Review: At Legend's End - Tea Cup Novella
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 1, 2013
The fourth book in the Tea Cup Novellas came to me as a gift from my writer friend, Diane Moody. I excitedly accepted her gift and immediately put my well used Kindle Fire into listening mode and hit "GO". I could not stop and for five hours+, I heard a very sweet and well written story unfold that is a page-turner for sure. It has something for everyone: romance, superstitious legends, small town loyalty, forever friendships, Christianity in small doses plus some great dialogue between Olivia and her soon-to-be husband, Mr. Bass of Caden Cove.Olivia is an intriguing women in her forties who comes into a ton of money, not going to tell you how much, and runs off to New England where it seems G. W. Bush had a summer home. Mrs. Moody must have known that area very well for her description of it is enough to make me want to jump on the first plane out in the dead of winter and I don't even like snow.As Olivia ponders her new found windfall and all the endless possibilities it will bring her, she goes out looking at high-end homes in Caden Cove with the odd and totally unfriendly Mr. Bass who happens to be a real estate agent/book seller extraordinaire. Diane's creative way of bringing Mr. Bass and Olivia together is done in a way that is most imaginative and offers good, clean fun to her readers. Where there is smoke there's fire and there is a lot of that in the pages of this short story set in Caden Cove, Maine.Olivia's best friend from her home town shows up at the B&B; to give Olivia an emotional diatribe regarding her sudden courtship with Mr. Bass which made me want to reach through my Kindle screen and slap her silly but I was able to calm down after she came around. I really got into this one with both feet. It had me going there for a while thinking all was lost but a sudden turn of events had me crying on my fabric. It takes a lot to make this ole gal tear up or sniffle at the least. There is a surprise ending which really took some imagination and Diane never fails to disappoint me. I just love her sense of humor and her timing plus tying in her Aunt's antique tea cups is a bit of genius as well.As Diane continues writing these short Tea Cup Novellas under the name of Lucy, she is becoming more and more creative and the characters are gathering greater depth, although, a little more emphasis in developing the Christian faith of the main characters would have pleased me. However, I think these stories are too short for that so I understand the lightness in which these issues are handled.All told, it is a fun, creative read. It really is Mrs. Moody's best TC Novella so far, in my estimation anyway, and I have read them all. I enjoyed all her books for that matter and will read them again and again and so I feel this one was worth my time.Thank you Diane for the gift of your Tea Cup book. I look forward to the fifth.....Lin