Finding the Rainbow

Holly Newbury’s life is on hold in the cozy English village of Chilton Crosse. While her friends are marrying, having children, and embarking on successful careers, Holly is raising her three younger sisters and working part time at the village art gallery. Her life feels incomplete, but family is more important to her than anything. Then a film crew’s arrival galvanizes the community, and Holly becomes fast friends with Fletcher Hays, the movie’s love-shy American writer.

The production of an Emma film isn’t the only drama in town, though. Their father makes a choice that threatens everything she gave up her dreams for. Holly’s sisters endure growing pains. And Fletcher plans to return to America as soon as filming is over, ruining any chance of their relationship blossoming further. After years of sacrificing for others, Holly must find the courage to take a risk on a future she never dared to expect.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Traci Borum continues sharing Chilton Crosse with readers in her new book, Finding the Rainbow, the sequel to Painting the Moon. Though Adam and Noelle make their own appearances, this novel focuses on Holly, who has her own love story to share. 

Holly is a young woman in her late twenties, living back at home, helping raise her three younger sisters since their mother passed away six years prior. Holly is an engaging, busy, aspiring woman who feels her life is in a sort of limbo. She left college to help her family, and though she continues to take online classes, Holly is unsure of her purpose. This is a foundation for readers to build upon. We've all wondered where our paths will take us, what our future holds. This uncertainty and vulnerability allows readers to care about Holly and her future. Her loving personality and understanding nature will only add to the initial character connection. 

Readers will also enjoy Fletcher, the Texan who's transplanted himself onto English soil. He's a sweet man who plays the hero to a few damsels in distress. Though the love story is slow, emulating Emma, I believe, since a film adaptation is being shot in Chilton Crosse, there is a romantic plot. The main focus of the novel is really just Holly. Borum explores her career goals, the relationship between her and her sisters, as well as her love life. Through ups and downs, readers watch as Holly's life becomes her own. 

The relaxed nature of the book did drive me a bit batty towards the end, as everything wraps up. I wanted a bigger climax in the romantic plot. Though the big scene is deliriously sweet, it's a little predictable. I loved watching the relationships between Holly and her sisters shift with various situations and events. I think that dynamic was my favorite. Also, I am a little jealous of a certain part of Miss Holly's happily ever after. The career that drops perfectly into her lap is a fond dream of my own (and other book lovers, I'm sure!). Finding the Rainbow elicits various emotions throughout and shows that there is also calm after the storm, when the rainbow appears. Readers who enjoy a book that takes its time and a love that is slow to bloom will thoroughly enjoy this meandering story.

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Book 1 of the Chilton Crosse Novels

Painting the Moon

When Noelle Cooke inherits a quaint English cottage and an art gallery from her famous Aunt Joy, she welcomes a departure from her San Diego routine. But the lure of the Cotswolds, combined with a locked cottage room and a revealing journal, entice her to stay and discover more, including a way to save the gallery from financial ruin. And that means remaining in England.

When her childhood sweetheart, Adam Spencer, begins work on a restoration project in Noelle’s village, their friendship blossoms. But as her feelings for Adam deepen, she struggles with memories of what might have been and yearns for a future once thought lost. Faced with a life-altering revelation Aunt Joy took to her grave and a wrenching choice regarding the man she loves, Noelle could lose far more than her heart.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Traci Borum shares a romantic and touching story about a woman who gives up the life she knows for a chance at living meaningfully and having true love in her novel, Painting the Moon. Noelle flies across the pond to her inheritance in England and readers tag-a-long, witness of a chance to begin anew. 

Noelle is a Californian woman who dislikes her human resources job, often feeling lonely and bored. Then she receives unfortunate news of her Aunt's passing paired with happy news that she's the sole inheritor. England becomes her second chance at life, love, discovery, and happiness. Noelle rekindles old friendships and opens up. Readers see her personality blossoming with every day that passes. She begins studying art again and taking chances. The shift of perspective will reach out to readers, pulling them into Noelle's life. Though the story starts off slowly, the connection with and hope for Noelle only deepens as the plot progresses. 

The plot follows Noelle's inheritance of an English cottage and an art gallery that is going bankrupt. When she is given a strange letter from her deceased Aunt letting her know that there are secrets to be discovered and surprises in store, Noelle begins the search. She uncovers a locked room full of paintings that her Aunt never shared with the world. She also reconnects with her two best friends from childhood, Jill and Adam, which gives Noelle a chance at examining the feelings she had for Adam during her teenage years. Painting the Moon is a slow second chance for life and love. Definitely an end of summer, relax while you can, smile at the sentences, kind of novel. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

WWW Wednesday (115)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

          

01. Currently Reading:
Painting the Moon by Traci Borum. After an Aunt passes away, Noelle finds herself in England sorting through what was left behind with a penned promise that she'll stumble over a few secrets and surprises.

02. Recently Finished:
Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson. Such a wonderful coming of age novel about three teenage girls who form an unlikely friendship while working at a peach orchard.

03. Reading Next:
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. In the middle of a war, Alina discovers she has a special power that could be exactly what the country needs to survive.

Teaser Tuesday (128)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers



Painting the Moon (Kindle 1%)
   - Traci Borum

She kicked off her sandals and walked down the steps of her beach house, grateful for San Diego's mild weather even in mid-October. And grateful she wouldn't have to walk far, with the ocean practically at her doorstep.