The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring and The Empty House by Rosamunde Pilcher

Two books - one very good and one surprisingly bad.

The Road to Dalton

This story had me captivated by the poetic and descriptive writing.  My complaint - I wanted the story to continue! The residents of Dalton Maine each have their own stories with chapters devoted to their secrets, fears and loves. 

Trudy and Richard Haskell are central characters and appear in other stories as "supporting cast".  Richard is the town doctor in this small town.  He is good at his profession and very caring but he never wanted to be a doctor.  His father was a doctor and it was expected he'd fill that void when dad retired.  Richard wanted to build bridges.

His wife Trudy is the town librarian and falls in love with her best friend Bev. 

Rose is a lovely young woman who is abused by Tommy, the father of her two children.  She hides her bruises, makes excuses and hopes for a better life. Tommy is piece of work.

Nate and Bridget's story, well I won't give the spoilers on that but the passages about Bridget's train of thought midway through had me captivated. The writing here is so real.

There are many other characters and I very much enjoyed this slice of life in the little town of Dalton.  Looking forward to more by Shannon Bowring. 5 stars. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Empty House

Coming Home and The Shell Seekers set a very high bar for Rosamunde Pilcher novels.  While I didn't expect any of her other work might reach the epic length or sweeping writing style, this book was a disappointment. Honestly, I made myself finish it then scratched my head thinking, WTF.

Virginia Keile is a 27 year old widow.  She is boring, self absorbed and a poor mother.  Not an intentionally cruel mother to her two young children, rather negligent to their needs. Virginia has lost her husband but her young children also experienced loss as they are now without their father.  So what does she do?  She leaves Scotland and heads to Cornwall to stay with a friend of her mother's while pining over "the man who got away" just prior to her marriage.

No please, don't comfort your children.  Keep your head in the clouds and day dream about a rude man who you wished you had married instead.  The ending seemed rushed and unrealistic, as if a deadline had come up and Pilcher thought - better wrap this up and get it to print!

I am a huge fan of Rosamunde Pilcher so it would be disingenuous of me to say how much I loved this book, just passing it off as her off her game.  Loved the setting but not the story. 2 stars

⭐⭐

Book "travel" took me to Maine, Cornwall and Scotland this time.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.