Romance Annotation: The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton

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The Hideaway

by Lauren K. Denton


Synopsis:

Sara's life is perfect. She owns a thriving restoration business in New Orleans, and everything in her life is in order. However, when her grandmother, Mags, passes away, Sara must return home to Sweet Bay, Alabama, to take care of her grandmother's estate: a past-its-prime Bed & Breakfast called The Hideaway. She's been given instructions to fix the place up, and then she can sell it if she wishes. With every intention of settling affairs quickly, Sara comes home--but what she doesn't expect to find are her grandmother's secrets, of a love story long gone, and her own love story, just beginning. Told from the perspectives of Sara's present journey with the Hideaway and love interest Crawford, and Mags's past with lost love William, two stories unfold, with secrets revealed and long-held romances finally coming home.

Romance Characteristics­¹:

  • Emotional tone to draw readers in toward happy ending
  • Characters drive the story, with their emotional growth and relationships driving the narrative
    • Sara thinks she knows how her life is supposed to go, until she "discovers herself" at the Hideaway, and embraces those changes with Crawford.
  • Romantic relationships drive the story
    • Mags's and William's relationship runs through the whole book, with Mags becoming "awakened" by William's affections. While their relationship does not end with them together (separated by misunderstandings and Mags's death), there is still the happy ending for the couple by way of William coming to know his and Mags's granddaughter, Sara. 
    • Sara and Crawford are immediately drawn to each other, and while Sara doesn't plan on staying in Sweet Bay, her relationship with Crawford changes her mind. The story ends without a marriage proposal, but they are together with no end of the relationship in sight.
  • Relies on dialogue more than description
  • Descriptive language to "set the mood"
    • The first pages, from Mags's perspective, are lush with description as she moves about her garden and contemplates the past. The first pages of Sara's perspective are also very descriptive, as she readies for her day in New Orleans.
  • Engaging details of time and place
    • Distinctive details about Mags's time in the 1960s Alabama and about Sara's time in present New Orleans and present Alabama.
This book may also be classified as a gentle read or listed with Women's Lives and Relationships. The driving forces in this novel can vary from chapter to chapter, but they all center around the parallel love stories in the two different perspectives. 

Read-a-Likes:

Saricks suggests²:

Rosamunde Pilcher
Katie Fforde
Kristin Hannah
Susan Wiggs

Novelist suggests:

The Beach House by Jane Green
Summer's Child by Luanne Rice
The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner
Practically Perfect by Katie Fforde

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¹Saricks, J. (2009). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction, 2nd edition. Boston, MA: American Library Association. 132-138.
²Saricks, J. (2009). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction, 2nd edition. Boston, MA: American Library Association. 142-3, 150.

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 14, 2018 at 8:05 AM

    Since this book has the two different perspectives, it is actually really easy to put it down and then pick up again after a bit. Each chapter is headed with either Sara or Mags's name, and the time period they're in. It's a chronological narrative with each of them, so everything is always moving forward, even when you're jumping between the two perspectives. Would I put it down in the middle of the chapter? That might be a little more difficult, but the chapters are short and move quickly--and I did stop in the middle of a chapter overnight, so it can be done! Also, this one had NO graphic sex, thus my idea that it could fit in with the gentle reads as well. I'd call it a low-key romance or a gentle romance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Paige MarieFebruary 16, 2018 at 4:34 PM

    Catherine,
    I don't usually read romance novels, I never really got into them. However, this books sounds really interesting. I like how the author integrates two different love stories. And you explained that there isn't any graphic sex scenes in the novel, which sometimes makes me feel uncomfortable to read! That would be another reason I may pick this book up! But you also said it belongs in the gentle read section. Do you think it's more of a romance story, gentle read, or Women's Lives and Relationships?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownFebruary 18, 2018 at 11:53 AM

      This book really depends on perspective. I grabbed this one due to my library’s placement of a “romance” sticker on the spine, but when I finished it, I wanted to lean more towards Women’s Lives and Relationships. It has the elements necessary for a romance, but looking at it further, it doesn’t “feel” like a romance. It is emotional, yes, but not how I think romances should be.

      Delete
  3. UnknownFebruary 18, 2018 at 9:48 AM

    Oh this looks like something I would be interested in. Haven't read a good romance novel in ages and I love that this one looks like I will be getting two romance narratives in one, can't really bet that. Our summary really sold me on this book!

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownFebruary 18, 2018 at 3:48 PM

    Hi Catherine,
    I love romances with parallel storylines. When We Meet Again by Kristin Harmel and The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende are two great romances where the reader gets to experience the parallel storylines as well.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Erin CataldiFebruary 19, 2018 at 11:05 AM

    Fantastic annotation, great job pointing out how it could also fit in with other genres as well. Full points!

    ReplyDelete

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