I loved Dovetail - the characters are well-rounded and real and the story is a great mix of historical and contemporary.. This combination made for a very interesting story. I especially loved the main characters, Alice, Kathleen, and Joe. The family secrets and history keep you interested in what will happen next. Dovetail is a very compelling story of family, love, secrets, and mystery.

DOVETAIL by Karen McQuestion is a compelling and suspenseful novel of love, family secrets and a mysterious death that had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Joe Arneson suffers from vivid and tormenting recurrent dreams where he is appears to be a man in another time and place. Something terrible seems to happen in these dreams that he is unable to see through to the end, but the dreams are disturbing enough that his family has admitted him to a mental health facility for treatment. One day, an elderly woman he learns is his grandmother Pearl comes and has him discharged to her custody. All Joe knows about Pearl is that she and his father have been estranged for years for reasons neither will reveal. There are two timelines in the story, 1983 and back in 1916 when Pearl was just a teenager. Pearl harbors deep-rooted guilt surrounding the untimely death of her sister Alice and hopes that Joe can help her make amends before she dies. In digging through his grandmother’s past with the help of new friend, Kathleen, they soon realize there is a connection between his dreams and events of the past. This book has the perfect blend of intrigue, family secrets and romance with a touch of magic. The beautiful writing made me feel I was right in the story with the characters. I truly enjoyed this engaging story of family, love and forgiveness and highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

Did you ever get to the end of a book and wish you had just started it? This was my reaction to Dovetail by Karen McQuestion. I wasn't sure what I expected but I definitely got more than what I assumed I would. The story had everything I enjoy in a book, converging timelines and history! When I do a book review I don't like to rehash the story. I figure if you are reading the review then you've read the synopsis. I give you my honest opinion of the story. And honestly, I loved it!! McQuestion can sneak in an important piece of the puzzle without giving too much away. A puzzle is a good description of the story. How is everything going to fit together? Why is this person so important? Do dreams really have a purpose? As each puzzle piece snapped into place I became more excited! I thought I knew the next puzzle piece and how it would fit. Nope! My husband asked me to stop gasping as I was reading because he thought something was wrong. If you enjoy reading a book that keeps you guessing, keeps you up at night and surprises you to the very end, I suggest you read Dovetail. Oh, and if you think you know what the title means, think again. Like I said, Dovetail by Karen McQuestion is one big, satisfying puzzle.
I voluntarily received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

This is a fantastic book. I love how the two timelines converge. A family divided must face the past to try to heal in the present. I highly recommend this book.

An intriguing tale of family history and loss.

Plagued by vivid dreams, Joe Arneson is admitted to a psychiatric facility by his father and step-mother. Never feeling that he needed therapy, he is still at a loss as to the origin of these dreams of violence and loss. Checked out of the facility by the grandmother he thought was dead, Joe reluctantly goes with her back to her former home in Pullman. As details of her life unfold, he is increasingly convinced that he is not having dreams, but remembering past events that occurred. As more details emerge, he starts to unravel the truth behind what really happened to his great aunt Alice, who died when she was only 19.

Rich character development, and sparkling prose come together into a tale of love, jealously, spite, and murder. Set against the back drop of rural Wisconsin in the 1930s and the 1980s, McQuestion blends past and present into a compelling tale. 5 stars!

"I've long believed that no one should be judged on the worst thing they've ever done. And not on the best thing, either, for that matter." "Human beings are much more complex than one event that happened on one day in a very long life." Pearl has reached the end of her very long life and has lived with guilt, regrets, sorrow and pain. What secrets is she keeping and why is it so hard to reveal them?

The characters in the book are people that any of us could know and could relate to. They have emotions and traits that are individual in what makes their personalities. I loved John and Alice. Such caring, loving, and unselfish characters. I loved Joe and Katherine. Their story was one of an immediate attraction to each other but built as they worked to discover the connections from the past to the present. There were characters I disliked the whole book. Then there was Pearl. She had me on both ends of the likeable spectrum. I found myself despising her and then forgiving her. This worked so perfectly to create the story.

