The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Published by Washington Square Press

It is late and I am tired.  Probably because I have been staying up WAY to late this week reading The Forgotten Garden.  This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. 

Synopsis from Amazon:  A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book—a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.

The main characters in this book - Eliza, Nell, and Cassandra - are so well formed.  I wish there had been more about Lesley and why Nell didn't do a good job raising her; also more about the "Bad Man" that Eliza's mother talks about.

There is obviously a weird relationship between Linus and Georgiana ... the author alludes to what happened between the two of them, but I never quite got the exact idea.  Linus is clearly cuckoo and I assume he made a pass at Georgiana, but I'm not sure.

I love how Christian and Cassandra are tied together by Nell. 

You wish that Nell had know the truth about her parents - I certainly didn't see the truth coming and assumed what Cassandra did way before she spoke to Clara about it.

I was also confused about whom William Martin saw with Eliza.  I thought it was Linus, but apparently not.

What I don't understand is why Eliza went back for the brooch after putting Nell on the boat.  Why didn't they go to get it first?  I suppose there wouldn't be a story then.  And I am also assuming that Nell's fall caused amnesia about her name.

I am anxious to get my hands on Kate Morton's other books including The House at Riverton and The Distant Hours.

My advice ... READ THIS BOOK!  You won't regret it!

Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen

Published by Washington Square Press

Abridged ssynopsis from Booklist via Amazon:  High-school sweethearts Julia and Michael have left their humble West Virginia roots far behind for a glamorous life in Washington, D.C. As they achieve more in their careers—she as a high-end events planner, he as the CEO of his own sports-drink company—they lose themselves as a couple. After Michael has a near-death experience, he decides to give away all their wealth and focus on his relationship with Julia. But she’s not ready to forgive him for choosing his work over her when she needed him most. Pekkanen’s novel traces the couple’s attempts to make amends for allowing success to replace love.  --Aleksandra Walker

I really liked this book.  The very end was not unexpected, but the way the author got the characters to that point was.  The flashbacks talking about Julia and Michael's history worked well; it did not seem as if you were bouncing back and forth between the present and the past without any continuity.

My favorite character was Michael.  He was flawed but lovable.  I sort of wanted to shake some sense into Julia for jumping to conclusions and not giving Michael a chance to prove himself.

I have also read The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen and liked Skipping a Beat better.