This was a lovely and intriguing summer read. The characters' secrets and ongoing hint of mystery kept me engaged throughout, and the descriptions were vivid and beautiful. Another charmer from Lauren K. Denton!

A good, but not great, southern fiction about 2 sisters living with a 40-year-old secret--with just a hint of magic thrown in...

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC.

Oh my gosh, I adored this book. I’ve read almost all of the author’s previously published books and I have to say—this one has my heart and I think will always be my favorite of hers.

There are so many beautiful things—the sister bond between Trudy and Violet, the sweet relationships between Violet and Frank, as well as Maya and Tyler, and the heart wrenching scenes with lost love and unimaginable difficulty.

I’m a historical fiction kind of girl, so when I say that I truly loved this book, a book outside of my forever favorite genre, I mean it: this book was just so, so good.

Easily one of my favorite reads this year! Five stars from me!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an eARC of A Place to Land. A positive review was not required, only my honest opinion. All thoughts are expressly my own.

“A long time ago Jay Malone was known as the friendliest guy in town.” Violet swallowed a lump of disgust that crept up the back of her throat. “But he wasn’t who everyone thought he was.”

Before Violet’s mother left, years earlier, she left a note to her daughter telling her to protect her sister Trudy, and Violet took that one last piece of instruction to heart literally.

Violet and Trudy have an art shop called, Two Sisters in Sugar Bend, Alabama. Violet loves birds, and she monitors local bird activity as well. Both sisters live quiet lives.

Maya has just signed papers that say she is legally out of the foster system that she hated. She wants to find a place to land, to belong. She finds the Two Sisters store and even though she doesn’t get off the greatest foot in the beginning, the two Figg sisters take an immense liking to Maya, and her to the sisters.

It seems all of the characters are looking for a place to land, so to speak. But it is the Figg sisters who have been holding a secret that hasn’t seen the light of day in over forty years.

I listened to Doctor Who - The 13th Doctor Theme while I read A Place to Land and I think it added to the mystery that is threaded throughout and gently lay at the foundation of this story. It was sad but uplifting at the same time. Recommended.

My gratitude to Netgalley and Harper Muse. All opinions expressed are mine.

Another beautifully written book by the author who I’ve come to love as a favorite and always look forward to her new releases. I was excited to see the age of the women that the story mostly centers around and going back to a mystery that happened 40 years before. One sister doesn’t speak and writes notes to correspond. The story leads to why. There is great character development with other characters in the book. A wayward young lady the sisters take under their wing, relationships from the past and many more. There is a little romance. It just has everything. Thanks to Harper Muse And NG for the ARC

This book took me a little while to get in to. I would say that I was a third of the way through and thought about not finishing it but I'm so glad that I did keep reading. There were so many things that became clear throughout the book as the mystery unfolds. I really enjoyed the character of Maya!

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own.

3.75/5 stars

It’s always a little disappointing when the newest book by a favorite author doesn’t live up to her previous efforts (in my subjective opinion). I’ve absolutely loved all of Denton’s books, but this one fell short for me.

This one centers around Sugar Bend, Alabama, a small town along the Little River. Violet and Trudy are sisters (in their 60s) who live together and own a gift shop called Two Sisters. Trudy hasn’t spoken in 40 years, stemming from a night of emotional and physical trauma. Maya is an 18-year-old orphan, newly released from the foster care system who, through a random sense of serendipity, ends up in Sugar Bend and working at the gift shop. Soon these characters begin having “dreams” of random images, some from their pasts, some perhaps from their futures. As parts of their pasts and presents begin to collide, they must decide whether to face and move past those things holding them back or stay forever at the mercy of their secrets. Just as a FYI, this one involves some domestic violence (mostly off-page and not overly specific).

While this is a fine story (although a little simplistic and predictable), I did not feel the connection with characters that I normally get from her books. There was no spark or depth for me. So all-in-all this was just an average experience for me. Here’s hoping her next will be as stellar as her previous have been.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for providing the free early arc of A Place to Land for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

𝘈 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥 is a slow-burn, Southern fiction novel about two sisters, Violet and Trudy Figg, who run a shop in Sugar Bend, Alabama. Maya, a new resident in town is searching for a place to belong and stumbles on the small community after seeing a flyer at a gas station. Each character has their own secrets and stories to tell that slowly come to light throughout the book. ⁣
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I really struggled with the structure of this book. While I immediately felt drawn to all of the characters, the multiple storylines felt too cumbersome. This story is told from multiple perspectives and we also see flashbacks from the past. The build-up in the first half of the book was extremely slow and felt intentionally drawn out, while the last half was a breeze to read. There is a magical element to the story that didn’t work for me and felt too overdone.⁣
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I think Maya is supposed to be a secondary character, but at times she felt like a main character. Maya’s story could have filled a separate novel. Her story had some resolution at the end, but overall I felt like it was incomplete. I wanted to learn more about her history in foster care and her connection to Sugar Bend.⁣
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Violet and Trudy’s story intrigued me the most. Each sister was easy to care about and feel connected to. I loved how Trudy made beautiful art out of found things. The themes of sisterhood, found family & belonging resonated throughout the book. I found the end both emotional and heartwarming. I was happy with the way it was resolved.⁣
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This is my fourth book by Lauren K Denton. I tend to love her beautiful settings and this book was no different. Sugar Bend felt like a place I would want to visit and the town came alive through her writing. While parts of the story didn’t work for me, the setting was probably my favorite aspect of 𝘈 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥. I highly recommend her previous novels, especially 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥 and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩. ⁣
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If you are looking to settle in with a slow-burn novel with a beautiful setting and a little mystery maybe give this one a try.

