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mmc6661's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book as well as her first. Started a little slow but once I delved into the characters lives and got to know them I couldn't put them down. Great ending ! Look forward to her next book.
lori_mw's review
3.0
I just couldn't get into this book (possibly because I had company while I was reading and stopped in the middle for about ten days). I loved the story-line, but it seemed like there were too many extraneous characters and unnecessary side stories. I did like the end of the book, though, and overall thought it was an interesting story.
celticrockgirl's review
3.0
I almost gave up on this one, but I’m glad I endured I suppose. I love this author’s other book, Keeping the House. It’s one of my favorite books, at least it was as of 2015. This one was DEFINITELY not as good, but I did enjoy it overall.
Things I liked:
The setting, Grace & Joe (for the most part), Julia, and the fairly happy ending for everyone. I would’ve loved to have seen more of Grace and her life in the missing CA years, and even Joe as well.
Things I didn’t like:
The entire Maki family!!! They were all awful in their own ways, and made choices that only hurt themselves and their family.
Derrick and Lena’s letters to each other almost made me stop reading. Not only were they unbelievably immature for 18-19 year olds, but the punctuation was infuriating. Do the author and editor(s) really think every turn of phrase has to be in quotes? It got to be so ridiculous with quotes in every sentence where they definitely didn’t belong, I was going insane. And speaking of punctuation, there were just so many misused colons, parentheses, quotation marks, and especially exclamation marks! in the whole story !! just so many !!!!! that don’t belong!!!! Do the author and editor not know what an exclamation mark means? They were used like periods. Was this some sort of stylistic choice I’ve never encountered? It was so distracting. There were also too many similes throughout to where you forgot the point the author was trying to make with them.
Back to the Maki family. I can’t say I knew Derrick that well other than from his letters, so I will leave him alone. Lena was a total monster, so conniving and manipulative and oddly obsessed with Grace. I never really understood her push to have Grace and Derrick end up together when Grace already had a boyfriend, and had never met Derrick. It was inconceivable that Violet sold the farm to Joe & Grace, how could she not see it would send Lena over the edge she was already precariously teetering on? Everyone knew Lena’s fixation with the family home and never leaving there, especially her own mother. It set off a course of events that I am certain Violet saw coming. Then she just disappeared for 55 years and let it all play out while turning a blind eye, never even checking up on her daughter and any possible grandchildren or great grandchildren. As dreadful as they all were, I think I blame Violet the most for what went on in their family. I was honestly surprised she hadn’t poisoned Jago after all.
I never understood why Grace was so weak and let Lena control and use her. She seemed like a strong person, but I suppose her insecurities about being a farm wife, and her deep desire to fulfill her dreams made her too pliable. Who knows what would have happened to Grace & Joe left on their own, if their marriage would have stood the test of time and Grace’s ambitions. But Lena living with them was like a cancer growing between them, pushing them further and further apart, planting doubt and mistrust… how could they not see it? Grace began to, but Joe wouldn’t let himself see it because he just wanted the farm to succeed so badly, and Lena was a huge help in that.
Jago’s life was depressing, I will give him that. But from the references to it, I was expecting it to be even worse than it actually was. At nearly the end of the book there is a long, boring, and unnecessary backstory thrown in, (inexplicably a random stranger at a nursing home knows the whole saga even though no one else did, eye roll) that really added nothing to the overall plot. Yes, we all wanted to know what the ruby ring was doing hiding in his tree stand, but a few sentences would have cleared that up. Because of his hardscrabble childhood and broken heart, Jago was selfish and gambled away his family’s money and property to try to drown out his own demons. He perhaps could’ve been happy or at least content had he just confided in Violet from the beginning of their marriage, and tried to put his past behind him with her help.
There are definitely things I would’ve done differently if I’d written this, but overall I liked the story, and I have thought a lot about the characters after finishing. Ellen Baker has a unique way of transporting me; of creating places that become so real I feel like I’ve been to them and can describe everything about them. Her writing isn’t overly descriptive, but I get a chilly yet cozy, painful yet beautiful vibe from her novels that stays with me for a long time. I do hope she writes more soon.
Things I liked:
The setting, Grace & Joe (for the most part), Julia, and the fairly happy ending for everyone. I would’ve loved to have seen more of Grace and her life in the missing CA years, and even Joe as well.
Things I didn’t like:
The entire Maki family!!! They were all awful in their own ways, and made choices that only hurt themselves and their family.
Derrick and Lena’s letters to each other almost made me stop reading. Not only were they unbelievably immature for 18-19 year olds, but the punctuation was infuriating. Do the author and editor(s) really think every turn of phrase has to be in quotes? It got to be so ridiculous with quotes in every sentence where they definitely didn’t belong, I was going insane. And speaking of punctuation, there were just so many misused colons, parentheses, quotation marks, and especially exclamation marks! in the whole story !! just so many !!!!! that don’t belong!!!! Do the author and editor not know what an exclamation mark means? They were used like periods. Was this some sort of stylistic choice I’ve never encountered? It was so distracting. There were also too many similes throughout to where you forgot the point the author was trying to make with them.