This book has suspense, drama, secrets, mystery, tragedy and foreboding. It also has compassion, devotion, forgiveness, hope and love. Love that can transcend time and space. The way it's all brought together in the pages had me turning them, each chapter building, to find out how it was going to all end.

I have yet to pick up a Karen McQuestion book that I have not liked. This book is no exception. In fact, I loved it! It's complex but written so adroitly that the plot and characters are easily followed and built up as the story goes. The uniqueness of the dual time lines and building the parallel stories until they merge is page turning anticipation. Karen McQuestion has created a book that is like the dovetail joints her title is named after. She takes each of the characters and designs them to perfectly fit with the characters they are joined to. Then she builds the story, chapter and event from 1916 to the parallel chapter and events in 1983. Each revealing more as to what really happened in 1916 that Pearl has held secret for all those years. The story starts to link together just as dovetail joints slip together to create a beautiful piece of work when it's finished. "A dovetail joint can stand the test of time."

This is a wonderfully detailed and crafted book. Written in such a wonderful way that the story unfolds in perfect synchronization. A novel that I thoroughly enjoyed from the beginning to the end. I want to thank the author, Karen McQuestion, for the honor of reading an ARC of this fantastic book. All opinions and thoughts are my heartfelt own. It is definitely a five star read for me.

BOOK REVIEW: Dovetail by author, Karen McQuestion

One look at the cover- art for the novel, Dovetail~ and you would anticipate a story of the serene...but this particular novel holds so much more for its reader. It's an emotional journey with its dual timelines converging into something very unique and intriguing that will hold you captive.

This is my first read by the author, and I can tell you, it most definitely won't be my last. Ms. McQuestion has written a riveting yet beautiful narrative~ one of substance, purpose and meaning. An engaging read with twists and turns that are continuously intertwining. A tragic love story with a soul all its own ~ with its distinct power to lead its characters to hope and forgiveness, it is written with great care, true heart and flows seamlessly.

I thank the author not only for my copy of Dovetail (ARC) in order to review, but for bringing this engaging story to life. A story I believe you will find to be most enjoyable and worthy of a place in your heart ...

5 Stars

#Dovetail
#KarenMcQuestion

Wild Sage Book Blog
Novels N Latte Book Club

This was my first book by this author and I loved it!!! It was such a great story and I loved these characters!!!!!

I just finished my very first book by author Karen McQuestion and absolutely loved it! It’s a story told in 2 different timelines, one being in 1983 with the characters Joe and Kathleen and the other in 1916 with Joe’s grandmother Pearl and her family. It starts out with Joe having terrible nightmares that are actually glimpses into the past showing a tragic series of events that were a part of Pearl’s young life. It’s a very unique story but one I’m sure everyone will enjoy. There was a bit of mystery, jealousy and a lot of suffering from tragedy but in the end, love and forgiveness. I believe that the title Dovetail is used to represent the perfect joining of both couples, John and Alice, and then later Joe and Kathleen. It was a love story so unique that it captured my full attention and I had a very hard time setting it down. This is a book I highly recommend. I really enjoyed it and I’d like to thank NetGalley and the author, Karen McQuestion for the arc to read and review. I wish I could give it more than the 5 stars as I feel it really deserves it!

This was a first for me by Karen mcquestion, this was a Arc that I absolutely loved I felt like I was right there in the story with Alice, and John. Pearl Frank.
And Joe and Kathleen.
This story goes from the year 19 16 - to 1983 back and forth in time to the Future but Alice taking care of her family after her mother dies her younger sisters and her father. A young man named John comes to help out on the farm Alice not knowing they would soon fall in love this young man has a background that back in those days was not lightly looked upon.. but I soon saw why Alice fell in love with John and he was such a giving caring guy..1916.. going into 1983 Joes dad and stepmom had put him into Trendale a place like psychic ward.. because Joe has nightmares and all it scared his family.. but Joe's nightmares have a lot to do with things in this story this is a wonderful Story one that touched me deeply one that I will definitely read again. Will be recommending to everyone which I have already done I finished this book yesterday but I wanted to sit on it a while and then do my review I just can't say enough about this book I absolutely love this book and if I could I would give it 10 Stars.
Thank netgally For this copy.
And also Thank Karen McQuestion.
For this Amazing Book.

