The Keeper of Happy Endings

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For generations, my family has been part of a kind of conte de fée—a fairy tale. Though perhaps fairy tale is the wrong term. Fairy tales have happy endings. Fables are meant as cautionary tales, lessons intended to teach us about life and its consequences. And over the years, the Roussels have learned much about consequences. There” Dreams are like waves . . . You have to wait for the right one to come along, the one that has your name on it . . . This dream has your name all over it.” In March of 1943, Soline volunteered at a hospital in Paris, France, where she met and fell in love with Anson, an American Field Service ambulance driver. Both Anson and Soline were part of an escape network. When it became too dangerous for Soline, Anson arranged for her escape to his family’s residence in Newport, Massachusetts. Upon notification that Anson was most likely dead, Anson’s father cut off all ties with Soline, even though she was pregnant with Anson’s baby. After the trauma of losing her baby shortly after birth, destitute Soline found a job as a dressmaker in the city of Boston. She was highly successful until a catastrophic fire at the shop in the early '80s upended her life. This post will give you a short synopsis of the book along with my personal opinion on what I liked or disliked in the book.

The Keeper of Happy Endings | Barbara Davis - NetGalley The Keeper of Happy Endings | Barbara Davis - NetGalley

The truth is I can be rather childlike at times. Sullen and immovable. And yes, difficult. I suppose that’s what comes from a life that’s denied you everything you ever wanted.” The Keeper of Happy Endings is the latest book by Barbara Davis, just published on October 1, 2021. Barbara Davis is a new author for me. I just finished reading this book and it was the first one written by her that I’ve personally read. Two women - Soline and Rory - one that owned a bridal salon who made magical wedding gowns that guaranteed happy endings and one who was starting an art gallery. He has been angry with her all these years because he thought she didn’t want him once she found out he may never walk again and thought she had moved on to another lover (who was actually her gay best friend). There are two time lines, the first being the story of Soline who lives in Paris in WW2. She meets and falls in love with an American soldier who makes her go to America to be safe with his family until he can join her. The second story is about Rory in 1985. Her husband to be has been taken hostage overseas and she does not know if she will ever see him again. Circumstances lead to a meeting with a much older Soline and the events which follow are remarkable.Soline Roussel made wedding dresses for her exclusive bridal salon before a fire burned down her studio and left her with hands unable to hold a needle. Rory Grant is barely living ever since her fiance disappeared on a mission in Africa. I understand that part, not wanting the world to see your sadness. You think you’re the only one, singled out by fate to suffer. You’re not, of course, but it feels that way. The rest of the world is moving forward, living their lives and dreaming their dreams, while you’re frozen, forever suspended in that terrible moment when your world stopped turning and the ground suddenly fell away. You exist in a void, where everything’s empty and endlessly dark, until little by little the light becomes unbearable.”

The Keeper of Happy Endings by Barbara Davis Review – The Keeper of Happy Endings by Barbara Davis

Scrolling through people’s book ideas, a certain Parisian-styled cover kept jumping out at me. Or maybe it was the intriguing title (because who doesn’t want a “happy ending” to their story).Historically sound with a thread of supernatural intrigue, this exploration of shared experiences, learned adaptations, and the power of trust is a book that fans of Catherine Ryan Hyde, Erica Bauermeister, and Lucinda Riley will fall in love with.” — Booklist Without a reader, a book was a blank slate, an object with no breath or pulse of its own. But once a book became part of someone’s world, it came to life, with a past and a present—and, if properly cared for, a future.” Just as there have always been daughters who knew better. It’s a contradiction that is part of every woman’s journey—the need to shape in one’s own image versus the aversion to being shaped at all.”

The Keeper of Happy Endings - Feathered Quill The Keeper of Happy Endings - Feathered Quill

Errors aside, I enjoyed the story again and she has some lovely little remarks in it, such as, "There are all sorts of heroes, and almost none of them will ever have something shiny pinned to their chests" and I love the idea of the echoes as well. This made me smile-"I've been warned about Americans, all disarming smiles and apple pie" and the passage about a bride's spine is a tremendous one as well. The book unfolds across multiple timelines: both Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II in the 1940s and Boston in the 1980s. The story follows two women both dealing with devastating losses and heartbreak after fate keeps them from their true loves. Another winner from Barbara Davis, THE KEEPER OF HAPPY ENDINGS is the perfect read for anyone who believes in happy endings, whether they come from magic, fate, or the perseverance of strong women. The Keeper of Happy Endings takes place in multiple time periods. Do you feel this device helped or hurt in telling the story? Was one time period more “real” to you than the others?Time, you see, is the enemy, a trap of our own making. The past is lost forever, a wasteland of all that could have been and never was, while the future stretches endlessly before us, always an hourglass’s worth of sand beyond our reach. Today, then, is what we have left—the here and the now—to make our wishes, and to fight for the life we want.” Which of the women in the story was your favorite? Least favorite? Why? 5. Did any of the heroines make choices you didn’t agree with? What would you have done differently? We were the Roussels, a family of dressmakers—bridal designers to be precise—but with a particular specialty. The bride who wears a Roussel gown on her wedding day is guaranteed a happy ending.” Do you feel like the magic was enough to explain the coincidence of Soline and Rory finding each other? Soline Roussel also becomes a famous wedding dress designer on her own merit, though the magical reputation doesn’t hurt business either. The Keeper of Happy Endings Ending