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jjv84's review against another edition
5.0
NOTE: I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FOR FREE THROUGH GOODREADS FIRST READS IN EXCHANGE FOR A HONEST REVIEW.
Even though this book was a sequel to Solomon's Oak you would not even realise. There enough detail throughout the book to work out what has happened and who the characters are. What a great book which I thoroughly enjoyed. The chapters are between 2 different characters but they are well described and you don't get confused about where the story is. It was a very well written book and has made me now want to read Solomon's Oak.
Even though this book was a sequel to Solomon's Oak you would not even realise. There enough detail throughout the book to work out what has happened and who the characters are. What a great book which I thoroughly enjoyed. The chapters are between 2 different characters but they are well described and you don't get confused about where the story is. It was a very well written book and has made me now want to read Solomon's Oak.
pmg227's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. It stands alone, but it's best to read Solomon's Oak first as it continues the story of the characters from that book. This is a story about bad things happening to people; how families can let you down, but also how they can pick you up; how love can be found in unexpected places, & about the bond of sisters.
A good book to start off the new year.
A good book to start off the new year.
katymvt's review against another edition
4.0
I would have given this book a 5, but I couldn't stand Juniper. I don't know if it's just been too long since I was 18, or too long since the author was 18, or if I just didn't like her. But, I liked all the rest of the characters (except the ones I wasn't supposed to), and it was a very moving, compelling story, if a bit far-fetched and coincidental how it all came together. Also, the ghost aspect was stupid.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
3.0
I hadn't realised that Finding Casey is a continuation of a story begun in Mapson's [b:Solomon's Oak|7925361|Solomon's Oak|Jo-Ann Mapson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312050136s/7925361.jpg|11237213], which introduces the characters of Glory, Joseph and Juniper, not that it matters as this novel works well as a stand alone.
Set in Sante Fe, Glory and her new husband Joseph Vigil, a police officer retired on disability, have not long settled into a new home they share with a ghost nicknamed Dolores, and their adopted daughter, Juniper, when she is home from college in Albuquerque. When Glory discovers she is pregnant at 41 she is stunned yet excited, even with the persistent morning sickness and concerns about carrying a baby to term at her age.
Juniper is excited to be welcoming a baby brother or sister to their family but she can't help but be reminded of her younger sister, Casey, who was abducted as a young child and never found. Juniper refuses to dwell on the long ago tragedy though instead focuses on the challenges of college and her budding relationship with the handsome but feckless Topher.
As Glory nests, Joseph considers a career change and Juniper experiences the joy and heartbreak of first love, a young woman named Laurel defies her isolated religious community to seek medical help for her seriously ill daughter, Aspen. As Laurel sits by her child's bedside willing her to recover from the coma she has slipped into, she reflects on her history with Seth and the Farm while trying to avoid the probing questions of the hospital's social worker and staff.
The connection between Laurel and the Vigil family soon becomes apparent but it is a remarkable, if unlikely, twist of fate that brings them together. Not that I minded much, even with the predictability of the plot and uneven pacing, because I had come to care about the characters and wanted the best for each of them.
Finding Casey is a charming story of family, love and redemption.
stephms's review against another edition
3.0
It felt a bit disjointed. The opening is narrated by a ghost, and then you don't hear anything from that perspective for the rest of the book.
nmcspadd's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book just as much as I did the first. I have really come to love these characters, and would happily read more books about them if the author decides to make it a series.
aksmalley's review against another edition
3.0
6/10⭐️. Finding Casey by Jo-Ann Mapson
I had never heard of Jo-Ann Mapson before reading this book. She mainly writes contemporary women’s fiction. I picked this one up because I’m going through an “American Southwest” phase. I am just sort of obsessed with the area and am reading all kinds of things based there. This one is set in New Mexico and follows the lives of a blended family, where each member has a some deep inner turmoils that they are trying to work through. There is a secondary storyline about a woman, who is part of a local cult, reminiscent of Waco, who escapes to take her dying daughter to seek medical care. This was the storyline I found most interesting. Eventually these two storylines converge.
I found many things I liked about this book. But it is the second in a series and although it is supposed to be a stand alone novel, I found that I didn’t form many emotional attachments to the blended family because those characters weren’t developed as much. This is mainly because they were developed in a well loved book that came earlier called Solomon’s Oak. So I wish I had read Solomon’s Creek first. This book is in a style that is reminiscent to me of Anne Tyler. So if you like Tyler you may give Mapson’s books a try. But start with Solomon’s Oak.😀
I had never heard of Jo-Ann Mapson before reading this book. She mainly writes contemporary women’s fiction. I picked this one up because I’m going through an “American Southwest” phase. I am just sort of obsessed with the area and am reading all kinds of things based there. This one is set in New Mexico and follows the lives of a blended family, where each member has a some deep inner turmoils that they are trying to work through. There is a secondary storyline about a woman, who is part of a local cult, reminiscent of Waco, who escapes to take her dying daughter to seek medical care. This was the storyline I found most interesting. Eventually these two storylines converge.
I found many things I liked about this book. But it is the second in a series and although it is supposed to be a stand alone novel, I found that I didn’t form many emotional attachments to the blended family because those characters weren’t developed as much. This is mainly because they were developed in a well loved book that came earlier called Solomon’s Oak. So I wish I had read Solomon’s Creek first. This book is in a style that is reminiscent to me of Anne Tyler. So if you like Tyler you may give Mapson’s books a try. But start with Solomon’s Oak.😀
mimii's review against another edition
2.0
This is the sequel to Solomon's Oak and much as I enjoyed Soloman's Oak, this novel faltered. The characters showed too much change for too short a period of time, there were WAY too many coincidences and almost encounter. There was also a hurried quality to it. I should have stopped at the first novel.
kpearlman's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25