Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd: Book Review

 **I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All thoughts are my own. 

Answering a woman’s desperate call for help, young Navy widow Helen Devries opens her Whidbey Island home as a refuge to Choi Eunhee. As they bond over common losses and a delicate, potentially devastating secret, their friendship spans the remainder of their lives.

After losing her mother, Cassidy Quinn spent her childhood summers with her gran, Helen, at her farmhouse. Nourished by her grandmother’s love and encouragement, Cassidy discovers a passion that she hopes will bloom into a career. But after Helen passes, Cassidy learns that her home and garden have fallen into serious disrepair. Worse, a looming tax debt threatens her inheritance. Facing the loss of her legacy and in need of allies and ideas, Cassidy reaches out to Nick, her former love, despite the complicated emotions brought by having him back in her life.

Cassidy inherits not only the family home but a task, spoken with her grandmother’s final breaths: ask Grace Kim―Eunhee’s granddaughter―to help sort through the contents of the locked hope chest in the attic. As she and Grace dig into the past, they unearth their grandmothers’ long-held secret and more. Each startling revelation reshapes their understanding of their grandmothers and ultimately inspires the courage to take risks and make changes to own their lives.

Set in both modern-day and midcentury Whidbey Island, Washington, this dual-narrative story of four women―grandmothers and granddaughters―intertwines across generations to explore the secrets we keep, the love we pass down, and the heirlooms we inherit from a well-lived life.

Dream→Jump In→Plot→Create→Work Hard→Enjoy→Get Feedback→Step Up→Revise→Win!

Life. Books, too.

Sandra Byrd's first series of historically sound Gothic romances launched with the best-selling Mist of Midnight, which earned a coveted Editor’s Choice Award from the Historical Novel Society. The second book, Bride of a Distant Isle, has been selected by Romantic Times as a Top Pick. The third in the series, A Lady in Disguise, was named by the American Library Association’s Booklist as one of the Top Ten Inspirational Fiction Books of the year.

Her contemporary adult fiction debut, Let Them Eat Cake, was a Christy Award finalist, as was her first historical novel, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. To Die For was also named a Library Journal Best Books of the Year Pick, as was The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr.

Victorian Ladies, a new series, offered its first title, Lady of a Thousand Treasures, in 2018. Sandra has also authored many books for teens, tweens, and devotionals for both adults and children.

Connect with Sandra at www.sandrabyrd.com, www.sandrabyrdbookcoach.com or through any of these social media platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/sandrabyrdwrites

http://www.instagram.com/sandrabyrdbooks

https://www.pinterest.com/sandrabyrdbooks/pins/

https://twitter.com/sandrabyrd

http://bit.ly/YouTubeSandraByrd

Anytime I start a new dual timeline novel, I go in a bit apprehensively. It's not that I don't enjoy them, I do--- if they are done well. Not all are. I often find that either the back and forth can cause some confusion, or I will only connect with one of the storylines and find myself rushing through the other to try to get to the part I like. I had not read anything by Sandra Byrd in the past, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. 

Thankfully, this was one that was done well. The writing was done very well, drawing readers into the stories past and present. This was not always the easiest, most lighthearted read with it's topics of grief and loss, but it also has a beautiful message of friendship, faith and healing. This was definitely a story with so much heart, and had me looking forward to checking out more from the author. If you enjoy a good dual timeline novel, this is certainly one worth checking out.