Dovetail: A Novel Of Love Everlasting couldn’t be more accurate. This was an absolutely beautifully written story and the title and its meaning through the story is so heart warming.

I loved the juxtaposition of the two storylines between Pearl, Alice, John and Frank in the past and Pearl, Joe, Kathleen and Ricky in the present (1983) parts of the story. The stories were woven together beautifully through Joe’s dreams and Kathleen’s dream as well.

If you enjoy a timeless story filled with heartbreak, true love, and forgiveness, Dovetail is for you.
4 stars! Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union for the ARC.

While I was intrigued by the concept of genetic memory, this novel really did not deliver on this front. The characters felt very one dimensional to me, and since the main character was not direct descendant of the people he was "dreaming" about, my interest waned.

Karen McQuestion, author of “Dovetail” has written a captivating, intriguing, intense, memorable, emotional and suspenseful novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, Historical Romance. and Suspense. There are two timelines in the story and characters in the different timelines have something relatable and in common. The author describes her characters as complex and complicated. There are deep secrets, mysteries, and murder.

Joe Arneson has very strange and tormenting dreams, that have gotten so bad that he has been committed for his mental health. A grandmother that he doesn’t remember or know, Pearl comes and arranges his discharge. Pearl is an old lady, and with her friend, encourages Joe to live in her house and offers him a job. Pearl and Joe’s father are estranged. Pearl is quirky, eccentric and narcissistic, and now is sick and wants to make amends for many things that happened in her life.

Joe seems to have triggers for those dreams, and it seems that he is living someone else’s life. Joe meets a friend Kathleen, who is very supportive. As Joe spends time with Pearl, he learns that his Aunt Alice had died when she was young. Joe is realizing certain places in the present were also in the past. How can these be related? Can history rewrite itself? What are Joe’s dreams really symbolizing? I would highly recommend this thought-provoking story for those readers who enjoy fiction, and Historical Romance.

Loved, loved , loved. This book.
The two timelines kept me turning the pages all through the night.
This author has become one of my all time favorites.
Thank you to Netgalley, and the publisher for my advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review

I received an ARC through NetGalley,. This is a beautiful story that focuses on the importance of family and the power of forgiveness. I'm worried that if I say more, I will give it all away.

Dovetail is an extremely enjoyable book. The character development is wonderful, as well as the relationships developing between the 2 sets of romantic partners.

This book has a lot of layers to it, and it really makes the reader think about how complex relationships and family dynamics are. I enjoyed the way the main character's dreams tied everything together.

A fascinating read. Another page-turner. Love, family and forgiveness.
Goes back and forth between 1916 and 1983. Pearl is the second daughter of 7. Alice the oldest takes care of everyone when their mother dies. John comes to stay and help their father at work. An unfortunate accident leaves everyone devastated and nothing will ever be the same.
Fast forward to 1983, Pearl gets her grandson Joe to help with the family house, getting it ready to sale. He feels so familiar with the town and things that it's bizzare.
Might need tissue for this book. It is a must read! You won't regret!

Thank you to publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

Dovetail by Karen McQuestion.
1916 Pearl is the second of seven sisters. When a young student comes to work for her father Pearl is jealous that he prefers her older sister Alice.
1983 Joe is in hospital because he suffers terrible nightmares. His grandmother Pearl who he has never met comes to collect him to help her empty her family's home so she can sell it.
After he arrives in Pearl's home and he learns more about his family's history Joe's nightmares begin to resemble things that happened in the family before he was born.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

First sentence: Time has a way of evening things out. I was beautiful once, turning heads and garnering admiring glances, but now I would not stand out in a group of my peers.

