This delightful book is peopled with an assortment of off-beat characters that just happened to live in the Ozarks. Because the town is so small, everyone does double duty; Curt is both mailman and minister, the school principal is also the towns only real estate agent.
I fell in love with the town immediately; the main characters not so much. This is really the story of the changing relationship between a pair of sisters. Emma, who wants to be an anthropologist, has put her life on hold several times in order to raise and then help Katy get re-established (after her marriage to Sean Dodson failed).
I couldnt get a handle on Katy; she seemed to be a strange mix of joy (in spite of overwhelming problems), naiveté and faith that she would find a great place for herself and Josh (her 5 year-old son) to settle into permanently . I thought she needed a keeper and Emma seemed to be the sane one of the pair.
Katy spends her entire divorce settlement buying Bitsys B & B in Warbler Lake, Missouri. She purchases (what she thinks is a bed-and-breakfast) on eBay sight unseen. When Emma, Josh and Kate arrive, the property turns out to be a run-down bait-and-BBQ disaster. Although Emma knows the best plan is to return to St. Louis, the sisters roll up their sleeves and start cleaning.
After showing no interest in Josh for all of his 5 years, along comes the ex-husband Sean and his mother, Gwen. It is very easy to hate Seans mother; shes the controlling, dictatorial CEO of a large business (left to her by her late husband and Seans father).
Gwen helped split Sean and Katy years ago; now she wants guardianship of her grandson, Josh. After looking at the dismal job she did with Sean, I was underwhelmed by the possibility that Gwen would win custody of Josh.
Katys reaction to Sean is certainly in keeping with her character; however, is she setting herself up for another disaster? I wasnt impressed with Sean or Gwen; by the end, I wasnt sure that Sean had matured enough to make a lifetime commitment to anyone or anything.
I fell in love with the town immediately; the main characters not so much. This is really the story of the changing relationship between a pair of sisters. Emma, who wants to be an anthropologist, has put her life on hold several times in order to raise and then help Katy get re-established (after her marriage to Sean Dodson failed).
I couldnt get a handle on Katy; she seemed to be a strange mix of joy (in spite of overwhelming problems), naiveté and faith that she would find a great place for herself and Josh (her 5 year-old son) to settle into permanently . I thought she needed a keeper and Emma seemed to be the sane one of the pair.
Katy spends her entire divorce settlement buying Bitsys B & B in Warbler Lake, Missouri. She purchases (what she thinks is a bed-and-breakfast) on eBay sight unseen. When Emma, Josh and Kate arrive, the property turns out to be a run-down bait-and-BBQ disaster. Although Emma knows the best plan is to return to St. Louis, the sisters roll up their sleeves and start cleaning.
After showing no interest in Josh for all of his 5 years, along comes the ex-husband Sean and his mother, Gwen. It is very easy to hate Seans mother; shes the controlling, dictatorial CEO of a large business (left to her by her late husband and Seans father).
Gwen helped split Sean and Katy years ago; now she wants guardianship of her grandson, Josh. After looking at the dismal job she did with Sean, I was underwhelmed by the possibility that Gwen would win custody of Josh.
Katys reaction to Sean is certainly in keeping with her character; however, is she setting herself up for another disaster? I wasnt impressed with Sean or Gwen; by the end, I wasnt sure that Sean had matured enough to make a lifetime commitment to anyone or anything.
