Goodreads Synopsis:
People keep a house alive, not the other way around. Alex Proctor has seen the truth of this in every empty, rundown property she’s bought and renovated since her divorce almost three years ago. She’s also experienced the thrill of making each one into a home.
Her newest project is a dilapidated, century-old house just a few blocks from Geneva Lake, Wisconsin. Time and neglect, along with rats and raccoons, have ravaged it inside and out. Only Alex can see the beauty of what it once was and might become again. In just a few weeks by the time the cicadas make their scheduled reappearance after seventeen years underground the house should be ready to sell. In the meantime, there are construction disasters, and surprises, to contend with.
Amid overgrown grounds and rooms brimming with debris, Alex finds treasures- pocket doors, hardwood floors hidden beneath layers of linoleum and grime and carved initials that reveal a long-ago love story involving Alex’s elderly neighbor, Elsie, and another cicada summer. At the same time, Alex finds herself searching for a way to reconcile her new life with lingering feelings for her ex-husband. For so long she felt sure that moving on was the only option, but maybe this house, and everything she’s learning in it, could give Alex room for a second chance . . .
My Review:
I completely adored this book. It was stepping out of my usual genre type but it was so worth it! Being a single mom, this book hit home for me. From her dating trials to her love for her daughter, I could really relate to the single mom, Alex. The symbolism you find in her passion to renovate the century-old house is heart-warming. She is able to see the beauty beneath and doesn’t let anything stop her.
I highly recommend this book!
BookHermitt 