Back to the Maki family. I can’t say I knew Derrick that well other than from his letters, so I will leave him alone. Lena was a total monster, so conniving and manipulative and oddly obsessed with Grace. I never really understood her push to have Grace and Derrick end up together when Grace already had a boyfriend, and had never met Derrick. It was inconceivable that Violet sold the farm to Joe & Grace, how could she not see it would send Lena over the edge she was already precariously teetering on? Everyone knew Lena’s fixation with the family home and never leaving there, especially her own mother. It set off a course of events that I am certain Violet saw coming. Then she just disappeared for 55 years and let it all play out while turning a blind eye, never even checking up on her daughter and any possible grandchildren or great grandchildren. As dreadful as they all were, I think I blame Violet the most for what went on in their family. I was honestly surprised she hadn’t poisoned Jago after all.
I never understood why Grace was so weak and let Lena control and use her. She seemed like a strong person, but I suppose her insecurities about being a farm wife, and her deep desire to fulfill her dreams made her too pliable. Who knows what would have happened to Grace & Joe left on their own, if their marriage would have stood the test of time and Grace’s ambitions. But Lena living with them was like a cancer growing between them, pushing them further and further apart, planting doubt and mistrust… how could they not see it? Grace began to, but Joe wouldn’t let himself see it because he just wanted the farm to succeed so badly, and Lena was a huge help in that.
Jago’s life was depressing, I will give him that. But from the references to it, I was expecting it to be even worse than it actually was. At nearly the end of the book there is a long, boring, and unnecessary backstory thrown in, (inexplicably a random stranger at a nursing home knows the whole saga even though no one else did, eye roll) that really added nothing to the overall plot. Yes, we all wanted to know what the ruby ring was doing hiding in his tree stand, but a few sentences would have cleared that up. Because of his hardscrabble childhood and broken heart, Jago was selfish and gambled away his family’s money and property to try to drown out his own demons. He perhaps could’ve been happy or at least content had he just confided in Violet from the beginning of their marriage, and tried to put his past behind him with her help.
There are definitely things I would’ve done differently if I’d written this, but overall I liked the story, and I have thought a lot about the characters after finishing. Ellen Baker has a unique way of transporting me; of creating places that become so real I feel like I’ve been to them and can describe everything about them. Her writing isn’t overly descriptive, but I get a chilly yet cozy, painful yet beautiful vibe from her novels that stays with me for a long time. I do hope she writes more soon.
hooksbookswanderlust's review
5.0
I loved this book. Pure and simple. It made me think of my grandparents (born 1925 like the twins in the book) and what they went through during the war. It made me recall stories my grandpa told me and made me want to cry for him and the rest of The Greatest Generation. The writing was profound at times, with a depth of wisdom and character. It is a story that makes you sit so still and your heart pound so hard that you inevitably feel your body rocking. It is family drama, friendship, history, coming of age, redemption and forgiveness all in one, and so much more.
sb631's review
4.0
I won this book from Goodreads, and I'm glad I did!! It was a really good book! I like that the book went back and forth between time periods! I thought it would be confusing at first, but the author did a good job tying everything together. Because it was written like this, it made me want to keep reading to fine out what happened next!
carajago's review
4.0
I liked this book! I am a big fan of books that go back and forth in time, and this one does it well. The story was well-told and kept me interested the whole time!
saycheeze37's review
4.0
I'm surprised at how quickly I read this book. Baker is a wonderful story teller, she unraveled this tale in such a way that made me want to find out what happened next, but at the same time didn't want it to end.
carriejewell80's review
2.0
I was very disappointed with this book after having really enjoyed Keeping the House. I felt very disconnected from the characters and often found myself confused with respect to their connections to each other. I pushed myself to finish the book because i was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by some twist in the plot which never ended up happening for me. Overall, this was a very forgettable and simple book that i would not recommend.
stacyroth's review
4.0
I Gave My Heart To Know This jumps back and forth in time, following Grace, Lena, and Lena's mom, Violet, as they work in a shipyard during World War II and Violet's great-granddaughter, Julia, as she lives in Violet's old farmhouse for a time of healing in 1999-2000. The books jumps back and forth in time between the two stories and does an excellent job of weaving them together. The story is very interesting and kept me hanging on to see what would happen next. It was heartbreaking to see the pain each woman in the book went through and how it was passed down to the next generation. The story was very realistic. While there was some healing, not all loose ends were tied up. I would love to see a sequel/spin-off to find out what ever happened to Josie.
chelz286's review
4.0
I really enjoyed reading a book based out of my home state. It was an interesting story line about women having to help work at the shipyard during the war, but then expected to go back to being housewives as if the war never happened. Very interesting story of two families that were intertwined, and held long deep secrets for decades.