Nell and Lady

by Ashley Farley

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A heart-stirring novel of family and forgiveness from bestselling author Ashley Farley.

In her grand home in Charleston, Willa Bellemore raised two girls during the tumultuous 1970s. One was her daughter, Lady. The other was Lady’s best friend, Nell—adopted after the sudden, heartbreaking death of her mother, the Bellemores’ beloved maid. Willa showered Nell with love and support, all the while ignoring the disdainful whispers of her neighbors. After all, they were family. Nell and Lady were sisters at heart—sisters who vowed to never let anything come between them.

Then, on the night of Lady’s sixteenth birthday, something went terribly wrong, sparking painful secrets and bitter resentments that went unspoken for three decades.

Now Willa is dying, and Lady and Nell—each with a teenager of her own—are brought together after all these years. It’s Willa’s last wish. The time has come to confront what happened on that fateful night. But it may take a tragic twist of fate to reconcile the past and come to terms with the true meaning of family.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Lady wasn’t dredging up anything. She lived in the past every single day. She was a character in a movie with a worn-out theme— waking up every morning to repeat the same traumatic day over and over again.

For your information, Betty, my help is my family, not that it’s any of your business. As for my social status, I have more friends in this town than you have weeds in your garden. And, honey, I’m here to tell you that you have a whole shit pot of weeds growing in your garden.

My Review:

The clever and thoughtful premise of this book was the pervasive domino effect of a kept secret thirty-one years after the undisclosed traumatic event lead. It started with a silent resentment that quickly festered into a loud and bitter antipathy and resulted in complete avoidance. The secret had effectively poisoned their family and shaped their choices and attitudes as adults. The storylines were believable, heart-squeezing, easy to follow and well paced while the writing was emotive and well detailed. While the story was engaging and well plotted, her characters are always where Ms. Farley’s true artistry shines. This ensemble was realistically drawn, deeply flawed, and so well-fleshed out I felt I knew them. Ashley Farley has a well-honed skill for creating common yet deeply fractured characters that greatly annoy me one minute and endear me the next.

About the Author

Ashley Farley writes books about women for women. Her characters are mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives facing real-life issues. Her goal is to keep you turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning. If her story stays with you long after you’ve read the last word, then she’s done her job.

After her brother died in 1999 of an accidental overdose, she turned to writing as a way of releasing her pent-up emotions. She wrote SAVING BEN in honor of Neal, the boy she worshipped, the man she could not save.

Ashley is a wife and mother of two young adult children. While she’s lived in Richmond, Virginia for the past 21 years, part of her heart remains in the salty marshes of the South Carolina Lowcountry where she grew up. Through the eyes of her characters, she’s able to experience the moss-draped trees, delectable cuisine, and kind-hearted folks with lazy drawls that make the area so unique.

Visit her website at http://www.ashleyfarley.net for more information. Or sign up for her newsletter using this link: http://ashleyfarley.net/get-your-free…