafter myself this book's title and cover appealed to me. I enjoyed the little touches like detailed descriptions of various scrapbooking and jewellery making techniques. It was fun to see a bit of my 'nerdy' and sometimes solitary hobby play out in a novel.
I also enjoy stories set in small towns like the one in this novel. It always seems so quaint and connected, unlike the usual hustle and bustle of today's world.
I thought the characters were a lot of fun and from what I understand, many play a continuing role from the author's first book. The one criticism I have is that there may have been just a few too many characters. I understand that they're all there to show the many faces of a community and how we're all interconnected, but truthfully, I sometimes had trouble remembering which storyline belonged to which character. I just kept reading hoping that I would figure it out along the way, and most of the time I did, it was just a bit confusing from time to time.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I was a nice reprieve from the world of historical fiction that I usually immerse myself in.
I also enjoy stories set in small towns like the one in this novel. It always seems so quaint and connected, unlike the usual hustle and bustle of today's world.
I thought the characters were a lot of fun and from what I understand, many play a continuing role from the author's first book. The one criticism I have is that there may have been just a few too many characters. I understand that they're all there to show the many faces of a community and how we're all interconnected, but truthfully, I sometimes had trouble remembering which storyline belonged to which character. I just kept reading hoping that I would figure it out along the way, and most of the time I did, it was just a bit confusing from time to time.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I was a nice reprieve from the world of historical fiction that I usually immerse myself in.
Do you love it when your hobby sets the scene for a book or does it bug you because you're looking for inconsistencies, wondering if the author actually knows what they're talking about?
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