THE KEEPER OF HAPPY ENDINGS by Barbara Davis was a lovely read. It tugged at my emotions from the beginning and kept tugging as I read more about Soline and Rory. The ending was unexpected, and this heart-warming story will remain with me for some time to come. Davis wrote a unique novel, and I enjoyed her writing style. This was my first read of one of her books, I can’t wait to see what else she has in store. I will definitely be reading more of her work!
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the book. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#TheKeeperofHappyEndings #BarbaraDavis #LakeUnionPublishing

This was my first. Barbara Davis book and I really enjoyed it. It was more like 4 1/2 stars but not 5 stars only because I was able to predict what was coming and all the storylines were wrapped up a little too neatly for me at the end. The writing is very good and it’s a great story told in alternating points of view from pre-WWII to the 1980’s by the main characters Soline Roussel and Rory Grant. Soline learns from her mother how to make beautiful wedding gowns that they sell in their exclusive Paris shop. Their gowns are sought after because they are believed to produce happy endings for the brides because of a special lucky charm they sew into the bridal gowns. Soline’s mother would carefully pick and choose which brides they would make gowns for based on extensive interviews with the future brides. When WWII hits France along with the Nazis, it kills the bridal gown business because prospective grooms are off to fight in the war. Soline starts volunteering at a local hospital where she meets and falls in love with Anson, an American Red Cross volunteer. Rory lives in Boston in the 1980’s when she comes across an abandoned row house on Newbury Street that she thinks will be the perfect location for her new art gallery. She finds out that the former bridal shop had been destroyed in a fire a few years ago. It had been Soline’s shop and this is how Soline’s and Rory’s lives begin to intersect. The story of Soline and Rory’s friendship is beautiful and compelling and kept me turning the pages. Thanks to #netgalley and #lakeunionpublishing for this ARC in exhange for an honest review.

While part of the story is told as flashbacks to WWII (which I enjoyed), this is not a WWII historical fiction novel. I did enjoy the story, although I thought it was a little long but also that the ending was rushed at the same time. In fact, with about 20% left in the book, I felt like there was a big shift and the story felt different and not in a good way. What started as so promising and a story I couldn't put down ended in a disappointing way.
I primarily listened on audio and I thought it was well done, even if the narrators were a little breathy at the end of their lines at times, which got to be annoying.

Beautiful novel! Rory decides to lease a building to use as a gallery. She meets the property owner Soline. The two women become friends. They both have a story to tell. Soline’s started back during World War II. I enjoyed the characters and the magic of their blooming friendship.

In a Nutshell: An interesting premise and pretty good execution. I loved the story but the extremely slow beginning and the extremely contrived ending took away some of my enjoyment.

Story:
Soline Roussel comes from a long line of bridal dressmakers, who are reputed to have magic in their fingers that ensures a happy ending for the bride that wears a Roussel gown. However, after a devastating personal loss during WWII, Soline is forced to flee to the Unites States, where she faces even more heartbreak and is forced to lock away her past and face the future alone.
Four decades later, twenty-three year old Rory, who is trying to come to terms with her recent grief, has taken an old property on lease for her art gallery. There, she discovers a box full of old letters and an unused vintage wedding dress. When she goes to return the box to Soline, the owner of that property, an unlikely friendship develops between the two, based on a mutual understanding of what it means to have loved and lost.
The story comes to us from the first person perspectives of Soline in 1941 and 1985, and from the third person perspective of Rory in 1985.

