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Barbara Davis

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The Keeper of Happy Endings Kindle Edition

by Barbara Davis (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 99,633 ratings

in Historical French Fiction

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An enchanting novel about fate, second chances, and hope, lost and found, by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Last of the Moon Girls.

Soline Roussel is well schooled in the business of happy endings. For generations her family has kept an exclusive bridal salon in Paris, where magic is worked with needle and thread. It’s said that the bride who wears a Roussel gown is guaranteed a lifetime of joy. But devastating losses during World War II leave Soline’s world and heart in ruins and her faith in love shaken. She boxes up her memories, stowing them away, along with her broken dreams, determined to forget.

Decades later, while coping with her own tragic loss, aspiring gallery owner Rory Grant leases Soline’s old property and discovers a box containing letters and a vintage wedding dress, never worn. When Rory returns the mementos, an unlikely friendship develops, and eerie parallels in Rory’s and Soline’s lives begin to surface. It’s clear that they were destined to meet—and that Rory may hold the key to righting a forty-year wrong and opening the door to shared healing and, perhaps, a little magic.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Historically sound with a thread of supernatural intrigue, this exploration of shared experiences, learned adaptations, and the power of trust is a book that fans of Catherine Ryan Hyde, Erica Bauermeister, and Lucinda Riley will fall in love with.” —Booklist

“This intriguing novel is magically woven together with sorrow, surprises, and happiness, just like the wedding gowns of ‘The Dress Witch’.” —Historical Novel Society

“Davis’s tale of love and loss, expertly woven around the lives of two women who have nothing—and yet everything—in common, inspires hope that our own happy endings might be biding their time, ready to show up when and where we least expect them. The Keeper of Happy Endings is a perfect blending of romance and mystery with a sprinkling of magic—heartwarming and satisfying. Don’t miss it!” —Kerry Anne King, bestselling author of Whisper Me This and Everything You Are

“Like a wedding dress lovingly crafted, The Keeper of Happy Endings is stitched through with secrets, romance, and mystery sure to enchant…and leave readers believing in the magic of second chances.” —Christine Nolfi, bestselling author of The Passing Storm

From the Publisher

I used to roll my eyes at the saying, “Everything happens for a reason.” It just seemed like a very easy, very convenient way to explain away things we don’t understand—especially the difficult things. That all changed when I read The Keeper of Happy Endings.

In this enchanting novel, Barbara Davis expertly weaves a tale of two women seemingly brought together by coincidence. When the discovery of a vintage wedding dress and a bundle of letters causes their paths to cross, they have no idea how closely connected they are. From different generations and different continents, their stories echo one another: both have experienced great love and great loss, and both despair of repairing the damage done. Their meeting irrevocably alters their lives. Drawn together yet wary of more heartache, they slowly reveal their wounds.

But what draws them close also has the power to tear them apart. If they refuse to open their hearts and believe in the power of destiny, they may miss a second chance at happiness and reuniting with the loves they lost. That’s what the skeptic in me loves about this book. Barbara Davis deftly shows that things do happen for a reason, but it’s up to us to stay open to the magic of possibility.

—Jodi Warshaw, Editor

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08X48G5VL
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lake Union Publishing (October 1, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4192 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 415 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,002 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1 in Historical French Fiction
- #5 in Historical World War II Fiction
- #6 in World War II Historical Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 99,633 ratings

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About the author

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Barbara Davis

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After twelve years in the jewelry business, I finally surrendered to the muse, leaving the corporate world in order to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a writer. I was born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, but grew up and attended school in Florida. Eventually, work led me north, where I lived in Charleston for two years, and in Raleigh for fourteen, before eventually making my home in Dover, New Hampshire, which makes me a Yankee, turned southerner, turned Yankee. (I think.)

When I'm not writing I'm an avid reader, foodie, and lover of music, a rabid football fan, and a devoted Florida Gator. I also enjoy travel with my husband/sweetheart, (same guy, I promise) who over the years has learned much more about publishing and the craft of writing than he ever wanted to know.

My most recent novel, THE KEEPER OF HAPPY ENDINGS, releases October 1, 2021. I am currently working on my eighth novel, and am still just as delighted with my job as I was the day I set my first word on the page!

