This story of a young woman, Sara, was much more of a romance than I expected. I somehow thought it would be more about Sara dealing with her past and learning about her recently departed grandmother than about finding love. Normally this would turn me off but I was so fascinated by Mags, the grandmother, and her life, that I didn’t mind Sara’s unexpected romance. Again, for me, it was a case of being more vested in one timeline than in the other. I kept wanting to head back to read what was going on with Mags than read about the present with Sara. Too bad for me, I believe Ms. Denton intended the interest to be the other way around.

Loved this book and could not put it down. Author did a fantastic job of keeping it flowing. Very charming

Lauren Denton is a local author out of Birmingham, Alabama, and this is her debut novel. Set in the the fictional Sweet Bay, Alabama and New Orleans, Denton tells the story of Mags and her granddaughter, Sarah, and the residents of a bed and breakfast by jumping back and forth from the late 1960s and 1970s and today Both women are searching for their identities and purpose in life,, and the bed and breakfast named The Hideaway serves as the backdrop to anchor the story. This book is well written, but progresses at an extremely leisurely pace. Mixing in life lessons with a dash of romance, The Hideaway is great for anyone who enjoys a carefree beach read.

This is a wonderful story about Sara, a young woman coming home to settle her grandmother's estate. In the process she discovers what an unusual woman grandma Mags was and that friends come in all ages. The Hideaway is an old boarding house full of elderly residents that encourage her to live life on her terms.

An impressive debut from Lauren K. Denton! A sweet Southern love story that is so well written I could literally picture it on the big screen. Seriously!...someone should make a movie of this book!

Sara goes to live with her grandmother Mags when she is a young girl after her parents die. Mags owns the B&B The Hideaway in Sweet Bay, Alabama. Sara moves away to New Orleans after college needing to get away from living in a small town. Sara receives a phone call from Mag's lawyer telling her Mags has passed away. Sara goes back to The Hideaway to bury her grandmother. Mags leaves The Hideaway to Sara and asks that she fixes it up to its former glory. The story is told from Sara's point of view and a young Mag's point of view up to her death. We find out about Mag's life, her marriage, her escape to The Hideaway. It is a wonderful story of family, love, and life. I really enjoyed it. I felt like I could smell the sweet bay air and sit on the porch with a glass of sweet tea. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for an ARC for an honest review.

This is a very nice story of the surprises life can bring. Sara is living happily in New Orleans running her own interior design shop. On the death of her grandmother Maggie she returns to Sweet Bay for the funeral. Maggie's will is read and Sara finds out that she has inherited Maggie's home. The house is called The Hideaway, although it is run down it is beautiful and full of memories. Sara decides to restore the house to its former glory. One of the main problems is that Maggie ran The Hideaway as a bed and breakfast. Several residents still remain, in fact they see it as their home. Of course Sara intends to finish to project then return to her life in New Orleans, but the house is full of secrets and Sweet Bay has other ideas. A charming tale.

I must admit I have a really soft spot for Southern fiction, and this book definitely didn't disappoint, I was drawn into the story in the first few pages and just wanted to keep reading it.

The story was about Mags and her granddaughter, Sara. Mags had just died and left her B&B, The Hideaway, to Sara. Sara lived with her grandmother when she was younger as her parents (Mags daughter Jenny and her husband Ed) were killed in a car crash. The Hideaway always seemed to be home for artsy people who stayed for quite a while in the early days, and Dot & Bert, Glory & Major in the later years who arrived and never left. Mags was a bit of an eccentric and Sara couldn't wait to leave Sweet Bay and make her own way in the world as soon as she was old enough. She now owns an antique shop in New Orleans and has become quite successful.

I think the main story here is you don't really know everyone's original story, even if they are family, and Mags story before she came to The Hideaway slowly started to reveal itself as Sara found various items from Mags past. Sara just though her grandmother was an eccentric who used to wear bright colours and a birds nest hat and when she was younger she found quite embarrassing. It's only as you get older yourself you appreciate the lives that have gone before you and the events that have happened to change their lives and shape the direction of everyone's life after them.

I don't want to give away too much about the story as it gently unfolds throughout the book but Mags came from an entirely different upbringing than Sara had initially thought, and there were a few relationship surprises along the way too.

Really gentle, enjoyable story with a little mystery of Mags's life, a little bit of drama towards the end, along with a slow burning romance between Sara and Crawford, the contractor renovating The Hideaway.

Very satisfying, feel-good (with slightly sad bits) story that makes me really want to visit The Hideaway and just stay for a while too in this beautiful, laid-back corner of the world.

