Interesting well written love story that takes place in dual time lines 1916 and 1983. Very well handled, wonderful characters and great plot. Giving 4 stars.

I received an copy of ARC from author, publisher and Netgalley. Opinions written are my own.

This is a story that takes place in small town Wisconsin over two timelines, 1916 and 1983. I would characterize it as a family drama/romance combo with a twist. The older tale revolves around nineteen-year-old Alice who is caring for her dad and six younger sisters after the untimely death of her mother. It also features John Lawrence, a new hire helping out on the family farm. Alice’s seventeen-year-old sister Pearl also has a major role in the 1916 timeline. The 1983 setting brings back Pearl as an elderly dying woman. We also meet her grandson Joe and Kathleen, the owner of an antique store in town. Joe is racked with terrifying nightmares that seem very very real and turn out to be at the crux of the tale.

This story is different. To enjoy it, the reader must park the believability factor at the door. I don’t generally like to do that, but I thought this book was worth giving it a try. Happily, I succeeded in going with it and felt rewarded by a satisfying reading experience. There are several threads going on that lend to romance and eternal love, mystery, suspense, and family dynamics. The main characters are appealing despite a couple of them seeming a bit too perfect. My other small criticism is that there are some slow spots. As I say, I did buy into the thread regarding Joe’s dreams, and that unusual angle of the plotline elevated the whole story for me.

I recommend Dovetail to all readers who love poignant fiction. I am pleased to have discovered this author and will definitely be seeking out more of Ms. McQuestion’s novels.

I would like to thank Ms. Karen McQuestion, Net Galley, and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this novel. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

Dovetail by Karen McQuestion is a unique book that flips between two related story lines in two different time periods - 1916 and 1983. At the beginning of the book we see one of the main characters, Joe, institutionalized in a mental hospital due to vivid recurring dreams where he even calls out in a voice not his own. His doctors have not been able to get anywhere with his treatment and are considering electroconvulsive therapy. Needless to say, Joe is not in favor of this so when a grandmother he never met suddenly shows up at the treatment center to take him home with her he jumps at the chance. He figures that he can get his family or a friend to come and get him from wherever she is taking him. When he learns that no one will come, he decides to stay and take the job his grandmother Pearl has offered, that of cleaning out the family home so it can be sold. In the course of the rest of the book, Joe learns a lot about the past events that have a direct connection to his dreams. A lot comes to light before the suspenseful conclusion of the book.

I enjoyed this book and how the characters were introduced and how the two stories, although years apart, are entwined in a well balanced way. I was able to follow the story back and forth without being confused. The revelation of what the content of Joe's dreams meant was a not really that shocking to me, but the idea that his dreams were of actual events of long ago was a little harder to believe. The story was a little slow at times, but I was invested enough to keep reading in order to find out what happened. I was satisfied with the ending.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and offer my unbiased opinion. This book will be released in early March 2020.

I love this book!

So many times it’s hard for author’s to get it right when their stores are told from multiple POV and especially when they are flipping back and forth between two time periods. Karen McQuestion has done a masterful job in the pacing of the story and engaging readers in both time periods. I was equally invested in both stories (from 1916 and 1983) it was like two stories in one, that perfectly converged through Pearl, who was in both time periods. I loved the cultural/time reference nods in both time eras.

Overall a sweet story with my favorite kind of ending, a happy ending, a happy one.

A beautifully written love story.
A very enjoyable book. I love that Karen McQuestion is always able to show the best side of people. Her books are heartwarming and never disappointing.

Interesting storyline, two time periods, similar events,setting the continuum right, a perfect dovetail. Some may consider events science fiction or fantasy but parallels in lifetimes are well presented Sometimes moves a little slow but it's a pleasant ride. Characters are realistic, conversational and likeable. You can guess at the outcome but by then you will be hooked and want to read the action. The book cover gives adequate description so I won't go there. Read and enjoy!
I received this book as a complimentary copy for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own. Thanks to the author,publisher,and NetGalley for the ARC.

I’m so thankful to have been given the chance to read and review a digital ARC of this book, compliments of NetGalley and Karen McQuestion. Dovetail was beautifully written and I couldn’t have loved it more. I enjoyed the way the story followed two timelines that were interwoven in the most interesting, yet often unpredictable way. The characters were very well developed and I felt as if I knew them personally. While loss was a huge factor in this story, there was also an abundance of love and forgiveness woven throughout. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, romance or even just a beautiful happily ever after!

"...a spellbinding new novel of enduring love, family secrets, and mysterious death," Not sure how accurate a description, but...

I love a dual time line. Here: 1916 and 1983. And a good story.

Off to a promising start, I was roped in. But near the end I threw my hands up. I wanted to finish to see how it turned out [though I had accurately determined the trajectory]; I'd had enough [too neat and tidy].

Pearl is the continuum. A young woman in 1916; dying of cancer in 1983. She connects with Joe Arneson, the grandson she's never met as she's been estranged from his father for decades. She springs Joe from institutionalization [at his father and stepmother's insistence--bad, recurring dreams, each of which he's named--e.g., the Death Dream, the Rowboat Dream, the Owl Dream and so on]. She offers Joe a job--clean up her house and ready it for sale. As he has no real skills and no where to turn, he accepts and the story is set in motion.

1916: Pearl and her eldest sister, Alice--who becomes the mother and housekeeper to six sisters after their mother's death, Jealousies. Young love. Rivalry.

1983: Joe and Kathleen. Kathleen has run away from her abusive husband, Ricky. She inherited Secondhand Heaven from her great aunt. Joe is to bring the contents of the house to Kathleen's store for sale. Lots of connections in Pullman where the store is located and the earlier story took place.

Many [obvious to me] parallels.

Some quite lovely descriptions.

In the end, a fast-paced read which most people loved, but I did not.

You know that feeling, I have been here before, I was placed her right at this time. This book is about those feelings. A love stroy that spans the ages and a journey of love and forgiveness. I also enjoy Karen's books. This did not disappoint. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a great read! I loved the characters within from feisty old Pearl to her sweet grandson and of course the lovely Alice and John. I enjoyed being brought back into the early 1900’s and the parallel stories and of course the mystery of what really happened! And nothing was more sweet than Kathleen and Joe coming together in their dresses and suspenders! A truly sweet read!

This is my first book by Karen McQuestion and I look forward to reading more! I expected a typical girl-moves-to-small-town kind of story, but it was so so much more than that. With a touch of magical realism, the past and the present are found to be deeply connected, the romance is authentic and moving, and the story is captivating. Put this one on your list!

I think I would classify this as women’s fiction but with a good deal of romance.I must admit that I was hoping for a bit more about Pearls’ life but the book centers mainly about one particular event that she feels responsible for. She knows that she doesn’t have a long time to live and comes up with a plan to at least atone for part of her history.

The novel is told in a dual storyline, the past is the life Pearl lived when she was young, the second oldest of seven daughters to a newly widowed father. Alice is the oldest sister and most of the work of the household falls to her. She is sweet tempered and very maternal and does the cooking, cleaning, etc with the help of her sisters. Pearl at that age was very narcissistic and cared only about herself. She evaded work as much as she could and dreamt of being an actress and leaving their small Wisconsin town of Pullman. She wasn’t even happy when her sister Alice was at last finding some personal happiness and this is the point of the main plot of the story which I won’t divulge and spoil the novel for readers. It does however provide the romance for this time thread of the story.

The second story line is the present. Pearl sets out to retrieve her grandson, whom she has never met, from a mental institution where he has been because of recurring, extremely upsetting and vivid dreams. The dreams cause him to shout out and disturb his father and mother in law, along with his young sister Linda. Though they seem to have Joe’s best interests at heart he is sure that the therapy he is receiving isn’t helping. When he hears that his doctor has suggested electroconvulsive therapy he is adamant about leaving. Just when he is trying to decide how he will get out and where he will go he is told that his “grandmother” and her lawyer are waiting to check him out. At first he isn’t sure about this situation but goes along with it.

When we get into the story we find that Pearl has a plan for her grandson, she wants to hire him for the summer to get her family home ready for sale. There is much to go through in the house and barn and she is also hoping to get to know him. She and her only son, Joe’s father, have been estranged for many years.

During the course of the summer Joe meets Kathleen, a young woman fairly recently arrived to take over the resale and vintage shop that her aunt owned. It was left to her and she finds that she really enjoys the work and the people. Pearl had already set up an account with Kathleen so she was expecting all of the furniture, etc from the house. From this relationship grows the romance in this thread of the story. Joe also finds that his dreams are actually more like recreations of past events (this part of the story was the hardest for me to believe)

While I enjoyed the story I thought it was a bit slow moving and somewhat repetitive. I would have enjoyed hearing more about Pearl, perhaps explaining why she had been completely estranged from all of her sisters. I thought she would perhaps try to reach out to some of them or their children to make amends.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley. The novel is set to publish on March 10, 2020.

Will post to Amazon upon publication

I received an ARC of this book. I loved it! It has great characters and the story grabbed me from page one. I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book!

Dovetail could have been "just another romance masquerading as historical fiction," but McQuestion did a nice job of making me care about the characters and wonder just how she would pull this off. The only weakness? Ricky was in town for weeks but she only saw him once and he only scared her by breaking into her house? Really? In theory, he watched her from next door, but we didn't see him do it.

Dovetail is an emotionally-moving and heart-warming read. Set across two timelines, this book explores the transcendental nature of love. The author seamlessly weaves together a number of genres, including romance, family drama, suspense, and magical realism to tell a believable, compelling, and refreshing story. The first timeline is set in 1916 and covers the events that unfold when a young medical student arrives to work for a widowed father of seven daughters. The second timeline takes place in 1983, detailing the life of a young man named Joe, who is plagued by intense nightmares, leading him to be placed in an inpatient psychiatric facility. To his surprise, he is soon released and taken in by his grandmother, Pearl, who he previously believed to be dead. As the narrative switches from one timeline to another, various secrets are uncovered, revealing connections between characters and events within the two time periods. The reader becomes aware early on of an impending tragedy; however, the details of the tragedy are revealed gradually in an expertly-crafted pacing style that makes the characters’ stories especially gripping and poignant. Although I was initially most drawn to the incredibly wholesome love story that takes place during the first of the two timelines, I grew to love the characters in both timelines and found myself heavily invested in their stories and outcomes. The conclusion to their stories left me deeply satisfied with a smile on my face. Beautiful work!

Loved this Compelling , Emotional, Intriguing read ! Pearl and Joe are wonderful characters , each with their own story to tell , they are family but only meet when Pearl shows up to take Joe out of the mental facility he's at for having disturbing dreams. Pearl is trying to right a old wrong , Joe is trying to figure out what the dreams mean , they each are connected to the past ,secrets and fate.. I would recommend this book to all book lovers of any genre.

Dovetail flips from events that happened in 1916, when Pearl lost her oldest sister Alice to a tragedy, to “present day” In 1983. When her long lost grandson, Joe, arrives in 1983 to meet Pearl for the first time, she asks for his help with getting their family home repaired in order to sell it. During his stay in the family home, Joe starts having vivid dreams and he comes to realize that during those dreams, he is in the body of another man that lived many years ago. As the story progresses you see how things in Joe’s current life mirror a lot of past events. Joe eventually realizes that the events he dreams about are actual past events with Pearl’s sister, Alice, and her fiancé, John.

Meanwhile, Joe meets and falls in love with a woman named Kathleen, As their relationship develops, he starts to see parallels between his current life, and the past lives of Alice and John. Little by little, with Kathleen’s help, Joe discovers the truth about Alice’s death so many years ago...and the parallels to his current life and relationship come to light.

i really love a good mystery novel combined with a love story and this book kept my interest all the way through. Even though there was some romance, it was clean. Sometimes a story told in two time periods confuses me and makes it hard to keep track of what’s happening in the book, but I found that it was easy to transition back and forth through time. Thanks so much for allowing me the privilege of reading an Advanced Reader Copy of this book, Karen McQuestion! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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DOVETAIL is a very intriguing story and I was captivated by both the 1983 and 1916 story lines. The use of period detail is strong and the characters are extremely well-crafted, meaning they are complex and seem genuine. McQuestion does a great job of drawing the reader in with mysterious questions without leaving us feeling like we are hopelessly lost in the dark. This can be a fine balance, especially with this type of story, which relies on questions to keep the reader's interest. I especially appreciated seeing the characters' progression and how they changed throughout the arc of the story. I will mention one minor criticism that was no doubt out of the author's control. The cover art, while lovely, seems too serene for the story.

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

1983: Joe suffers from debilitating nightmares and his parents commit him to a psych ward. 1916: Pearl (Joe's grandma) is jealous over her sister's new beau and feels responsible for her untimely death.

Rating duo timeline stories are hard for me because I usually prefer the older timeline and feel that I can't give the whole story proper attention. The story is clean and appropriate for younger teens.

2.75 stars

Dovetail is a beautifully written, creative, and moving story about love and loss, family and drama. Karen McQuestion captivates you with emotionally charged characters who keeps you engaged. Very enjoyable read.