In the South, family is always more complicated than it seems. After her last remaining family member dies, Sara Jenkins goes home to The Hideaway, her grandmother Mags’s ramshackle B&B in Sweet Bay. She intends to quickly tie up loose ends then return to her busy life and thriving antique shop in New Orleans. Instead, she learns Mags has willed The Hideaway to her and charged her with … charged her with renovating it–no small task considering her grandmother’s best friends, a motley crew of senior citizens, still live there.
Rather than hurrying back to New Orleans, Sara stays in Sweet Bay and begins the biggest house-rehabbing project of her career. Amid drywall dust, old memories, and a charming contractor, she discovers that slipping back into life at The Hideaway is easier than she expected.
Then she discovers a box Mags left in the attic with clues to a life Sara never imagined for her grandmother. With help from Mags’s friends, Sara begins to piece together the mysterious life of bravery, passion, and choices that changed her grandmother’s destiny in both marvelous and devastating ways.
When an opportunistic land developer threatens to seize The Hideaway, Sara is forced to make a choice–stay in Sweet Bay and fight for the house and the people she’s grown to love or leave again and return to her successful but solitary life in New Orleans.
“A story both powerful and enchanting: a don’t-miss novel in the greatest southern traditions of storytelling.” –Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author
“Two endearing heroines and their poignant storylines of love lost and found make this the perfect book for an afternoon on the back porch with a glass of sweet tea.” –Karen White, New York Times bestselling author
- USA TODAY and Amazon Charts bestseller
- Full-length Southern Women’s Fiction
- Includes Discussion Questions for Book Clubs
more
The characters were well developed and the plot complex, but there seemed no point, no truly satisfactory ending in my opinion. This book was published by Thomas Nelson, so I expected some Christian theme somewhere in the book, but found nothing.
I definitely wouldn’t label this as Christian Fiction, per se.
I enjoyed certain aspects of this book but, overall, I was left a little disappointed by the story line. The author writes beautifully and you almost feel as if you are with the characters; feeling warm bay breezes or sitting in a dimly lit courtyard in New Orleans. However, the story needed a little time to get going and it ended slightly off-key for me.
I think this is just one of those stories that you have to read and form your own opinion.
This was a good book but you may be disappointed if you typically read Christian Fiction, as this was advertised as being.
I was introduced to Lauren K Denton’s work in March 2019 during a JustRead Publicity social media tour four “Glory Road”. As I liked the novel, my mother gave me Denton’s two previous ones for my birthday.
“The Hideaway” is Denton’s debut novel, a southern and Christian themed book. Normally I read a good book in 2-3 days time. The reason this was a long read was not due to the book itself, but rather outside influences in the middle of reading it. I say this so that anyone looking at the review won’t hold it against the book that it took me 16 days to read it. It isn’t indicative of the book’s content or my interests.
Anyway …
The book is told between Mags’ and Sara’s points of view. Mags from the past and Sara from current day.
Sara is in Sweet Bay after the death of her beloved grandmother, Mags (Margaret Van Buren]. Sara thinks it is a simple reading of the will and she can return to her solitary life in New Orleans immediately. But, Sara becomes the new owner of “The Hideaway”, a run-down bed and breakfast which has seen better days. She’s instructed by her grandmother to fix it up to its former glory, even better than when Mags got it. Sara is given a choice to keep it or sell it, but she has to inform the current residents in advance. Residents who are also like family to Sara.
Sara decides that it needs to be renovated anyway so why not spruce the old place up?
She hires a contractor (Crawford) and sets out to do what has been asked of her. In the process she begins to learn about her grandmother’s past and what led the older woman to the Hideaway in Sweet Bay and how she came to possess it. The story that others tell about Mags is vastly different from the life Sarah uncovers. How is it she knew nothing of this? Why did her grandmother keep the secrets she did?
Sarah also learns the truth about her mother and her own past. But, Sara now seemingly has a future there in Sweet Bay – especially with Crawford.
But, Sara also has her life in New Orleans, or believes she does. The longer she stays in Sweet Bay, the less she wants to return to her prior life. When a land developer starts making plans for the property, Sara is torn between staying and fighting for the Hideaway and returning back to the life she’s crafted for herself. Sara is also wondering if she wants to make the same mistake her grandmother did when it came to love? The Hideaway is more than a place to visit; it holds deep memories and love.
