A charming, heartfelt tale of love lost and regained in a gated community in Savannah, Georgia.
After almost forty years in New Jersey, Catherine, Ralph, and their beloved Boston Terrier Karma are hitting the road, relocating to a gorgeous, serene island off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, where Catherine can work on her backhand and Ralph can hit the links. But upon their arrival in the Seven … the Seven Oaks gated community, it becomes apparent that Catherine and Ralph’s visions of retirement couldn’t be more different. While Catherine is intrigued by their quirky neighbors, Ralph’s golf-and-poker routine seems to be interrupted only by his flirtations with their zealous real estate agent.
As the pair drift further apart, Catherine cannot help but sense her marriage is at risk. Then, she meets recent widower Fred at the dog park. United by their dogs, they embark upon a friendship that could be something more—until she discovers that he’s not quite what he seems. As she sorts out fact from fiction and discovers what sorts of secrets might be hiding behind Seven Oaks’ pristine picket fences, she’ll have to make a decision affecting her future happiness and her chance at newfound love.
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Normal dogs and abnormal people provide an entertaining glimpse of lives in transition in Good Karma. This charming novel is full of unique characters with twists and turns I did not see coming!
Christina Kelly’s charming debut novel examines the heart of a long-married woman who, uprooted from the familiar, finds herself foundering, but finally flourishing in her new Savannah home, with a well-deserved second chance at love.
Good Karma is a fast-paced, funny, great good fortune of a novel that has it all: a love story, a mystery, eccentrics, adorable dogs, and even an alligator. Christina Kelly has a talent for touching our hearts even as she has us falling off the sofa with laughter.
A charming debut where Southern-spiced humor, quirky characters, a disembodied spirit, and furry friends come together in a story that proves a retirement community can be anything but boring.
Quirky and entertaining. A cleverly written reminder that it’s never too late to fall in love or become the person you’re meant to be.
Christina Kelly’s heartwarming novel peels away the layers of the Seven Oaks retirement community to reveal the many secrets roiling below its surface. A wonderful cast of characters including the chatty spirit of a recently departed resident, a matchmaking Great Dane, and a mysterious woman with a penchant for trespassing adds up to a surprising, wise, and romantic debut!
Book was rather slow moving and disjointed. I ended up not finishing it unfortunately.
This is the audiobook I almost put aside as a DNF. However, I persevered and it did get better after the first half. I just couldn’t rate it any higher because of how EXTREMELY slow the first half was. The books about a bunch of retirees who live in a gated community, the doldrums of a decade old marriage and the excitement of possibly finding someone new. I did really enjoy that last 50%, but unless you have some pretty good perseverance, I don’t recommend this book.
See https://maryanntippett.ca/good-karma-is-good-escapism/ for full review!
What I Loved About Good Karma:
1) Multiple story lines include dogs;
2) Characters are of or near retirement aged — refreshing perspective!
3) The “A Note From The Author” was a lovely and satisfying “P.S.” to a book I hated to see end;
4) The ghostly appearances and conversations threading the various story lines together provided a wonderful Karmic touch, and although I would have enjoyed more of it, the apparition’s resolution ended in a satisfying manner;
Favorite line: “I like to live other people’s lives.” (A writer’s mantra if there ever was one.)
Weaker Parts of the Book:
1) A certain huallabaloo involving an alligator, a small dog, and various characters, some of whom I couldn’t quite understand their role in the scene (McSweeny Houdini? Where was the security guard?)
2) The first (perhaps only, now that I think about it) sex scene didn’t feel right to me. It was actually painful to read parts of it. Are 50+ year olds typically this hormonally-charged? I wanted to love watching these two get together, but it was a surprisingly unconvincing connection.
3) Including a “Reading Group Guide” at the end of the book seemed a bit of a stretch. I mean, I would love to be in a chick lit book club to discuss books like this. But would we need discussion questions spelled out for us?
All in all, this book is an entertaining, refreshing read, full of cute dogs and eccentric characters along with some more down-to-earth ones, and at least one not-on-earth one! Highly recommend.
This is a good, fun read. Lots of quirky characters and a different story line than most.
reading it now. been difficult to get in to.
I reall y enjoyed this book, I liked all the characters and the plot
Unusual romance in twilight years. Delightful and thought provoking. Thoroughly enjoyed it.