The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Lolly Blanchard has lived a life of responsibility. After her mother died ten years ago, she gave up her vision of creating her own restaurant in Brighton, a place she loved since she studied abroad in England. Lolly also gave up Rory Shaw, the man she has loved since she was a teenager, as their paths diverged. Lolly stayed home to help her father Marty run the Eatery, their family diner on the west side of Seattle, and also to take care of her teenage sister Daphne. Lolly has done what she promised her mother she would do—keep their family together—but she certainly has collected many regrets along the way.

Lolly rises early every morning to make six lemon meringue pies for the diner. The Danish comfort food diner was started by her maternal grandparents half a century ago, even if it is looking a bit shabby these days. Mostly a family concern, Marty is the head chef and Great-Aunt Gert is often seen balancing plates of meatballs and potatoes with a pot of coffee in her other hand. Lolly is the one keeping the financial side afloat, not to mention those pies.

At the ripe old age of almost 33, as Lolly looks back at what might have been, Aunt Gert gives her a very strange gift: three lemon drops with magical properties. Each lemon drop will give her a chance to live one day in an alternate timeline, in a life that might have been. What if Lolly had opened her dream restaurant overseas? What if her mother had lived? What if she had chosen to follow her heart?

Lolly is not sure if Aunt Gert has lost her marbles or if the lemon drops really are magic. She decides to give it a try to see what path her life might have taken, if only…

This novel is so full of family and of the strings that tie us all together. The phrase “follow your bliss” comes up an unusual number of times, but I think that’s just Aunt Gert encouraging Lolly to discover what she has been missing, and also how to live her best life, regrets not withstanding. Aunt Gert is a most entertaining character and I wish the author had chosen to dive a little deeper into her past. At age 80, she certainly has led a most interesting life as a professor emeritus of religion and mythology, traveling the world and retaining her most unique fashion sense even as she now tromps through the diner in her orthopedic shoes.

All the way through I kept guessing what might happen, and while I was partially correct, the storyline still managed to surprise me pleasantly. I was so invested in the characters that the people Lolly lost, and her hopes for what might be actually brought me to tears a few times. The writing is highly engaging, and I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn

Reviewed by Jeanne

When Dr. William Ravenswood and his sister Mary arrive in London in 1815, they are all but friendless.  They are newly arrived in England, being the children of wealthy planters who, abhorring the slave trade, freed their workers and sold their plantation. Their charming manners and wealth soon attract interest, and their letter of introduction allows them to meet others of similar station.  They are looking for someone in particular, however;  Henry Austen, a gentleman who has a sister with a secret.  She’s an author.

The Ravenswoods have secrets as well.  They are not brother and sister, those are not their real names, and they have come from a great deal farther than Jamaica.

They are time travelers, sent back to try to obtain by hook or by crook a copy of a never published Jane Austen novel.

Let me say at the start that I can be a bit squeamish about light fiction using actual historical characters.  I tend to second guess a lot, wondering whether or not Ben Franklin or Edgar Allan Poe or Jane Austen would really have behaved in the manner depicted.  The reviews on this book were good, so I decided to chance it.

It is well-written and quite well thought out.  I don’t know if author Kathleen A. Flynn has ever read Connie Willis, but some elements reminded me of her marvelous Oxford Time Travel series:  the travelers’ base institute is in Oxford, for example, and the elaborate contingency plans are made.  There is some description of the rigorous training involved when time traveling back to 1815: learning to ride a horse, getting properly dressed in the garments of the time, and the crucial ability to blend in with the population.  

Characterization was well done, and the reader gets a good feel for the time period.  The story is told from the point of view of Dr. Rachel Katzman, aka Mary Ravenswood, a medical doctor who has provided humanitarian aid in various countries under difficult circumstances.  She is adept at hiding her horror at some of the living conditions—handwashing, for example, isn’t nearly as prevalent as in modern times—but occasionally chaffs at the restraints she must endure as a woman in a time when women had limited influence.  

I enjoyed The Jane Austen Project.  The author had done her research, and still managed to pull out a few surprises.  The result is a very satisfying novel.