For her first outing, Denton does a remarkable with this story. It blends the past and present together to weave a beautiful story. It has romance with a not-so-happy ending. It reveals that often we don’t know those we’re closest to. The story also teaches us that what we want isn’t what we need.
For some readers their pet peeve was that Mags’ unrequited love story and Sara’s current love story are almost mirror image. I found it interesting in that Sara learned from her grandmother’s mistake. I found it a beautiful part of the story.
This book can seem to drag on, but it can also draw one in. I was drawn into and found there were times I couldn’t put it down. As I said previously “life” came between me and this book. I think on a subsequent book it would be a 2-4 day read.
If you’ve never read any of Denton’s works – this book and “Glory Road” are stand alone stories so the reader can start with any one of them. If you’ve read “Glory Road” and enjoyed it, you will likely enjoy this. Denton’s second novel is “Hurricane Season”, again, a standalone title.
This, like “Glory Road”, is a clean Christian Romance read. There are no “sex” scenes in it. The language is mild and completely inoffensive. For those who are fans of “clean” romance reads, this one definitely fits into that category.
I received this book from The Fiction Guild. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts are my own. This is a wonderful story about two women at different points in their lives. The Hideaway at one time had been a B&B but during the 60’s Maggie came after getting away from a cheating husband, she found it by accident but didn’t want to leave. There were artist living there and the owner couldn’t keep it up and get the people to pay for their stay, so one day she left and left the house to Maggie. Maggie came from money but found herself there. She really fell in love with William, but her father found her and convinced her to take her husband back, William left not knowing Maggie was pregnant. Her daughter grew up thinking Maggie’s husband Robert was her dad. But she married and had a daughter of her own. But she and her husband died in a car accident and Sara came to live with her grandmother who she thought was a little different. The kept in touch when she got older because Sara moved to New Orleans and started her own business. But when her grandmother passed away and left her the house it brought all the secrets out and she found that being home was at The Hideaway and not New Orleans. This was a beautiful story.
Wow, what a wonderful book. I really enjoyed this story. There are similarities between Sara and her grandmother Mags, that Sara never saw before. Now that Mags is gone, she is learning about the real Mags. I loved the characters and how Sara grew as a person to realize what is really important in life. She does this through learning about Mags and her life before Sara, but also through the other inhabitants of the Hideaway. I enjoyed the writing style, it grabbed my attention. Chapters focus on the here and now with Sara and other chapters take us back to Mags early life. Great book for a book club!
I received this book from Goodreads in one of their Giveaways. Thank You!
Development of characters and the differences in their lifestyles draw you in and keep you entranced. You see the differences between big city and small town life, and the similarities between real and quirkiness of characters in all our lives, endearing. Nice escape.
This story is written from the viewpoint of two separate people. First is the woman names Mags who was raised in a wealthy home and marries a man who proves to be very unfaithful to her. He leaves her and she also leaves her home area and ends up at a bed and breakfast called the Hideaway. The other person’s viewpoint is of Sara, Mags’ granddaughter. Sara owns an antique shop in New Orleans and upon hearing that her grandmother has died, comes to the Hideaway to settle Mags’ affairs and to start a new life. Very good story that keeps your attention and turning the pages.
I loved this book. For a first novel it was well written and flowed smoothly. I hope she keeps writing as I would definitely read more of her books
This is a wonderful debut novel about life and how you live it. The characters are deeply drawn…you feel Mags and her personality fills the book even after she is gone. Her life is so rich with romance, loss, moving on and not dwelling on the what ifs.
Sara is her granddaughter in New Orleans on the fast track with her own business and not much time to see Mags.
When Sara goes back to work on Mags home, she sees for the first time how special Mags was…a strong woman who married Robert but left him after he cheated again…in a time when women stood by their men. Through letters, Sara becomes aware of William, the lost love of Mags and how Mags carries on with her life, picking up strays from geese to people. And Sara meets Crawford, a man similar to William. She has to deal with Mags friends, house guests that never left, her own past and fixing up a glorious old home.
Take time to savor the people like Dot and the Major and Allyn. And drive to the bed and breakfast and just sit and stay awhile.