Saturday, January 7, 2012

GENOA BAY (BETTE NORDBERG)


Story Description:

In this contemporary romance, young widow Brandy Beauchamp inherits a long-established bed-and-breakfast on Vancouver Island from an old friend. It needs energy and commitment if the beautiful but neglected property is to be restored.

With her five-year-old daughter, Gabby, Brandy moves to British Columbia and sets about building a new life only to discover that a local property developer has very different plans.

The quirky old house is symbolic of the strange characters peopling this novel, each one a composite of its influences-as the house is a composite of its owners. Brandy Beauchamp's success becomes our success, despite treachery, adversity, and misfortune.

Nordberg has interwoven themes of courage and treachery with personal growth and discovery. 

My Review:

Brandy, a young widow, and her five-year-old daughter, Gabby, head for Vancouver Island in Canada from Florida.  Maggie Blackburn, the woman who took Brandy in as a wayward teenager and raised and loved her as her own has had a stroke and lies unconscious in the intensive care unit.  Sadly, Maggie dies and Brandy inherits the bed and breakfast where Maggie lived.  The B & B was no longer being used as such but a home for Maggie that was packed to the hilt with furniture, collectibles, antiques and the like.  There was even an entire hull of a boat suspended from the ceiling in the great room! 

Despite having no money, Brandy uproots her and Gabby’s lives in Florida and moves to Canada to prepare Maggie’s home to once again become a functioning Bed & Breakfast.  However, along the way, Brandy is up against Murphy’s Law at every turn.  After some renovations had been completed, a large fir tree crashes through the roof during a particularly bad wind storm.  A nasty and under-handed developer wants to purchase the property from her and isn’t above conducting himself in some shady deals in order to hopefully force Brandy to sell to him. 

Brandy struggles with her faith and is learning to listen to God and to follow His voice, but can she follow Him completely in the face of the tragedies she must endure?  In the meantime, Brandy takes in teenager Celeste and her 10-year-old sister, Danny, while their Grandmother recovers in hospital from a broken hip and some other health problems.  Then a fire breaks out and her little Gabby gets hurt and she has run out of money. 

Brandy is now really struggling with her faith and needs to make a decision whether to carry on and hope for the best, or pull the plug on the entire project and move back to Florida and resume her old life. 

GENOA BAY is a touching story of love, loss, grief, faith, courage, resilience, and the redemptive power of believing in trusting God and allowing oneself to move forward in that faith.  I loved this book and will be keeping it as part of my permanent collection.  Thank you Ms. Nordberg for a wonderful story that kept me turning the pages late into the night!

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