My book club read On Moonberry Lake by Holly Varni in July, and we all loved it! Set in a small town where everyone knows your business and is not afraid to comment on it 😉 , the novel is full of heart and wisdom and some seriously quirky characters and LOL scenes. You are going to love it too!
Cora Matthews’s life is a mess. A broken engagement and the unexpected death of her mother have left her wondering if things will ever return to normal. Whatever “normal” is.
It certainly isn’t what she finds at Moonberry Lake. After she receives her family’s dilapidated lakefront lodge as an inheritance–with a surprising condition attached–Cora finds her life overrun by a parade of eccentric neighbors who all have something to say and something to teach her.
As Cora works to put her life back together, she must decide if she is willing to let go of the past, open her heart to love, and embrace the craziest version of family and home she could ever have imagined.
Holly Varni is a native Minnesotan of strong Norwegian descent, who was raised in the Lutheran Church that Garrison Keillor made a career depicting. Between the lutefisk, grumpy grandparents, and the crazy neighbor who mowed his lawn wearing pajamas, the seed to becoming a storyteller was planted. She wants to give readers characters they can connect with, admire, laugh at, and most of all love.
She is podcast host of “Moments from Moonberry Lake,” and author of the “Moonberry Lake” series.
In her personal life, she married a University Professor with the same chocolate eyes as her romantic lead. They live on the Central Coast of California with their three sons. The characters of Moonberry Lake and their unique stories came about as she was trying to survive being a boy mom. When not doing laundry or writing, she has the privilege of being a Hospice volunteer, where she sits with the dying and listens to their stories.
My Impressions:
Have you ever wondered if a book that everyone is raving about can live up to the hype? On Moonberry Lake by Holly Varni is that book! My book club read it and absolutely loved it! It has so much to recommend it. The setting is small town, busy-body central — both annoying and charming and completely fun. The characters run the gamut of wise and wonderful to slightly quirky to all-out ridiculous (check out the cashier at the local grocery 😉 ). The writing is excellent, and the themes of home and belonging resonated with all the members of my group. Main character Cora is untethered and has spent her life since childhood searching for belonging. The death of her mother allows her to return to the last place she truly felt at home, yet there are so many questions that she doesn’t know where to begin to find healing. Fortunately, she is embraced by a community that offers love and acceptance — a family she has always wanted. On Moonberry Lake is never predictable in its plot, but it does offer a very satisfying conclusion. There is a second novel due out this fall, and we are all impatiently waiting to return to Moonberry Lake.
Highly Recommended.
Great for Book Clubs.
Audience: Adults.
(I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
i guffawed out loud a few times reading this one! So fun 🙂