Dreams of Falling by Karen White – a Review

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Description:
It’s been nine years since Larkin fled Georgetown, South Carolina, vowing never to go back. But when she finds out that her mother has disappeared, she knows she has no choice but to return to the place that she both loves and dreads–and to the family and friends who never stopped wishing for her to come home. Ivy, Larkin’s mother, is discovered in the burned out wreckage of her family’s ancestral rice plantation, badly injured and unconscious. No one knows why Ivy was there, but as Larkin digs for answers, she uncovers secrets kept for nearly 50 years. Secrets that lead back to the past, to the friendship between three girls on the brink of womanhood who swore that they would be friends forever, but who found that vow tested in heartbreaking ways.

Review:

Dreams of Falling by Karen White is a standalone novel .  This is my first book by White, and after completing this wonderful story, it will not be my last.  Dreams of Falling is novel about family, loyalty, bonds and friends  (past and present),  who share devastating secrets that will come to haunt them .

Larkin, our heroine, receives a call that her mother, Ivy is missing.  It has been 9 years since she left her home in Georgetown, South Carolina, and though she left on bad terms, she returns to help look for her mother.  Larkin is greeted by the two women who helped raise her, as substitute mothers, CeeCee and Bitty.  Together they try to find clues where her mother is, and eventually they narrow it down to the old decrepit mansion, Carrowmore, which still belongs to the Darlington’s, which CeeCee is executor. The three of them will find Ivy unconscious, having fallen through a caved in floor. The story will revolve around the POV’s of Larkin, Ivy, and CeeCee,  moving smoothly through the present and 50 years in the past.  This was so very well done.

 Larkin will find out in short time things her mother and the two ladies who brought her up kept secret, including that she is the heir of the land.  This is the just the tip of the iceberg, as Larkin will learn many more secrets, which go back 50 years into the past, where CeeCee, Bitty and Margaret (Larkin’s grandmother) were best friends, who were always loyal to each other, even when things took a drastic turn.

We will learn about the fire that destroyed Carrowmore, and caused the death of Margaret and the rescue of baby Ivy from the fire.  The mystery of what happened all those years before, and how it affects the lives of everyone was the main focus of this story.  Larkin will also have to face the friends (Mabry & Bennett) that she left behind when she decided to run away, and her father, whom she became distant with.  Truths will be revealed that will bring Larkin back to her friendships, as she realizes the mistakes and misunderstandings that made her run away.

Dreams of Falling was a wonderful heartwarming and heart wrenching  emotional tale of friendships, love, betrayal, family bonds, tragedy, grief;  with an amazing cast of characters.  I loved Larkin, CeeCee, & Bitty, as well as Larkin’s friends Mabry and Bennett.  Bravo to Karen White for this wonderful story that is not to be missed.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher