Lumby Lines...Review...DNF

About the book:
Nestled in the Northwest is a quaint little town that its quirky residents are proud to call home. With charming shops lining its one main thoroughfare, Lumby has the oldest apple tree in the county and the smallest bank in the state. And though it's hours from the nearest big city, you'll always find Lumby close to your heart . . .

Nearly destroyed by fire, Montis Abbey remains a ruin on the outskirts of Lumby. Once home to a resourceful order of monks, it stands abandoned, surrounded by its overgrown orchards. Then Mark and Pam Walker, a vacationing couple from the East Coast, stumble upon it -- and upon the answer to their prayers. Leaving behind their hectic lives to restore the monastery and turn it into an inn is a dream come true.

But some residents of Lumby take a while to warm up to outsiders. One of them is irascible William Beezer, owner of The Lumby Lines -- the newspaper "worth the paper it's printed on." At every turn, he tries to hinder the Walkers' efforts. The couple soon learns that for every citizen like William, there are many more willing to lend a hand, and that Lumby isn't just a place -- it's a way of life.

Disappointing. I could not finish it. I'd seen it compared to Jan Karon's Mitford series and I loved those books. This was like a flat, pale attempt at imitation, and one that tried too hard. While I've seen these characters described as quirky, I saw very little character development and nothing to make me care about them. I think what was most difficult for me was the strange mix of tenses. It wasn't a first person narrative, but the mix of tenses was odd and incredibly distracting.

The book has received other, very positive, comments and I have no doubt that it will appeal to many people. I'm just not one of them.

Thanks to Caitlin Price from FSB Associates for the opportunity to review this book. You can learn more about Gail Fraser here.  You can purchase your own copy here.

2/10


1/5 Stars


Comments

  1. I bought a copy of this for my mother and I'm not sure whether she managed to read it before she died or not (blush), but I think she did. It's sitting on my shelf. Thanks for the warning about the changing tenses -- that drives me nuts.

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