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A story of faith, love, and forgiveness... The Memory House by Rachel Hauck (Review, Excerpt & #Giveaway)

Monday, April 22, 2019 - Leave a Comment

Welcome to my tour stop! Read my review, an excerpt, and enter the tour giveaway below...

The Memory House
By Rachel Hauck
Christian Contemporary Romance, Time-Slip
Paperback & ebook, 384 Pages
April 2nd 2019 by Thomas Nelson

Summary

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress comes a new captivating novel of two women whose lives have been destroyed by disaster but find healing in a special house.

“Hauck is a master at weaving together plots from multiple time periods.” —Library Journal

Embracing the future means remembering the past . . .

When Beck Holiday lost her father in the North Tower on 9/11, she also lost her memories of him. Eighteen years later, she’s a tough New York City cop burdened with a damaging secret, suspended for misconduct, and struggling to get her life in order. Meanwhile a mysterious letter arrives informing her she’s inherited a house along Florida’s northern coast, and what she discovers there will change her life forever. Matters of the heart only become more complicated when she runs into handsome Bruno Endicott, a driven sports agent who fondly recalls the connection they shared as teenagers. But Beck doesn’t remember that either.

Decades earlier, widow Everleigh Applegate lives a steady, uneventful life with her widowed mother after a tornado ripped through Waco, Texas, and destroyed her new, young married life. When she runs into old high school friend Don Callahan, she begins to yearn for change. Yet no matter how much she longs to love again, she is hindered by a secret she can never share.

Fifty years separate the women but through the power of love and miracle of faith, they each find healing in a beautiful Victorian known affectionately as The Memory House.

"Accomplished Hauck demonstrates genre finesse as she blends inspirational romance with a cinematic style of storytelling, bringing empathic characters to life as they cope with grief in marriage and faithfulness, parenthood and adoption, death and tragedy. Challenging decisions, the blessing of finding love again, and the solace of a beautiful Victorian home all come together in this spellbinding, lovely novel." —Booklist

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My Review

THE MEMORY HOUSE is a story of learning to live after loss, faith, family, forgiveness, and love. A story that slips back and forth from present to the past as it tells the stories of two women whose lives somewhat shadow each other's. A beautiful, heartfelt story from beginning to end.

I loved everything about this story! The characters were easy to connect to and fall in love with. I loved Beck and her resolve. Her struggles were very real and affected her life and choices to a point where they were debilitating. Miss Everleigh's life was very similar. Her loss had frozen her until a man loved her enough to try to push her to live and find happiness. Don was wonderful and just what Everleigh needed. Then there's Bruno... he's such a troubled soul and fighting for his career and his family and his own happiness. I loved, loved the way he reverts back to his friendship with Beck even though she doesn't remember. The way these two romances struggle, develop, and grow was truly beautiful. I also loved all the family that surrounds them, and all the friends. The house with its memories and the feel of peace and love it emulates as well as how faith is weaved throughout the story, played such a huge part in it all. The story pulled on my emotions and made me think. Only the best stories can do that.

This line from the book sums things up perfectly:
"What could she not accomplish if she let faith overcome her fear?"

In the end, was it what I wished for? This was a wonderful, heartwarming story. If you're a fan of Hauck or poignant stories that pull on the heart, this comes highly recommended.

Content: Some references to mature content, but clean.
Source: I received a complimentary advanced reader's copy from the publisher through Celebrate Lit, which did not require a positive review nor affect it in any way.

About the Author


Rachel Hauck is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of The Wedding Dress, which was also named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times and was a RITA finalist. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pet and writes from her ivory tower.
Excerpt from The Memory House

When Mama Applegate spoke as if Everleigh were a guest rather than a family member, she embraced it with grace. Because at the end of the day, she was Rhett’s wife. She alone shared his dreams, his heart, his life.
And at night, when she couldn’t sleep, his soft breathing was her lullaby.
“Listen, mister, I have to get back to work or I won’t make it home in time for our dinner.” She tugged at his shirt collar. “So are you going to tell me why you’re here?”
“I was going to wait until tonight, but I got so excited . . .” Rhett stepped over to the desk in front of Everleigh’s and retrieved a long white canister. “Here. Open it. I feel like a kid at Christmas.”
“Rhett, what have you done?” She pried away the cap and slipped out a set of drawings.
“Here, let me.” Rhett unrolled a rendering of a cozy house with a wraparound porch nestled between two cottonwoods. “Our house, Ev. I took those sketches you made after we were married and gave
them to the architect. What do you think?”
“Th-this is our house?” She wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning against his thick arm as she studied the drawing.
“It’s our house, darling.”
Everleigh studied the drawing. It was just like she imagined. “Are you sure?” She gazed up at her husband. “I didn’t think we’d saved enough money.”
“We’ve saved every penny of your salary, and I finally sold the stud bull to Jacob Marshall. He’s been after me for a year . . .” Rhett held her with one hand while flipping through the drawing with the other. “I bought the ten acres by the stream. You know, the one with the trees we loved. Dad wanted to give it to us, but I said no strings.
I wanted to buy it so he can’t hold it over me. Not that he would, but family business can get tricky.” Everleigh leaned to see the name of the road. Memory Lane.
“Darling, the section right off Memory Lane? The spot I wanted?”
Rhett’s grandmother had named the dirt road years ago, when she imagined a large family with lots of grandkids running around.
She envisioned an Applegate community.
But her sons, Melvin and Earl, went to war. Only Earl—nicknamed Spike—returned home the fall of 1918. He inherited the ranch, married Mama Applegate, and fathered Rhett, an only child. Grandma’s two daughters married and moved away.
“Your granny would be proud, darling,” Everleigh said. “We’re beginning her dream.”
“Sh-she would.” Rhett cleared his throat, pressing his fist over his cough. “So, w-what do you think?”
…
Tell him! The timing could not have been more perfect.
“Rhett, sweetheart—”
He jerked his wrist up, checking his watch. “Oh, Ev, sorry, darling, but I promised Dad I’d pick him up from the hardware store thirty minutes ago.” He gave her a quick, passing kiss. “I’d planned to show you these tonight, but I just couldn’t wait.” He rolled up the drawings and tucked them into the canister. “What is it you wanted to say?” On reflex, he checked his watch again.
“Nothing,” she said, smiling. “I’ll see you later. We can talk then. I have work to do anyway.”
“You sure?”
Everleigh fell into him and pressed her cheek against his chest.
“You make my dreams come true, Rhett Applegate.”
He kissed her one more time, then held her at arm’s length.
“Distraction, girl, you are one beautiful distraction.”
Tour Schedule

The Avid Reader, April 22
Wishful Endings, April 22
Worthy2Read, April 23
C Jane Read, April 25
Carpe Diem, April 26
Mary Hake, April 27
EmpowerMoms, April 27
Bigreadersite, April 28
Pause for Tales, April 28
Quiet Quilter, April 30
Moments, May 5
Simple Harvest Reads, May 5 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)

Tour-Wide Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Rachel is giving away a grand prize of a copy of The Memory House!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!



Are you a Rachel Hauck fan? Have you read this one or will you be?

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