Lavender Morning

By: Jude Deveraux

Narrated by: Barbara McCulloh

Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Jocelyn Minton is a woman torn between two worlds. Her mother grew up attending private schools and afternoon teas, but she married the local handyman. After her mother died when Joce was only five years old, her father remarried into his own class, and Joce became an outsider - until she met Edilean Harcourt. Although she was sixty years Joce's senior, Miss Edi was a kindred soul who understood her like no one else ever had.

When Miss Edi passes away, she leaves Joce all her worldly possessions, including an eighteenth-century house and a letter with clues to a mystery that began in 1941. In the letter, Miss Edi also mentions that she has found the perfect man for Joce -- a handsome young lawyer. Joce is shocked to learn that the mystery, the house, and the future love of her life are all in Edilean, a small town in Virginia that Miss Edi never told her about. Hurt that the woman who meant so much to her kept so many secrets, Jocelyn moves to this tight-knit village in an attempt to understand the legacy that has been left to her. As she begins to dig into Miss Edi's mystery, she soon discovers some shocking surprises about her family's history and her own future - and she meets a man with his own mysterious past.

©2009 Jude Deveraux (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

listening

loved the story, but the reader read very fast and was hard to listen.

Loved the story- interesting characters

This is really good “clean” romance. I will be listening to more from Jude Deveraux.

Very Delightful

If you could sum up Lavender Morning in three words, what would they be?

Delightful, Intriguing, Satisfying

Who was your favorite character and why?

Miss Edie was my favorite character of this story. Her mystery is uncovered layer by layer after her death, as seen through the eyes of Jocelyn, the woman whom she befriended as a young girl. Jose believed she knew all there was to know about Miss Edie, but then found that she knew very little. She is hurt by all the secrets and sets out to find the truth about this woman who was so important to her, and Miss Edie's story begins to unfold. Love, adventure, and tragedy; tears and laughter are all here. The ending is very satisfying. Barbara McCulloh's performance is wonderful.

This is a good ONE!!

I haven't enjoyed a listen this good in a while. I've enjoyed this author. I read the reviews and it helps a lot. This had a little bit of mystery. A little bit of history. A sweet love story. Not too predictable. The narrator was easy to listen to, also.

Lavender Morning Review

Any additional comments?

Audiobook Review. Lavender Morning is the story of a girl who inherits a large home in Maine from her mentor, an elderly woman the main character has spent her life adoring. The story reveals the mentor's life, WWII fiction, and the main character's search for explanations. I'll not provide any spoilers beyond this fundamental information, which you'll get from simply reading a blurb. The story is a touching memoir to this elderly lady, her unrequited love of WWII. It's not a good audiobook, in my opinion. There is way too much use of the word 'said', distracting ... it may not be annoying in print as a reader tends to skim over extraneous words, but in audio format it makes me lower the star rating. Jos said, Luke said, said Jos, said Luke ... not every line of dialogue, but it sure seemed like it, and it took away from the story.

Sort of interesting, in the sections that involved WWII action, to envision the characters as young and beautiful people, in love during a violent time. Those sections are part of a story/diary written by the elderly woman. As these stories are read in the form of 3rd and 1st person stand-alone Chapters, I've some problem with the point of view sometimes being that of other people and this woman writing about it...confusing imagery. She's relating feelings and emotions of men and other characters speaking about herself as a young woman. How would she know what they thought or did when she wasn't present? A bit picky, but I shook my head in wonder at what up and coming writers today would get crucified for...why would an agent or publisher let Devereaux get away with this approach? Well, because she's Jude Devereaux, no other reason. People will spend money on Jude Devereaux books, which is all the publisher/agent cares about. If you like romance novels and can look beyond that which by some standards is considered "bad writing", you'll probably enjoy Lavender Morning. However, I don't think the Jude Devereaux style is something you should emulate if you're attempting to get published today and you're an unknown. You'd be toast.

Another satisfying Jude novel

Another pleasant book by Jude that just makes you feel good when there is no much happening around us.

One of my new favs

LOVED IT! I thought it was a great story that kept me guessing. I wish it kept going.

Clever writing

Jude Deveraux is extremely clever with her smart one liners and quick whit. I really wanted to like this book as much as I loved Night in Shining Armor but this fell short. I cannot say I did not enjoy reading this book but overall the story seemed very slow and not that engaging. I will not give up on JD and hopefully the next will be better.

Ehhh...

Any additional comments?

I find this story a bit boring. I really liked the second in the series, Days of Gold. Which I read first. I'm not sure why its considered a series. Just the name I guess. I'm only half way through and I'm not sure if I'm going to finish. I usually like Jude, this story just doesn't do it for me.

Sweet story

The idea for the story was a good one but I found the book to be average at best. There is no passion or sizzle or big "a-ha" moments. While I appreciate the narrators efforts, it was very much like having your Grandmother read a bedtime story to you. No attempt to give any of characters a personality or different voice, just read the book. Relationships just "happened" .... no build up or explanation. It had the makings of a great story.