Lisa Wingate

Dear Readers,

I have read several of Lisa Wingate’s books.  Each of them has been loads of fun to read, but none of them have stuck with me like The Story Keeper has. The Story Keeper is about Jen Gibbs, who fled her abusive, conservative, almost cult-like church and family.  She has made a place in the publishing world.  In fact she is on top of her game.  She has just started a new job at Vida house and stumbles on a manuscript that is set in the part of the Blue Ridge Mountains that Jen grew up in.  She is eager to pursue the author and see if they can get the rest of the manuscript and publish the book. 

There are several threads and storylines that run throughout this book.  There is the story that is the manuscript which is about a young Melungeon girl and the young man who rescues her, there is the story of the author and why he is a recluse and then there is the story of Jen and her family. They all twine together and paint a wonderful picture for us all to enjoy. 

I read most of the book sitting in my rocker by the window on a wonderful Sunday afternoon.  It is that type of book, one you will just want to sit and enjoy.  It won’t make you turn pages quickly and it won’t hold a lot of suspense to it, but it is one that you will find yourself returning to as quickly as possible.  I found myself wishing the story of Sarra and Rand continued so I could find out what happened to them.  Yet, the story of Jen and her family's dynamics is also interesting, so when I was reading that part I wanted that part to continue. 

This is one of those books that I didn’t want to end and yet I needed to know what was going to happen.  Yes there is a spark of romance, but that is so much not part of the story and Lisa really leaves it alone.  It is almost like she was letting it develop on its own and when it didn’t she didn’t feel like she had to.  Maybe that is why this book is so enjoyable to read, she just let the characters dictate the pace.  Whatever it was, this should be on your must read book list.

Happy Reading,