Book Reviews of Bed & Breakfast

In this well-crafted story by the author of Storyville (Viking, 1993), Josie Tatternall, a military widow in her seventies, is inspired by a friend's nearly fatal illness to call together her own three daughters in particular, her estranged daughter, Cam, who has not been home since the death of her father years ago. What starts out as a family gathering for the twilight of Josie's life actually marks the beginning of her understanding of her achievements and, quite unexpectedly, her second chance at love. The story introduces a cast of memorable characters, primarily Josie herself, who fully reminds us that life, love, and growth are not limited to any particular age.

"Lois Battle's BED & BREAKFAST is pure delight: touching and witty, sympathetic and shrewd. It's the kind of book I'll rush to tell all my friends about; it's the book I can't wait to give my mother." Quote from Nancy Thayer, author of BELONGING AND FAMILY SECRETS.

The death, or near death, of a close friend prompts a woman who owns a siimple bed-and-breakfast to re-prioritize her life. She decides she needs to reach out to her daughters and asks them to all come home and be together for Christmas. Each of the 3 daughters have their own opinions about spending the holidays together and are each having their own personal battles. This book highlights the complexity of love and relationships, and while there is no fairy-tale ending, lessons are learned and new appreciation does come to light, even if in surprising ways.

When Josie woke up that morning she just knew that something was going to happen that day. The girls were coming for bridge so she tried to shrug it off. Then right in the middle of the bridge game, Peatsy Gibbs had just trumped Mary's Ace, said she was dizzy and then collapsed on the card table with an awful thud.

If you liked The Florabama Ladies Auxiliary and Sewing Circle by the same author, you will love this.

Ten years of family secrets, misunderstandings, and recriminations have kept the Tatternalls apart-until Josie, a military widow suddenly alerted to mortality when one of her best friends keels over during a bridge game, impulsively invites her three grown daughters home for the holidays at her gracious South Carolina Bed and Breakfast.
the heightened expectations of the christmas season celebrated in great style and the upstairs/downstairs comedies of a Southern inn make a perfect setup for this portrait of a family in all its tender, touching, and flawed glory-and a love story that comes as suddenly as sunshine after the rain.