Customer Reviews

Doesn't She Look Natural (The Fairlawn Series #1)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jennifer Graham's hubby abruptly annouces their marriage is over. Impetuously, Jenny packs her bags and two boys to move to an inherited piece of land that boasts a Herculean rundown mansion, once a funeral parlor. YIKES, not what they were expecting. Without the recourse to move back to Virginia, Jenny decides to make this enormous "Fairlawn" into a bed and breakfast. Many events impede this endeavor including that 12 other owners of B&B's in this small tourist town are NOT amused and less than inviting to her plans.

An elderly employee who has obligations to fulfill promised pre-paid funerals resides with the Graham family working in the confines of the funeral rooms. Curiosity drives Jenny to peek, watch him, and become fascinated. Soon she is doing a great deal of the work, and Fairview Funeral Home rises from the dead.

Many plotlines of other characters, the deceased, and the children, keep a spirited plotline flowing.

This is a Christian offering, but not in the least bit preachy. Also it gets rather graphic about how bodies are embalmed so if you are very squeamish be warned. I am, but my fascination with the story kept me going.

This will be a series. I recommend this read and hope you all find it as interesting, amusing, and intriguing as I did.

Jennifer Graham never expected to be a single mom, but that's exactly what happens when her husband leaves her for their nanny and serves her with divorce papers. Left reeling and clinging to a faint hope for reconciliation, she quits her high profile job on Capitol Hill in order to re-group and care for her two sons. While the divorce is being finalized, Jennifer and her boys move in with her mother -- a temporary fix that puts additional strain on their already often-volatile relationship. When the job hunt yields no leads, Jennifer is thrilled to learn that a great-uncle she never knew existed names her as his sole heir. However, when the inheritance turns out to be a dilapidated funeral home, and the prospects for flipping it with a profit on the real estate market are nil unless she undertakes major renovations, Jennifer's life takes a turn she never saw coming.

Though the cover has a wonderfully retro, chick-lit feel to it, the first Fairlawn novel is anything but easily dismissed "fluff." Doesn't She Look Natural? is a completely engrossing novel, the poignant and often funny story of Jennifer's journey to yield her will to God's greater plan for her life. She's an entirely relatable heroine -- a believer whose life has gotten so busy she's forgotten how to be still and listen for that still, small voice of God. Every character and relationship in this novel is so well-drawn they practically leap living and breathing from the page. Hunt outdoes herself in the creation of Mt. Dora -- the town and its people possess an undeniable quirky charm, but they never fall into the realm of caricatures. And Jennifer's rather prickly relationship with her mother is one that I think will ring true for a lot of women. Their journey towards a greater understanding and appreciation of each other is one of the novel's greatest strengths.

Hunt's use of a mortuary as the catalyst for Jennifer's turning point is a stroke of genius. She not only gives readers fascinating tidbits of information about the "mechanics" of the funeral industry, but she also paints a heartfelt picture of how a business that deals in death can truly be a ministry to the living. Jennifer must learn to surrender and bury her broken dreams before she can begin living life anew. What she learns at Fairlawn is a powerful reminder that for believers, death is not something to be feared - in fact, everything Jennifer learns about dying teaches her how to really live.

Most of the novel is written from Jennifer's perspective using first person, present tense. I can't think of another novel offhand that I've read which uses this point of view combination. If a first person point of view isn't believable and relatable, I have trouble getting "into" the story. Happily this isn't the case with Hunt's latest release. Her strong characterizations and storytelling abilities shine so strongly in Doesn't She Look Natural? that I couldn't help being utterly absorbed by Jennifer's story. Jennifer's adventures at Fairlawn continue in She Always Wore Red, set to release summer 2008.

Only Angela Hunt can write a book about a funeral home and make me love it! Somehow she managed to make me laugh out loud while touching my heart with the celebration of lives well-lived. The characters are so real - Bugs, the adorable five-year-old that I just wanted to give a big squeeze; Clay, the temperamental teen; Joelle, caught between love and patience; and Jennifer, the newly-divorced Mom who keeps facing her obstacles head-on with energy and determination. The descriptions are delightful (crème brulee for a woman spurned, Clay the living "dead", Biddie, the 110 -year old who wants kazoos at her funeral...) I loved them all. Angela Hunt takes the craft of writing to the highest level and with over 100 books in print, I can count on many more enjoyable hours of reading!

