The Lilac Bouquet by Carolyn Brown is a 2017 Montlake publication.

A sixty-year old feud threatens to come between a young couple in love.

Tandy, Jesse and Seth haven’t spoken to one another in decades, but the reason for their falling out is a huge secret in Hickory, Texas.
Now, Tandy’s great-granddaughter, Emmy Jo, is about to marry Jesse’s grandson, Logan- a situation she is determined to undermine. The friction between their families, sets Emmy Jo on a mission to discover what is behind the feud.

She gets her chance when she accepts a job working as Seth’s assistant to raise money for her wedding. Seth is in his eighties, a recluse, and just a wee bit cantankerous. Despite that, Emmy Jo chips away at his hard, protective veneer little by little, allowing Seth the time and space to tell his story, his way. The tale he weaves certainly puts things in a whole new perspective, but for Emmy Jo and Logan to get the whole story, Tandy and Jesse will have to reveal their part in the feud and neither one them will budge.

If you like uncovering family mysteries, secrets and scandals this book is for you. The small-town setting is charming, and the characters are certainly interesting. The young lovers are wiser and more mature than the older folks in the story, but the big mystery behind the feud is heartbreaking and bittersweet and I loved the way the author slowly unveiled the historical drama that still affects those in present day.

Overall, this a light, gentle, sweet story- a wonderful, heartwarming escape!

3.5 stars ( )

The Lilac Bouquet takes all the best parts of author Carolyn Brown and spins them into a historic romance. Past and present collide when one woman sets out to change her future. A feud that began with a broken heart has left it's mark on six generations of Massey's and Grady's. Can one determined woman break the spell of tragic heartache that began so long ago and still achieve her own happy ending? A sweetly penned story of forgiveness and redemption that brought tears to my eyes.
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With a family history that includes three generations of Massey women having children out of wedlock, Emmy Jo Massey is determined to have a big, formal wedding with as much as possible of the town of Hickory, Texas in attendance. Raising the money for the big wedding includes taking a two-month job as a home health aide to town recluse Seth Thomas.

Her great-grandmother, Tandy, is absolutely opposed. She wants the child she raised when her granddaughter died going nowhere near Seth Thomas. Of course, she's also dead set against Emmy Jo marrying Logan Grady, too, and that's not stopping Emmy Jo. But Tandy won't tell her why she's so opposed. The only answer she'll give is that she refuses to talk about the past--an answer that quite reasonably doesn't sway Emmy Jo to her point of view.

Logan's grandfather, Jesse, is equally opposed, and equally close-mouthed on why.

Nor is Seth Thomas any more willing to say why these three octogenarians hate each other so much. He'd refuse to have Emmy Jo in his house because of her kinship to Tandy if he could work out a way to do it, but with his broken hip still healing, his sister Nora has managed to take the decision out of his hands.

Gradually, Seth and Emmy Jo start to talk to each other.

Emmy Jo also starts digging into the town newspapers.

The cause of the feud amongst the three goes back more than sixty years, and the whole truth can't come out until each of the three starts talking. Seth, regarded by the entire town as weird and strange, turns out to be the one most willing to both listen and talk. Jesse, a preacher and most respected of the three in the town, is the least willing.

There were times when I thought, oh, this is just going to get unbearably foolish--but it didn't. This is a gentle but determined look at some interesting and complex characters who have a lot to answer for in their lives. It was a very satisfying read, or rather, listen.

Recommended.

I bought this audiobook. ( )

Received an ARC for my fair review for netgalley. This book has a little bit of everything, there was mystery, romance, family, betrayal and forgiveness.. I loved Seth and Emmy Jo!. To see how Emmy Jo was able to slowly cracked the shield around Seth Thomas's heart, slowly and finally letting someone in and letting go of the past was great. shows you to live life to the fullest. ( )