Genealogy

A Novel

By: Mae Wood

Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen

At 33 and with her future unclear, Ali Waller finds her way home again. A box of long-forgotten love letters written to her great-grandmother holds the unlikely key to Ali finding her new path.

As she tracks down the letter writer and his descendants, Ali learns the magic of love, hope, and resilience.

Told by three characters, and across a century and an ocean, Genealogy is an enchanting story about love and loss, taking chances, and embracing the surprises that life brings.

©2018 Mae Wood (P)2019 Tantor

A love that spans a century

I have been dying to listen to this since I found out it will be put in audio because it’s Mae. It did not disappoint. First of all it the kind of women literature that I love. A family that loves so deeply that you can feel it in all their interactions. Ali found a box of letters from her great grandma that she was named after from a man named Elliot who was Not her grandfather. She read them and decided to track down his descendants to share the bounty with them and met his great grandson.

The flashbacks to the turn of the century were so vivid you could smell the salt water and feel the humidity of the tropical air. The pioneering spirits of the Americans who landed in the Philippines and their lives came to life in Elliot’s chapters.

Sarah is an amazing narrator who could switch between female and male voices with such ease. The scenes where Ali interacts with her grandma touched me much.

What a beautiful story to cherish for the ages.

Connection

This book was beautifully written. I listened to the sample and got hooked by hidden letters. The author made the book flow well, making the past and present times not confusing, and the connection of love and family. Absolutely enjoyed it.

Elliot & Ally ~ A History of True Love

This is a BEAUTIFUL love story with enough genealogy to make it a mystery!!!

Simply amazing

This was an amazing love story...not only present day but also set in 1916. I laughed and cried...out of disappointment due to circumstances out of their control...but thoroughly enjoyed the journey for present day Ally and her discovery of the past and what brought her to her future. Five star!

New love story

I didn’t like the ending I felt it ended prematurely. But still cute story to read

loved it!

As someone who personally loves learning about my family's history and past, this was a touching story of lost love and love found later!

History and now interweaves

I like epistolary novels and am so choosey. I must report this as one that caught me completely as I listened to it during chores all day and completed it in one day. It is charming and heartwarming and a little heartbreaking and has three main characters and love stories so engaging I may have to listen to this again. Quite a moving experience for me. Sarah Mollo-Christensen skillfully kept the story and just the right pace and tone.

Genealogy

"Things happen for a reason" is a saying that has validity. Discovering love letters a century old was meant for Ali to discover and Ben to be found. Great story and narrator.

Absolutely Beautiful Story

What a magically moving story, I can’t remember the last time I was this swept up in a book. The story made me infinitely happy, I even made wrong turns on my way to work because I was so absorbed in the beautifully told tale of love, old and new. And the narrator was wonderful- her voice perfectly matched the feel of the characters and her male voices were so well done I almost forgot it was just her. She did the beautiful story justice and I would highly recommend this story and audiobook. What makes this book even more amazing is that it is inspired by real love letters to the authors great grandmother from over 100 years ago.
This book is two love stories in one, a romance told through love letters from the 1910’s and a modern tale of the great-grand daughter who finds the letters. The mix of past and present is woven together perfectly, having me slowly fall in love with Alice and Elliott plus Ali and Ben. I laughed, I cried and I absolutely fell in love.

Sweet love story.

Enjoyed the generational love story. Lots of sadness, but happiness too. Narration could have been better. With lots of voices sounding the same, pay attention to names.