Angela Hunt is one of the most prolific and enjoyable inspirational novelists writing today. So it's no surprise that DOESN'T SHE LOOK NATURAL? is an entertaining and thoughtful read, and a promising beginning to a new series.

Hunt's story revolves around Jennifer Graham, a middle-aged working mom whose high-powered husband has just left her for the attractive and younger nanny. Devastated by this turn of events, Graham is forced to sell her home just outside Washington, D.C., leave her career and take her two young boys to live-in with her widowed mother. When an uncle dies and leaves Jennifer a sprawling Victorian house in Florida, Jennifer sees it as a chance to get back on her feet financially. She soon discovers that the house is also a business...and not just any kind of business.

The beautiful Victorian pictured on the Internet is actually a rambling wreck (think "money pit") and a long-time mortuary --- Fairlawn Funeral Home --- that has served the citizens of the small town of Mt. Dora for years. To sell it, Jennifer, her boys, her mother Joella and their Jack Russell terrier move to Mt. Dora for the summer. At least that's the plan. Jennifer tells herself she'll fix up the old house and sell it so that she has a financial cushion until her husband comes to his senses and returns to the family.

Of course, readers will see a lot of what's coming, but that makes it no less enjoyable to get there. As Jennifer meets the funeral home's on-site mortician, Gerald Huffman (a wise mentor-ish sort of man who continues to live in the house as the book progresses), and navigates single-parenting and her relationship with her mother, there is plenty to keep audiences involved. One particularly odd twist toward the end of the book will require readers to suspend their disbelief (even if it could happen in real life, it is still difficult to believe), but the overall result is an enjoyable, entertaining read.

One of the interesting minor themes in the book is a glimpse into the Red Hat Society, a feisty older women's club. A particularly good scene in the novel features the funeral of a member of the Red Hatters; it is full of quirky and offbeat moments, as well as poignant ones, just as most real-life funerals are.

Hunt does a competent job portraying the relationships between middle-age daughters and their mothers, and the tensions of both generations with each other. As the story unfolds, Joella is able to be more honest with Jennifer about her own relationship with her husband, Jennifer's father. She learns to strike a better balance between being an interfering mother and grandmother and becoming an understanding and supportive parent. Jennifer is also able to acknowledge the importance of her mother's role in her family, especially with an absent husband. Most interestingly, I thought, was that Hunt portrays Joella as an independent woman with interests outside her immediate family and a desire to continue to live life on her own terms, while still being available for her daughter.

Plenty of details about the funeral home industry, the inner workings of mortuaries and the families who live in funeral homes show that Hunt did her research. Details about the challenges of moving from the east to the humid tropics of Florida, Hunt's home state (and a place she has set many of her novels), are also a good backdrop to the plot. Many of the characters are only lightly sketched, but this is expected, perhaps, for the first installment of a series. Deeper character development is likely on the way.

Hunt fans won't want to miss DOESN'T SHE LOOK NATURAL? Those new to her novels will discover here what makes her stories so palatable.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

Jennifer Graham was working as an aid for one of the top senators in the country. But her life is soon changed when her husband divorces her and she has to take custody of their two sons and move in with her mother. Funds are getting low without the support from her ex-husband. Just when Jennifer's about to give up, she learns that she's the recipient of the most unusual inheritance. A distant relative has left her the Fairlawn Funeral Home in small town Florida. Jennifer uproots her family from the big city to go see what she can salvage from this deal. Once they get to their new destination, they soon learn how their lives will be changed forever.

