From the bestselling author of The Memory of Butterflies comes the first in a bittersweet series about love and loss.Kara Hart was scarred by loss—first the loss of her mother and now her husband. She feels broken, with no will to move forward, until her father does the unexpected: he moves to the Virginia countryside to restore an old Victorian mansion. Kara decides to go with him, telling … with him, telling herself that it will only be temporary.
The huge house is neglected and derelict, but Kara discovers its breathtaking field of wildflowers and is stunned by their beauty. The house, the grounds, and the quirky neighbors—including a handsome one—are almost as fascinating as her father’s sudden willingness to discuss her mother and his own secret past.
Kara is finding her new normal when tragedy strikes again, forcing her to make difficult choices. Will she go back to her old life and risk losing all she has gained? Or will she face her fears and give herself the opportunity to grow?
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This is a story of losses, heartbreak, pain and suffering. For Kara, it just didn’t stop. A horrific accident, leaves her with devastating injuries and a lengthy recovery, physically,mentally, and emotionally.
The author, Grace Greene, beautiful paints a verbal picture of the wildflowers, that carpet the grounds of the stately old house, that her father Henry buys. The making of a great team, they have to sort through old scars, to be able to put this house together. A fascinating look at restoring old classics and the beauty that can come out of removed layers! Thank you to Lake Union
Publishers, NetGalley and Grace Green for the ARC.
Wildflower Heart is a wonderfully written story of Kara Lange Hart and her father Henry. Tragedy strikes them both when Kara’s mother leaves the family permanently and passes away several years later. Their relationship is supportive and loving, but many of their thoughts and secrets are kept inside to preserve their day to day lives in some sort of semblance of normalcy.
There are additional tragedies and difficult times for both Kara and Henry as the story progresses. However, that thread of Kara’s mother leaving and its emotional impact continues to be an integral, underlying part of the story. The book slowly reveals some of the family secrets and the grief they have both endured. As the reader you get that feeling of Ah Ha because things all begin to make sense.
About halfway through the story Kara and Henry move to a house in a country setting and a beautiful field of wildflowers out back. Kara seems to be drawn to the beauty and solace of that field. There was one point in the story where Grace Greene was talking about the wildflowers as chaotic if they are left to grow wild and untended or more orderly if they are tended and weeded. That idea seemed to fit the characters in the story, who have had their share of chaos but were working toward trying to put their lives together.
Grace Greene is a master story teller whose skill with language makes you see and feel and understand the surroundings and the characters in a very personal way. I’m eager to reread this story and look forward to its sequel.