Premise/plot: Joe Arneson, our hero, is a reluctant patient at Trendale Psychiatric Treatment Center. He’s been having vivid nightmares, recurring nightmares, four of them. Doctors are stumped. His family is stumped. Joe feels that since the doctors are clueless and therapy clearly isn’t working, he should be able to leave. When the novel opens, he’s about to be released into the care of his Grandma. The problem? Joe has always believed that his grandma was dead. But Grandma Pearl is very much alive...though she is dying. She wants to hire Joe to clean up, clean out her house so it can be sold. He’s confused but willing. His time at the family home will bring him much closer to the woman running the local secondhand store/shop. The summer of 1983 may prove unforgettable.

My thoughts: This mystery-thriller has two time settings: 1983 and 1916. The 1916 story focuses on the tension between Pearl and her older sister, Alice, as Alice falls in love for the first (and only) time. Their father has hired a young man, John Lawrence, for the summer. Pearl thinks that she is a thousand times more beautiful than her sister, so the new guy in town should fall madly in love with her...if not at first sight, soon thereafter. But. John only has eyes for the sweet and selfless Alice. Is all fair in love and war?!

Pearl ties these two stories together—in a way. Though Joe and his nightmares are crucial to putting the two halves together.

I read this one quickly—perhaps two days. The short chapters kept me reading at a steady pace giving at least the illusion of great suspense. But is the book truly suspenseful or is it predictable? Does it matter if it is predictable? I think the story idea isn’t unoriginal. I liked that it was set in the past—1916 and 1983. I could see where the story was heading very early on. Perhaps a third of the way through. Once you’ve pieced one piece of the puzzle in place, it’s obvious what will unfold in both stories. But. Knowing didn’t stop me from reading and reading quickly. Even though I felt I knew every twist and turn coming. It was like being on your favorite roller coaster ride. You know exactly what is ahead, but it’s still an enjoyable experience worth standing in line for.

I have tried to avoid spoilers in my review. I don’t know if I’d recommend reading the jacket flap either. The more you can delay knowing, the more you may enjoy it. But you may be like me and enjoy it regardless. Perhaps surprising twists and turns are overrated.

“Tell Pearl what you told me. About the joints that hold it together.” She set Daisy down and ran her fingers over the corner of the chest. She looked up at Pearl. “They’re called dovetail joints. Dovetail. Doesn’t that sound beautiful?” “I guess.” Their father said, “The sides of the hope chest are connected using dovetail joints. The edges are cut in a pattern, so one side slides into the other. Wide tails and narrow pins are what they’re called. It works almost like this.” He clasped his hands together, fingers interwoven. “Once the two pieces are glued together, the place where they’re joined is stronger than the wood itself. Your mother always thought it was perfect for a hope chest, because when a couple is married, they are stronger together than they were when separate.” As so often happened when he mentioned their mother, emotion overcame him. “It’s very difficult to break the connected pieces once they’re locked in place. A dovetail joint can stand the test of time.”


I’ve long believed that no one should be judged on the worst thing they’ve ever done. And not on the best thing either, for that matter.” She sighed. “Human beings are much more complex than one event that happened on one day in a very long life.

This beautiful story is unique in that it switches between two parallel stories in separate timeframes, 1916 and 1983. The story unfolds and follows sisters, a brother, lovers and families as the world's that are seemingly unrelated coexist in such a beautiful way. Dovetail had my attention from the first sentence. "Time has a way of evening things out. I was beautiful once, turning heads and garnering admirning glances, but now I would not stand out in a group of my peers". How relatable is this first sentence? The entire book is relatable in the relationships and the characters and you can find a bit of yourself in someone which makes the book easy to love, easy to follow and easy to love.