Published by Lake Union Publishing, Mira Books on September 18, 2018
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Pages: 272
Format: ARC
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A heart-stirring novel of family and forgiveness from bestselling author Ashley Farley.
In her grand home in Charleston, Willa Bellemore raised two girls during the tumultuous 1970s. One was her daughter, Lady. The other was Lady’s best friend, Nell—adopted after the sudden, heartbreaking death of her mother, the Bellemores’ beloved maid. Willa showered Nell with love and support, all the while ignoring the disdainful whispers of her neighbors. After all, they were family. Nell and Lady were sisters at heart—sisters who vowed to never let anything come between them.
Then, on the night of Lady’s sixteenth birthday, something went terribly wrong, sparking painful secrets and bitter resentments that went unspoken for three decades.
Now Willa is dying, and Lady and Nell—each with a teenager of her own—are brought together after all these years. It’s Willa’s last wish. The time has come to confront what happened on that fateful night. But it may take a tragic twist of fate to reconcile the past and come to terms with the true meaning of family.
I was up too late one night browsing the available book titles on NetGalley, and I came across today’s book, Nell and Lady: A Novel by Ashley Farley. While I’ve never read any other books written by Ms. Farley, I have heard of a couple of her other books in the past. Now that I’ve read this book, I’m certain I’ll be going back to read a few more!
The story is about Nell and Lady (obviously), but it is more than that. Nell and Lady is a story of friendship set in times of strong prejudice in the deep south of Charleston, South Carolina, that challenges social class and race. Mavis is a young black woman who turns up pregnant while working for Willa Bellemore, a white woman who is also pregnant. The two women become the best of friends while they raise their daughters, Nell and Lady, together in the Bellemore home.
Then tragedy occurs and Mavis suffers a stroke and unexpectedly dies, which leaves her daughter, Nell, with no family. Of course, Willa steps up and adopts Nell, raising her as her own daughter despite her color and the social implications that result from her decision. As Lady and Nell are being raised together, they are as close as sisters until one night, at Lady’s sweet 16 party, everything changes. Something happened that night that slowly tears their relationship apart, as Nell separates herself from Lady and her mother, Willa.
Flash forward three decades and Lady’s mother, Willa is suffering from cancer. She begs Lady to go find Nell in the hopes that they can reconnect before she dies. Her last wish for her daughters to confront what happened the night of the party and to be a family again is not going to come easy.
The characters are very relatable and the story line is based on everyday issues that families deal with today. The story was heartwarming and easy to read, and the characters were easy to love. I highly recommend this story of families, loss and forgiveness!
After her brother died in 1999 of an accidental overdose, she turned to writing as a way of releasing her pent-up emotions. She wrote SAVING BEN in honor of Neal, the boy she worshipped, the man she could not save.
Ashley is a wife and mother of two young adult children. While she’s lived in Richmond, Virginia for the past 21 years, part of her heart remains in the salty marshes of the South Carolina Lowcountry where she grew up. Through the eyes of her characters, she’s able to experience the moss-draped trees, delectable cuisine, and kind-hearted folks with lazy drawls that make the area so unique.
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I was provided with a complimentary electronic advanced reader copy through Net Galley in exchange for my post. I was not required to post a positive review.
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