The Hideaway by Lauren K Denton

 

I enjoyed listening to the unabridged audio version of The Hideaway by Lauren K Denton and narrated by Devon O'Day. I'd initially received the paperback edition of this novel for free from the Goodreads Giveaways program, but I decided I'd rather listen to it on audiobook... So I purchased the novel on sale through Chirp's website. I'm glad that I did!

The Hideaway by Lauren K Denton is a work of contemporary fiction/women's fiction set in the South... Primarily, in Sweet Bay, Alabama and also partially set in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Although, I enjoyed this novel, the narration, storyline, and characters, I wasn't as enamored as other reviewers seemed to be with The Hideaway. I was expecting to be wowed by this novel due to all the five star reviews I've seen. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed The Hideaway... it's just that it wasn't perfect. There were a few flaws in terms of plot details that didn't seem quite plausible. Or ones that were simply glossed over or resolved quickly that could have been flushed out a bit more for a tad more realistic read.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Hideaway by Lauren K Denton which I discovered on Chirp's website:

When her grandmother’s will wrenches Sara back to her small hometown of Sweet Bay, Alabama, she must face family secrets and difficult choices. In the South, family is always more complicated than it seems.

After her last remaining family member dies, Sara Jenkins goes home to The Hideaway, her grandmother Mags’s ramshackle B&B in Sweet Bay. She intends to quickly tie up loose ends then return to her busy life and thriving antique shop in New Orleans. Instead, she learns Mags has willed The Hideaway to her and charged her with renovating it—no small task considering her grandmother’s best friends, a motley crew of senior citizens, still live there.

Rather than hurrying back to New Orleans, Sara stays in Sweet Bay and begins the biggest house-rehabbing project of her career. Amid drywall dust, old memories, and a charming contractor, she discovers that slipping back into life at The Hideaway is easier than she expected.

Then she discovers a box Mags left in the attic with clues to a life Sara never imagined for her grandmother. With help from Mags’s friends, Sara begins to piece together the mysterious life of bravery, passion, and choices that changed her grandmother’s destiny in both marvelous and devastating ways.

When an opportunistic land developer threatens to seize The Hideaway, Sara is forced to make a choice—stay in Sweet Bay and fight for the house and the people she’s grown to love or leave again and return to her successful but solitary life in New Orleans.

I am giving The Hideaway by Lauren K Denton a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!