Where the book worked for me:
✔ In spite of the multiple perspectives and timelines, the story keeps every arc straight and it never gets confusing. Unlike some multi-pov books that change characters in every chapter, the author here seems to have a clear purpose for each perspective change, and makes sure she completes that plot point before moving on to the next pov, even if it takes multiple chapters. This is so much better than abrupt pov shifts just for the sake of it. This approach also ensures that all the timelines are given equal attention.
✔ Unlike my usual experience, both the contemporary and the historical timelines appealed to me equally. Also, the two storylines begin independently but merge pretty well.
✔ The characters are developed really, really fabulously. At no point would you wonder why he/she did what he/she did. Every single character is well-defined. Every emotion, on the dot. Every decision, realistic. The mother-daughter connections especially touched a chord.
✔ While I am not a clothes person, I enjoyed the descriptions of the beautiful embroidery and other handiwork that went into the Roussel wedding gowns. The element of magic added even more spice to the story. How I wish there were more of the magical bits!
✔ There are so many beautiful quotes in this book. One of my favourites was “I’ve come to believe we create our own curses and carry them through life because we’ve been told it’s our lot. We’re taught to relive our mothers’ heartaches, to accept their sufferings as our own, and pass them on to the next generation, again and again.”
✔ I liked the book club questions at the end. I don’t usually read this section but this time I did and they were fascinating!

Where the book could have been better:
⚠ It is slow, like SLOOOWWWWWW in the first half. I found myself reading and reading, and yet when I looked at the percentage indicator, I had hardly gone ahead by 5%. I don’t think this has anything to do with the book being 400+ pages. The writing just takes a lot of time to move the story ahead. The second half is way better.
⚠ The ending is too convenient. Everything seems to fit in too perfectly to be believable.
⚠ This final point of feedback depends on how you feel about twists in historical fiction. I don’t actively look for twists in this genre. The book still tries to throw a few surprises your way. But I found all of them guessable much in advance, despite my passive reading. If you like to be surprised but are an avid reader, that may not necessarily happen in this story.

Overall, I still like this book to a great extent. If only the pace were quicker and the ending, more realistic! Nevertheless, it is a beautiful story of relationships and emotions and personal strength in the face of struggles. Well worth a read on an introspective-mood day. I would certainly love to try more fiction by this author.

4 stars from me.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of “The Keeper of Happy Endings”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the early copy of this one.

This was an enjoyable dual timeline story. I really enjoyed the story lines and loved the twist at the end.

A really great read that's wonderfully written. It has a slower pace but it speeds up eventually. The descriptions are really wonderful.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

What a beautiful heartbreaking story told in duel timelines. I loved both the modern and WW2 parts of the book and Rory and Soline are wonderful heroines.

Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Barbara Davis for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

Well, The Keeper of Happy Endings must win the nomination of the Cheesiest Historical Fiction Novel of 2021. All the romance cliches of Happy Endings are here. I guess there is the reason why Happy Endings are mentioned in the tittle.

I am not a fan of romance, I prefer historical fiction and sometimes I make a mistake of choosing books that hide romance genre under the historical fiction pretence. I have nothing against romance books, it is just not my cup of tea, and I am honestly quite tired of finding romance books under historical fiction umbrella. If the story line occurs sometime during some of the important events of our past, it does not necessarily means historical fiction.

Anyway, my rant aside, The Keeper of Happy Endings is a good read, few twists here and there - a few predictable ones though. It made me smile few times and made me shed a few tears. I feel that the storytelling was quite strong and overall it was worth a read.

if you enjoy love stories set during WW II, definitely, give it a try.

The Keeper of Happy Endings is my first book I have read by Barbara Davis. If her other books are this good I will definitely be reading more! A story of three women who all have had a major event shape their lives. This is a story of second chances, female friendship with a little bit of magic thrown in too! A great story - highly recommend!

This was an incredibly charming book, hopeful and uplifting. I’d read The Last of the Moon Girls so had some idea what to expect, but I actually preferred this tale of two women crossing paths in Paris. Soline works in the family’s bridal salon where a little bit of magic is sewn into the fabric. This magic gives each bride the promise of a king and happy relationship. However, there have been so many losses in WW2 that Soline’s hope has dampened and she has lost her faith in magic. She packs away her work in boxes, determined to forget the life she once enjoyed. We then join another woman, decades on from WW2. Rory has always wanted to open a gallery and she leases the same building that houses those pre-war wedding memories. Rory is also grieving, and knows the importance of remembrance, so when she finds a box with a vintage wedding dress and a pile of letters inside, she wants to return them to their rightful owner. The wedding dress looks unworn, but so much care and attention has gone into making it, Rory feels that the owner would want it returned. When she finds Soline, an unexpected friendship develops and the two women find a lot of parallels in their life stories. Is it possible that magic is still at work and these two women were destined to meet? Could Rory be the one to clarify and put right something that happened forty years ago?