My review can be seen on RTBookReviews.com - a 4 1/2 stars TOP PICK

With this being a new author, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I must say, I adored this story, which was not a typical mushy love story. The setting had me wishing I could take a vacation at The Hideaway. I look forward to reading future books by this author.

I just loved this story. Sara's grandmother, Mags, dies and Sara must leave New Orleans and go back to Sweet Bay, Alabama to the home where she grew up. This isn't just any home. It's an old B&B where Mags has let all her friends come and live with her. It's filled with people Sara has known most of her life.

Sara finds out that it is her grandmother's last wish that she renovate the old house and either make it a new B&B and live there or sell it. Sara is determined to sell. Her life is in New Orleans where she has a boutique business, friends and Mitch.

However, while renovating Sara finds an old box and secrets about her grandmother she did not know. There is the matter of a land developer trying to buy her grandmother's property and trying to turn it into condos and a tourist trap. And then, there is also the matter of the construction supervisor who has been in charge of the renovation who has been spending a lot of time at her place. Is there something there? Surely, she can trust her helper to run the store in New Orleans, can't she?

This story was so rich in southern history and family folklore. I just loved the character Mags. I wanted her to be my grandmother. And her one big secret - it's sad it had to be such a secret for so long. This was such a feel good story. I just loved it.

Huge thanks to Thomas Nelson for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a most delicious and satisfying read richly filled with everything from disappointment, redemption and love. The writing style was most enjoyable and it was truly a title I not only did not want to put down---but I did not want it to end. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this title prior to publication!

Lovely read. heartfelt read. lovely character and storyline and highly recommend this book

I love reading on my Kindle because it tells me how long it will take me to finish a book. Last night when I went to bed, I had over two hours to finish The Hideaway by Lauren K Denton. I got so into what was happening, I failed to notice the time. That's a key to a good book.

Sara has inherited her grandmother's house to do with as she will. There is a man in the community who wants the piece of ground the house sits on and will stop at nothing to get it. Sara is unwilling to budge an inch until she finds every secret the Hideaway has to give up.

Right now, the Hideaway is home to a collection of geriatrics who live life flamboyantly. Major grumbles, Pat and Bert like to play, and Glory is a being unto herself. But above all, they loved Mags, and mourned her passing. They also loved Mags by taking in her granddaughter and helping her with remodeling and updating the Hideaway.

There are tough times in everyone's life, and Lauren has shown through her book that a will to overcome is vital to living through the tough times. She hasn't made the Bible a significant part of her book, but the tenacity of her characters to live life on their own terms engages the reader with delight.

I could easily see this as a Hallmark movie--it has just the right amount of charm and mystery to fit in with the Hallmark brand.

I give this five stars, two thumbs up, and the key to a Hideaway.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read and review this book.

It took me a really really long time to get into this book, but once I did, it was pretty good. Megs was able to really let go and become herself at the Hideaway, and that's what enabled her to finally find love. Sara had to really go around the block a few times to heal old hurts and find herself, but the location helped her to succeed. And, as an occasionally humorous aspect (at least to me), we saw that sometimes...grandmas know more than we think!

While I did really enjoy the overall story I thought it was too drawn out. The story could have been told in a lot less pages. There was just too much "fluff" which took away from the story and made me not read as closely as I normally would have. I got tired of it and started skimming the remainder of the book

Pull up one of the chairs on the front cover and dive into the mystery and intrigue of discovering the past and embracing the future.

The Hideaway is Denton’s first novel and she comes out swinging. With strong female protagonists in a southern town we’d all love to adopt as our own, this novel has a Karen White-esque feel. While devouring this book, you will smell the air and taste the sweet tea. This is Southern Fiction done right.

Have you ever wished you could turn back time and ask your family for their stories? The Hideaway is a fantastic novel told from two points of view- Sara and her grandmother, Mags. After Mags passes away, Sara is brought back home to Sweet Bay, Alabama. Close, yet a million miles away from her life in NOLA. What should have been a simple trip turns into a mystery waiting to be solved. Who was Mags as a young woman? What is it with The Hideaway? The B&B Mags ran where the guests just never seemed to leave. Everything Sara discovers points to a girl and life opposite of the quirky grandmother Sara had loved deeply and thought she knew. What happened to Mags? Will The Hideaway be lost to developers now that she’s gone?

Just when she was convinced her place was back in New Orleans with her shop, Sara learns what it’s like to come home. Do yourself a favor and sit down in Sweet Bay. You'll never want to leave.

I love this book to the moon and back!!! I can tell you already it will make my "Favorite Books of the Year" list

The Hideaway is a pretty good book. I enjoyed Sara's story of discovering the past and herself.
Recommended.
4 stars