This was one of the most interesting concepts I had heard for a book. A story set in a funeral home? Two things came to mind: "My Girl" and every horror movie about dead people. Luckily this book was more the former than the latter. Jennifer was definitely more braver than I ever would be about living in a funeral home. Not that I have anything against the dead, but sharing my living space with them is not an ideal situation. I also love the cover for this book. It's very unique and really catches your eye. I think it's a book that you can't help but notice on the shelf because of the cover. It looks whimsical and chick lit-like but the story is more intense and serious. Many Christian novels do not portray those who are divorced in a positive light. It seems that the thinking of "forgive and forget" is still prevalent in a lot of people. Never mind that people were unfaithful or abusive, wives especially seem to be shown as being the one at fault. So it was refreshing in this story to see that the main character is divorced but not because she wants it. The novel is also written uniquely: both in first person from Jennifer's POV and from the other character's viewpoints as well. That way you could see things from everyone's perspective. The ending of this story is very shocking and really affects the reader as well as the characters. The characters are very memorable, each with their own quirks that will captivate the reader. This story is typical Angela Hunt: wonderfully written, a unique storyline and a message that will have an effect on you long after you finish the book. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Until then, I shall continue to ponder over what I learned from this book. Highly recommended.

Doesn't She Look Natural by Angela Hunt is the first book in the Fairlawn series about recent divorcee Jennifer Graham and her two sons: Clay and Bugs. Jennifer's divorce from her husband Thomas has left her jobless, homeless, and rudderless. She's living with her mother (a Red Hatter who's struggling not to resent her daughter's disruption of her empty nest life) when she receives an inheritance from a long lost great-uncle: a Victorian painted lady that just happens to be a funeral home in rural Florida. Jennifer takes her sons and mother down to Mt. Dora, Florida to see her new home, Fairlawn, and decides quickly to sell the monstrosity, but that proves easier said than done. I love this new series by Hunt, who never fails to satisfy. It's not chick lit, but it's not a mystery. It's a tale filled with conflicts: Jen and her mother clash regularly about parenting, Jen and Clay have normal teenage fueled arguments agitated by a neglectful father and the loss of everything familiar. The dialog zings, and it's obvious that Hunt spends time carefully crafting each sentence for maximum punch. Along the way, Jen learns a little more about God and what truly being his servant means. The end packs a serious unexpected punch. Definitely a noteworthy beginning to a series!

Doesn't She Look Natural lives up to Angela Hunt's "Expect the Unexpected" reputation.

Not only did this story entertain and pull me into the lives of a family in the midst of a huge season of testing and trial -- it also challenged me spiritually and twisted my heart.

The novel cover feels very Chick-Lit and the story is full of quirky characters behaving quirkily, but "Natural" is not a syrupy read. Set in a dilapidated funeral home in muggy Florida, there are elements of downright creepiness. Several moments of suspense had me holding my breath and turning pages. I find death and forensics fascinating and loved all the interesting details provided by Angie for my vicarious pleasure.

Family issues brought on by pain and sin were heartbreakingly real. But light moments and bittersweet tenderness peppered the narrative. I raised a son, so the scenes with the boys brought smiles or tears as Angie described boy-behavior spot-on.

Jennifer and her mother, Joella, were a little more difficult for me to embrace. Both sprouted some prickly exteriors and pricklier attitudes, but the changes within their relationship as they sorted out the details of Jennifer's devastation, made me almost stand up and cheer for them. The women at the conclusion of the final satisfying page were women I'd choose as friends.

This grown-up Chick-Lit is a delightful and thought-provoking read. I highly recommend it. Although the subject matter of divorce, infidelity and death is handled with dignity,those who are extremely squeamish or sensitive should be aware that Natural is not pure escapism. Fans of Angie Hunt should not be disappointed. Nor should fans of solid, honest, gut-level well-written fiction that just happens to contain abundant grace and hope.

I loved this book. I had to get past the whole concept which was easy the moment I started reading the book. I did not want to put it down. My emotions were involved. I understand more now about funeral homes and dying. The ending has several unexpected twists. I wanted to cry towards the end because I was feeling what the characters were feeling. Angela Hunt is truly a versatile author who has a great talent. Expect the Unexpected is her motto for her books. It is def. true in a great way. The characters are well developed and the concept unique. I highly recommend this book.

This series is one of the best I've read! It is heartwarming, funny, and addresses many issues we face. I loved it!

Wonderful book, lots of heart. Couldn't put it down, Bought a couple more for gifts after reading it.