I never seem to tire of these time slip novels and I really did enjoy this tale, with its little bit of magic thrown in. I am a believer that we shouldn’t fully lose that sense of magic we had as children, especially at this time of year. I think it’s only by keeping that childlike wonder and hope about life that we get to experience it. Here Soline has been closed off to magic, it’s been too painful to hope. However, when she and Rory cross paths and that faith is reignited, she starts to fully participate in life again and enjoy it. It was an easy read from the start so I looked forward to getting a mug of tea and my favourite chocolate slipping into their cozy world, even though there was some sadness in store for the our main characters. Soline and Rory do dominate and they are the most three-dimensional characters- none of the secondary characters have any depth. However, these were very personal stories and I don’t think the book would have felt as intimate if we’d had too many other viewpoints. Soline’s story follows her work in the bridal salon and her love for Anson, who has a difficult relationship with his father. As the Nazi’s start to infiltrate France, Soline escapes to America and it is her belief that Anson has died at their hands which knocks all the hope and joy out of Soline. She can’t continue with her work and watch others in love, fulfilling their destinies with each other.

Rory (short for Aurora) has a boyfriend called Hux. He’s a doctor and goes out to South Sudan to work with Doctors Without Borders, but is unfortunately captured. Rory doesn’t know where he is or even if he’s still alive. This is the experience that Rory and Soline have in common, they’re separated from their loves and have had to face up to the fact they may be dead - that might be preferable to thinking about what they could be going through instead. Both are very strong women, however, Rory is still entwined with her mother in a very unhealthy dynamic. She hasn’t realised she can simply walk away from her. The abuse is psychological and it is devastating to a young woman still growing up and finding out who she is. You might find that, like me, you’ll be mentally yelling at Rory to stand up to her mother. I just knew that if she finally did, it would be epic. It would be the catalyst to change her entire life. Rory might have the key to Soline’s wartime memories, but she has a lot to learn from Soline who has grown wise through loss and age. The book has a dusting of magic, but it’s subtle and more akin to perception than anything else. I often let people know how easy it can be to be manipulated into thinking someone’s a psychic by showing them how much I can intuit from them walking into a room and sitting down. As counsellors we do this all the time, reading people’s subtle cues in their body language and the words they choose to express themselves. It can be quite easy to work out why a client has come for counselling before they even open their mouths. So, the magic here isn’t overdone and is more about the sense of destiny and heightened perception we can get: in a house, when we walk into a party, or seeing a couple arguing in the DIY store. It’s also about that magical coincidence of these two women crossing paths, when they are perhaps the only person who could help and understand the other. I like this message that it’s not just romantic destiny that happens in lives. Soul mates are not always our romantic counterpart and I loved the friendship between these two. I think Soline helps Rory stand up and claim who she is.

Yes the ending is a bit schmaltzy, but I expected that and it didn’t ruin the book as some sugary endings can tip the book into being too saccharin and off-putting, I think this story has enough complication to keep the reader’s interest and something for everyone with the mix of historical period (although the 1980s doesn’t feel like history to me), dual narration, family strife and the mystery to solve. The tone of the novel is so relaxing and gentle, even when dealing with complex emotions. All in all, an intelligent story of love, loss, and friendship that I really enjoyed.

In yet another enchanting tale, Barbara Davis pulls readers in with luminous characters, an intriguing storyline, and secrets piled upon secrets, keeping readers hooked. The WII setting was artfully handled, and the dual timeline worked seamlessly. A touch of magick rounded this wonderful tale off in true Davis style. Highly recommended.