For more about me and my books, please visit my website at: www.barbaradavis-author.com, or find me on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbaradavisauthor OR on Twitter: @bdavisauthor.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

99,633 global ratings

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Darcy OH

Good read

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024

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Really liked this book - characters, story line, well written

Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2024

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I loved this book, the prose was superb, the plot engaging, and the characters quickly made their way into my heart so I was quickly cheering for Happy Endings for all. This book is a duel time line set in WWII and the mid 1980s. It alternates between Solice a French dress maker and Rory an aspiring gallery owner. Both have endured being separated from their soulmate whose fate is unknown. Other ties bind them as well. I liked that each character was given several chapters before switching back to the other. This helped to avoid the clunky cadence I often find in duel timeline novels that makes me feel like I reading two novels shoved together rather than a complete story. Barbara Davis was excellent in avoiding this, the two points of view and time lines were woven with the thread of her beautiful prose to create a masterpiece. I can't believe this gem is been in my to be read like for so long!

6 people found this helpful

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jbell

Wonderful story

Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2024

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This is a love story. Beautifully written with a lot of heart. Well paced and easy to follow the changing timeline. The tension between the different characters is very believable. And the aftermath is realistic as well. Plus who doesn't love a happy ending full of romance. Definitely a fun read.

8 people found this helpful

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C. Bird

Lovely

Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2024

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I am usually drawn to action, mystery, espionage. So I am not certain why I was drawn to this book. Maybe it was France, history in WWII, not sure. I loved the trip, the words, the story. Such an emotional trek with ups and downs and twists and turns. Love story, mystery and hope!

One person found this helpful

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Food for thought

Lovely

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2024

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Such a charming and embracing story. A wonderful storyteller. Barbara Davis makes the reader feel what the characters feel instead of just telling the reader. This is the second book of hers I have read. Each one is charming and a delight.

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2024

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The war; the fighting; the hatred; the love….and intertwined in a storyline so compelling and complex, it’s hard to stop reading.
Very enjoyable from start to finish.

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2021

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Sigh. This is one of those feel-good, curl up with a good mug of tea or hot chocolate on a cold and rainy day kinds of books. I didn’t know it would be that for awhile though… I was cringing at times, fearing that I was in for a tragedy, or a bittersweet story at best. But Barbara Davis didn’t let me down.

It’s a popular style to tell WWII tales by bouncing back and forth between two characters a couple generations apart, and then to bring them together in unexpected ways. (The story could have been a Rhys Bowen novel in that way.) The story follows Soline from the 1940s, Rory from the 1980s, and then the two of them together in the 1980s as well. Soline was a Parisian dressmaker during WWII, who found herself as a volunteer at a hospital. There, she met Anson, the American love of her life, who was also a volunteer. War and tragedy conspired to sweep them apart, and Soline has lived the rest of her life alone. After suffering several more tragedies upon coming to America, Soline picked up the pieces of her life and made a name for herself as a Parisian seamstress, known for her bridal gowns which guarantee the bride a happy ending. (This is the only overt fantasy element of the story: Soline’s mother’s line passes down the gift of weaving a charm into the dress.) But alas, her bridal shop burned to the ground, and damaged Soline’s hands so that she could no longer work. By the time Rory encounters her, she’s a recluse.

Rory’s life, two generations later, parallels Soline’s story. Like Soline, she has a difficult relationship with her own mother, Camilla. She also fell in love with a heroic doctor who went missing on a mission in a third world country, and hasn’t been heard from since. Her fiancee, Hux, encouraged her to drop out of college and pursue her passion: her own art, and opening a gallery. Rory comes across Soline’s old bridal shop, burned but not ruined, which has remained empty ever since. She decides to rent the space, and finds a box of old letters from grateful brides. She’s determined to return them to Soline, which is how the two meet. They click instantly, both sensing that they are kindred spirits, and that they share even more than a strangely common past. The two women grow close, while Camilla discovers and envies Soline’s connection with the daughter from whom she is nearly estranged. But it turns out that all three women are connected in a way that would seem almost roll-your-eyes coincidental, if not for that tiny bit of magic introduced into the story by the dress charm. If that’s possible, then why not fate, or serendipity, or whatever else you might want to call it?

The last few chapters of the story were heavy with cheese, too-perfect happy endings, and on-the-nose dialogue in which each character says the sorts of direct things nobody would actually come right out and say. But I enjoyed them anyway, especially because I really didn’t expect things to turn out so well. (Modern stories generally don’t; it’s like there’s an unspoken rule against them or something.) The book certainly lived up to its name, though!

My rating: ****

Language: I can’t recall any

Violence: none

Sexual content: present but not gratuitous

Political content: none

3 people found this helpful

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Susan F

Kept you wanting to read on and on!

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2024

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A must read. This book kept me up at night when I should have shut off the light. Great story and well written. I loved the connections within the characters and how the story began back during WWI to current day. It was a good feel read!

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