THE GOODBYE CAFÉ

(The Hudson Sisters #3)

by Mariah Stewart

On sale March 26, 2019

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

California girl Allie Hudson Monroe can’t wait for the day when the renovations on the Sugarhouse Theater are complete so she can finally collect the inheritance from her father and leave Pennsylvania. After all, her life and her fourteen-year-old daughter are in Los Angeles.

 

But Allie’s divorce left her tottering on the edge of bankruptcy, so to keep up on payments for her house and her daughter’s private school tuition, Allie packed up and flew out east. But fate has a curve-ball or two to toss in Allie’s direction—she just doesn’t know it yet.

 

She hadn’t anticipated how her life would change after reuniting with her estranged sister, Des, or meeting her previously unknown half-sister, Cara. And she’d certainly never expected to find small-town living charming. But the biggest surprise was that her long-forgotten artistry would save the day when the theater’s renovation fund dried up.

 

With opening day upon the sisters, Allie’s free to go. But for the first time in her life, she feels like the woman she was always meant to be. Will she return to the West Coast and resume her previous life, or will the love of “this amazing, endearing family of women” (Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author) be enough to draw her back to the place where the Hudson roots grow so deep?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

You may say senior. You may not say old, elder, or advanced age. And never geriatric if you know what’s good for you.

 

Cara, you think Des’s kids’ll come out bald with tiny Harley-Davidson tattoos on their shoulders?

 

The short answer is I don’t know…The long answer is I don’t know.

 

“The universe doesn’t owe you an explanation for everything,” as Mandy, Allie’s across-the-street neighbor back in L.A., used to say. Then again, she reminded herself, Mandy set traps for unicorns in the hills behind her house and sprinkled visitors with glitter before they walked through her front door.

 

“You know it’s not good to tease old ladies. You could give them a heart attack.” “Barney, did you just call yourself an old lady?” “Of course not. I was speaking in generalities.”

 

My Review:

 

Ms. Stewart has performed a major transformation; she tamed the shrew and made her not only likable but commendable – kudos! I enjoyed the slow yet meaningful metamorphosis of the bitter and virulently tongued Allie, although Ms. Stewart had granted her some of the wittiest lines and snarkiest banter of all the characters during her acerbic and noxiously abrasive period. The gradual reformation and reshaping of her nature was cleverly and realistically done, I didn’t expect to care for her as much as I did; she was completely made-over and admirably appealing by the story’s end.

 

Some mysteries were solved, more secrets were uncovered, and some questions may forever remain unanswered. I don’t think this series is anywhere near finished as there are still more Hudsons to feature, young and old, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if several more popped up as the prolific horndog Fritz couldn’t seem to keep it in his pants.

 

About the author

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Mariah Stewart is the award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of numerous novels and several novellas and short stories. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives with her husband and two rambunctious rescue dogs amid the rolling hills of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where she savors country life and tends her gardens while she works on her next novel. Visit her website at MariahStewart.com, like her on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuthorMariahStewart, and follow her on Instagram @Mariah_Stewart_Books.