When Jess spends the summer in her late grandmother's rambling Victorian summer cottage, she uncovers heart-rending mysteries and lost love. It has been seventeen years since Jess has last visited the elite lakefront summer club where she had spent the summers of her youth. Now, she returns with her photographer boyfriend who wants to write an article about the distinctive old house. Sifting through old letters and pictures she finds in a hidden trunk, Jess unravels long-hidden family secrets. Including, just maybe, the secret to her own heart.
*May Contain Spoilers*
Nora Carroll brings readers into the life of Jess Carpenter, a librarian who is called back to her summer vacation home after she inherits it from her grandmother, in her novel Hemingway Point. Though the story line is crafted to capture the love of readers, the novel itself falls short of expectations.
Carroll intricately takes readers on a journey of discovering the truth about personal history. Jess believes she knows everything about her past, but while trying to sell her newly acquired property, she learns truths she would never imagine. I loved the plot of this novel. It has a great pace and more than enough enticement to grab the attention of any reader.
Sadly, the editing of the novel takes away from the beautiful story. There were quite a few typos throughout the book that had me lost in confusion. At times, I had trouble concentrating on the story development because of the errors.
I also felt I was creating half of the story in my head because of the dropped quotations in the dialogue. I had to mentally separate the dialogue that was actually being spoken and what was internal. It was a rather tough process and one that left me with a heavy sense of disappointment. I had to read the ending chapter twice just to have a faint idea of what happened with Jess and her first love.
Another once-over would do this novel wonders, as the story is truly great.
rating: 2/5 cups