A Place to Land by Lauren K. Denton I enjoyed the town setting and can see a series of books with these characters. All were enjoyable and well developed. I don’t believe the ending was believable but everyone got a happy ending. There as some repetition which is always annoying. It was a fast summer read. Thank you Net Galley for the chance to read this book.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Two late middle aged sisters live together and run a boutique. They share a secret that both binds them together and torments them. As the secret is revealed, they face the obstacles while helping others and conserving nature simultaneously.

The characters are so lovely. I will miss them.

I really loved the premise of this book. I truly couldn't wait to see how the story of Trudy and Violet unfolded and what events had occurred 40 years before that drastically changed their lives. At times I couldn't put the book down but at other points I found the story disjointed. I couldn't really figure out certain characters roles in the story. By the end everyone's stories came together.

Thanks to NetGalley for ecopy for my Kindle.
A story of sisters with a little romance, but in all, a good book.

This book had a really lovely feeling throughout, laid back but with lots of undercurrents, a mystery, and very slightly magical, with dreams and feelings that things are 'in the right place'.

It is about two sisters, Violet and Trudy, in their 60s, who live together and have a gift shop that one of the sisters sells items in she makes from found objects, like wood and shells. Trudy makes the objects, but hasn't spoken in years, after her (abusive) husband went missing and was never found.

But then a boat is dislodged from the bottom of a river and the events of long ago all come back to the surface with the ensuing investigation.

There are a variety of other characters - 18 year old Maya who has drifted into town, after signing herself out of the foster system, and is looking for a place to belong, and a retired policeman who has also recently moved back into town and had a long ago love affair with Violet, that didn't quite work out.

A really lovely, laid back book but plenty to keep you interested. I do love Lauren K Denton's way of writing.

Denton's upcoming story is one that is not to be missed. This is a different kind of story and I devoured it in just a couple sittings. A Place to Land is a domestic mystery surrounding two sisters that have a secret that has been kept for over 40 years. The setting and plot isn't the typical light heartedness in previous Denton works and that is what I liked about this story, something fresh and not expected. The story has a duel timeline weaving between memories of something that happened in the past between Trudy and Violet, coming forth to the present desperately needing to be told. I couldn't put it down or stop thinking about it, because I needed to know the truth.

I connected to each character through out the story. The trope of wanting somewhere to belong, and have meaning in life just pulled at my heartstrings. Each characters stories pulled together with each of their mismatched pieces tied together beautifully at the end creating a messy and heartwarming truth of a masterpiece.

A Place to Land is one of those stories that sits with you for a while and a story that any adult age or reading preferences can enjoy.

Forty years to hold a secret! Wow! The devotion that these sisters have to each other is amazing. The way they bring Maya into their world and offer her a place to be is a testament to who they truly are. This was a great read about these sisters and the bond they share!

This was such a great book. It has mystery and angst. My heart broke for Violet and Trudy. They’ve survived so much trauma and pain. They’ve live with a huge secret for 40 years. Maya had such a rough childhood. All she wants s love and a home. This was such a heartwarming story between two older sisters and an 18 year old girl. I finished the book with a smile on my face.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. What a soulful book. Lauren K Denton writes rich characters that stay with you. I love the mystery surrounding the main 2 characters. Why doesn’t Trudy talk? What are the sisters hiding? This book keeps you turning the pages.

this story is about two sisters,Trudy and Maya who run an art store in a small town in Alabama, Maya has no home or family when she discovers the art store. I have read all of Lauren Denton's books and they are all good

I have looke d forward to and read every book Lauren Denton has published. My favorite two are The Hideaway and Glory Road.

To me, this book just didn’t measure up to what I’ve come to expect from this author. It was just so-so and I likely will not recommend it or purchase it for our library. (Sorry, Lauren, I’m still a fan!)

I received this book from the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read and loved every one of Lauren Denton’s books, so I was thrilled when NetGalley and Harper Muse provided me an ARC of her latest novel, “ A Place to Land,” in exchange for an honest review. As in her previous books, this one centers on small town life in the South filled with warm, likable characters who grow and reach fulfillment throughout the course of the book. But this book also features a mystery surrounding a boat hidden for years at the bottom of the river on which the town of Sugar Bend is based. The boat reemerges at the beginning of the book, with hints about its origins and how it ended up on the river bottom sprinkled tantalizingly throughout the narrative in the form of flashbacks to the early 1980s.

The book centers on two sisters in their sixties, Violet and Trudy, who have lived together for decades in their small cottage on the river in the town of Sugar Bend. It is clear that the younger sister, Trudy, suffered some long-ago trauma which has rendered her mute. They both run a small gift shop in town, “Two Sisters Art and Homemade Goods,” which among other things sells craft that Trudy makes from objects she finds near the river, such as shells, feathers and driftwood.

Maya, an 18 year old girl recently aged out of the foster system, is drawn to the town of Sugar Bend by a flyer for an art festival that she sees on the window of a gas station. She drifts into the Two Sisters Art and Handmade Goods store and is soon drawn into the lives of Violet and Trudy. Although Violet is initially wary of Maya, Trudy’s unconditional acceptance of the young woman convinces Violet to give Maya a chance. All these women impact each others lives in warm and positive ways throughout the course of the book. Violet and Maya also each find love, Violet in the form of Frank, a lost love from decades ago and Maya from Tyler, a young man who helps his father run his feed and seed store in town.

As in all her books, this one is a heartwarming tale of love and redemption, as the characters help each other to grow and relinquish things from the past that were preventing them from being completely happy and fulfilled. I highly recommend this book for those readers who love character-driven novels filled with love and hope.