The Keeper of Happy Endings

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The Keeper of Happy Endings takes place in multiple time periods. Do you feel this device helped or hurt in telling the story? Was one time period more “real” to you than the others? Her personal tagline of “A little history. A little mystery. A little romance” is actually perfect and exactly sums up her writing style. 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. Which of the women in the story was your favorite? Least favorite? Why? 5. Did any of the heroines make choices you didn’t agree with? What would you have done differently? It rekindles her desire to make her dreams come true. Rory’s persistence brings her face to face with Soline, the owner of the store. Soline sure has made a name for herself in an unknown country, but what’s she has lost can never let her live in peace.

All this changes in the blink of an eye when Soline loses everything she holds dear due to World War ll. but it just didn't do much for me. Too much telling, not enough showing. Or sewing, for that matter, given that it was supposed to be a central theme. We didn't really see the "dress witch" using her magic or making her charms. We could have seen the stories of some of the brides she'd helped, or have desperate Parisian women queuing outside her door during the war, clutching worn out dresses, handkerchiefs or even rags for her to embroider charms into to keep their loved ones safe. We didn't even experience her making one of her classic wedding gowns. Neither did we see Rory working on the textile art which apparently means so much to her. Do you feel like the magic was enough to explain the coincidence of Soline and Rory finding each other? 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. Character-wise, Rory was bearable, Soline interesting, but the depiction of Camilla seemed wooden and cliched, and she was written as seeming far older than 42 (and with a 23 year old daughter, she must have still been a teenager when she got married and had a child, too young methinks!)

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The characters are well developed. There are subtle hints to see beyond the obvious and delve deeper into the character’s mind. That’s clever writing. They talk about the magic of the dresses to guarantee happy endings. Do you think they are talking about real magic? Just the kind of book I always hope for. Two women, Soline and Rory, from different eras and with different pasts come together in a twist of fate that leads them to a stunning and unexpected discovery that changes everything. The story is beautiful and heartbreaking. At about 59%, I connected the dots, but then the author threw in a twist. Of course, my guess was right, but the way she revealed it worked better than my expectations. With a touch of mystery and romance and a sprinkle of magic, The Keeper of Happy Endings is a lovingly told story of second chances.

Errors aside, I enjoyed the story again and she has some lovely little remarks in it, such as, "There are all sorts of heroes, and almost none of them will ever have something shiny pinned to their chests" and I love the idea of the echoes as well. This made me smile-"I've been warned about Americans, all disarming smiles and apple pie" and the passage about a bride's spine is a tremendous one as well.I have always grieved the ends of things. The final notes of a song as they ebb into silence. The curtain falling at the end of a play. The last snowflake. They all seem so long ago now, and yet the collective rawness still chafes. She tells Soline and Rory’s story by describing their experience and expressing sympathy. It drew me in and had me anxious to know more about their past.

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! Which parts of the story did you prefer, the historical parts with Soline or the modern parts with Rory? A chance sighting of the studio and a desire to open a gallery leads Rory into Soline’s life and shakes things up in ways neither of them saw coming. Source: Unsplash

Although the 1943 setting in France certainly had some very serious and heartbreaking elements in it, given what was going on in France at that point in time in history, there was still a heartwarming element to the story which stayed with me through the entire book.

What a wonderful story full of fate, serendipity and a little bit of magic. I loved it start to finish. In March of 1943, Soline volunteered at a hospital in Paris, France, where she met and fell in love with Anson, an American Field Service ambulance driver. Both Anson and Soline were part of an escape network. When it became too dangerous for Soline, Anson arranged for her escape to his family’s residence in Newport, Massachusetts. Upon notification that Anson was most likely dead, Anson’s father cut off all ties with Soline, even though she was pregnant with Anson’s baby. After the trauma of losing her baby shortly after birth, destitute Soline found a job as a dressmaker in the city of Boston. She was highly successful until a catastrophic fire at the shop in the early '80s upended her life. Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. A book with a title as such should have a happy ending, and this one indeed does. Some of it might seem a little too neatly tied up, but hey, I wanted a happy ending and got one. No complaints. The book has its own very happy ending. Did that feel right to you? Not realistic? Perfect? How did you feel about it?Soline: “We were the Roussels, a family of dressmakers—bridal designers to be precise—but with a particular specialty. The bride who wears a Roussel gown on her wedding day is guaranteed a happy ending.” Davis’ tale of love and loss, expertly woven around the lives of two women who have nothing—and yet everything—in common, inspires hope that our own happy endings might be biding their time, ready to show up when and where we least expect them. The Keeper of Happy Endings is a perfect blending of romance and mystery with a sprinkling of magic—heartwarming and satisfying. Don’t miss it!"