Previously Loved Treasures
The Serendipity Series Book Two
Previously Loved Treasures by Bette Lee Crosby
The Serendipity Series Book 2
Paperback and e-book, 280 pages
Published May 5th 2014 by Bent Pine Publishing
In Previously Loved Treasures recently widowed Ida Sweetwater and her granddaughter come together in a heartwarming mystery rich with imagination and magic.
Struggling to make ends meet, Ida turns her home into a boarding house and goes in search of used furniture. This quest leads to the Previously Loved Treasures shop and Peter Pennington, a delightfully strange proprietor who anticipates people’s needs. In addition to bargains, Peter hands out sage advice. When a pocket watch belonging to one of the residents goes missing for a second time he warns of danger - but will Ida’s granddaughter listen and will she heed his advice?
This is a story that resonates with Crosby’s heartwarming albeit quirky characters and the joy of a pay-it-forward philosophy.
My thoughts about Previously Loved Treasures ~~
Okay, right off the bat, I have to say that I absolutely love this cover! It is so beautiful and it draws me in to find out what those previously loved treasures might be.
And then, secondly, I absolutely love Bette and her wonderful books. She writes such beautiful, gentle, and magical stories.
Previously Loved Treasures is just that, a treasure. Ida takes people into her home as a way to keep her house after her husband dies. She had no idea these people would become so important to her and become her family.
'You just never know how much you're going to miss someone until they're gone. And thenit's too damn late to do a thing about it.'
She also finds out that she has a grown granddaughter that she didn't know about. As they become acquainted, tragedy strikes. What is going to become of the family that bonded under Ida's roof?
I loved the idea of the Previously Loved Treasures shop where Peter knew just what you were looking for, even if you didn't know yourself. And what a wise man he was!
'Ida looked forward to returning to the shop. Although she had only been there once it held a strange fascination, a kind of magic calling her back. It wasn't a fancy store, but stepping inside was like losing yourself in a dream.'
'"What exactly are previously loved treasures?" Peter Pennington pushed the heavy glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. "They're the things you need, things other people no longer need. ... You've got to understand, when people sell previously loved treasures it's not about the money. It's about finding the right home for something they've spent years loving.'"
And then there is the fact that Bette likes to incorporate people shes know into her stories. I am so honored that she wrote me into this wonderful adventure. It was so awesome to see my name in print in a real live book!!
'This wasn't something Ida was jumping into blindly. Five different people had said the same thing. Susan Schleicher was ethical. Susan Schleicher was reliable. If you needed a lawyer, Susan Schleicher was the person you wanted.'
I loved this book even before I got to that part in the book. That was just frosting on the cake!
There are so many great lines in this book and I love to highlight them as I am reading. I want to share a few with you here so you can get an idea of Bette's wonderful writing.
'A whole lot of life falls between good and bad.'
'One day at a time. She would simply have to take it a single day at a time.'
'The thing about love is, the person or thing doesn't have to be perfect for you to love it. It only has to be perfect for you.'
OMG, I could go on and on with amazing words from this book. But I will stop now and you will just have to read it yourself.
Okay, one last great line. And then you really have to get this book and savor all the wonderful lines!
'Love turns strangers into family.'
The first book in the Serendipity Series is
The Twelfth Child. I posted my thoughts a few days ago. You can see that post
here. These two books can be read as standalones but there is a thread that connects the two of them which makes the stories even more special.
I have a giveaway going on right now for a print copy of
The Twelfth Child. Enter via the Rafflecopter below.
Twelfth Child
The Seredipity Series Book One
Trust, love and friendship - Abigail Anne Lannigan searched for these things all her life; now, when she is at the tail end of her years she teams up with a free-spirited young woman, a nobody from nowhere, who suddenly moves in across the street. It’s an unlikely friendship which comes under suspicion when a distant relative, claims embezzlement. One million dollars is missing and only Abigail knows the truth of what happened – but, she’ll never get the chance to tell.
The Twelfth Child, a novel rich with emotion, humor and tenderness, explores the splintered relationships of a Shenandoah Valley family and their willful daughter’s struggle to survive America’s Great Depression and overcome the past.
Read my thoughts about this wonderful book here.
About the author
USA Today Bestselling and Award-winning novelist Bette Lee Crosby brings the wit and wisdom of her Southern Mama to works of fiction--the result is a delightful blend of humor, mystery and romance along with a cast of quirky charters who will steal your heart away.
Born in Detroit and raised in a plethora of states scattered across the South and Northeast, Crosby originally studied art and began her career as a packaging designer. When asked to write a few lines of copy for the back of a pantyhose package, she discovered a love for words that was irrepressible. After years of writing for business, she turned to works of fiction and never looked back. "Storytelling is in my blood," Crosby laughingly admits, "My mom was not a writer, but she was a captivating storyteller, so I find myself using bits and pieces of her voice in most everything I write."
Crosby's work was first recognized in 2006 when she received The National League of American Pen Women Award for a then unpublished manuscript. Since that, she has gone on to win several more awards, including another NLAPW award, Royal Palm Literary Awards, the FPA President's Book Award Gold Medal and Reviewer's Choice Award and Reader's View Southeast Fiction Literary Award.
Her published works to date are:
Jubilee's Journey (2013),
What Matters Most (2013),
The Twelfth Child (2012),
Cupid's Christmas (2012),
Cracks in the Sidewalk (2011),
Spare Change (2011), and
Life in the Land of IS (2012).
Life in the Land of IS is a memoir written for Lani Deauville, a woman the Guinness Book of Records lists as the world's longest living quadriplegic.
Connect with Bette
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