'The Keeper of Happy Endings': 4⭐

(Unpaid Review: thank you to Netgalley, Barbara Davis and the publishers for allowing me to read this eArc copy in exchange for a review.)

Okay, WOW! I did not expect to love this book as much as I did! It only wasn't a 5 ⭐ rating because there were some slow parts, especially at the beginning that really left me anxious.

I really loved this book- a tale of loss and love, grief and pain but with a joyous happy ending. Barbara Davis always writes such unique stories and I’m pulled in and can’t put them down.

My only complaint, if you can even call it that, is that I wish there’d been a little more magic threaded through the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

The Keeper of Happy Endings by Barbara Davis is a story of three women of different generations who hold heartbreaking stories of loss and hope. It is told from dual perspectives at different points in time giving more insight into Soline's life as a Resistance volunteer during the Second World War in Paris and a seamstress and businesswoman in Boston and Rory's relationship with her mother, Camilla, both of them are living in Boston as well.

The Keeper of Happy Endings is written well but didn't captivate me as much as the Last of the Moon Girls, the first Barbara Davis novel I read. Some parts of the plot are familiar and the twist is predictable. However, it's still a good read because the characters are interesting, and the themes -- war, power of wealth, family, hope, and love -- engendered self-reflection questions.

Thank you, Barbara Davis, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, this one was such a delight to read! The title is definitely very aptly named but nothing starts from a happy ending. The start of the book is a little slow and left me confused but the story picks up quickly and flows seamlessly between timelines and characters.

This is a dual timeline story which focuses on two women, Rory Grant and Soline Rousell. They were two women from different eras with different pasts. So how are they connected? Soline comes from a family of bridal dressmakers in France. During WWII, She volunteered at a hospital and met Anson. War and tragedy pulled them apart. She fled France and made her way to the US and started her own path designing dresses. However, war torn Europe left Soline with a heartache so deep, she never really recovered from it. She went into further recluse when a fire destroyed all that she loved in the 1980s.

Years later, comes Rory who is trying to find hope and live again. Her fiancee, Hux, has been abducted in Sudan and there is no way of knowing if he is alive. Rory’s mother, Camilla offers no comfort. Rory decided to start an art gallery to follow her dreams and whose shop did she stumble upon? You guessed it, Soline’s! An unexpected friendship blossomed between the two and they helped each other heal from their pain. It was really delightful to watch their friendship grow. The character development for all the characters are filled with depth and emotion. I really enjoyed all the different characters that came together in this story.

“There are times for holding on in this life and times for letting go. You must learn to know the difference” - Esmee Rousell

If you need a little happy ending right now, I recommend you put this in your #tbr. This is one of those feel-good, Hallmark-ish story that warms your heart. The plot is definitely convenient and it definitely has a too-perfect happy ending but overall, I really enjoyed this. I haven’t read a story like this in a while so it was very refreshing for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc.

It’s not often I can read a story that’s relevant to WW2 that gives me all the feels but this story took me by surprise. Overall, just a beautifully told story about happy endings!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A poignant novel about a young woman's struggles during and after WWII and how her path crosses with a present-day young woman with similar trials. The characters in this book were unique and interesting, crossing class lines and cultures. We get an individual perspective of the emotional impact of the war, how it shapes the lives of those who live through it. It's also about families, how parents can sometimes try to control the lives of their children and the conflicts that result.. Finally, it's about art--traditional art and the art of dressmaking. Set in Paris and Boston, the ambience of those cities adds richness to those stories. I really enjoyed this book, and couldn't wait to see how it ended.

Absolutely a beautiful story! I listen to the magical performance on audio and highly recommend listening to it! Love the writing and the historical context.

This book started a little slow and then sucked me in and circled my heart and imagination and refused to let go. I loved Rory and Soline, and loved their resilience and creativity and capacity to love.