Customer Reviews

East Hope

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

 

 

East Hope is a delight to read, full of characters so finely drawn that we follow them through their travails and triumphs with worry, anticipation, and quiet satisfaction at every step along their paths. The setting is so integral to the story, and so richly detailed, that we see the light and feel the cold and drive through the snow and taste the fish chowder along with the characters. These are real people with real problems, and real ups and downs in coping with them, sometimes well and sometimes not. The plot has more twists and turns than a maze, and it's a can't-put-it-down reading experience. As a fellow fiction writer, I am filled with admiration for Katharine Davis's writerly skill. Read it -- you'll be glad you did!

"East Hope" is the story of two people, each dealing with personal pain and having to re-make their lives. Caroline's husband, Harry, has died of a heart attack, leaving her a financial mess that forces her to sell their home in Maryland and search out a quieter, simpler life in Maine. Will is a professor at a women's college in Pennsylvania, until a false accusation causes him to have to leave his job. He takes a job managing a book store in a small Maine town, while his wife fast-tracks her career in New York City and their problems become as wide as the distance that separates them. Will and Caroline trade complicated city lives for a more quiet pace of life, where only the most important things matter. This is a love story, but a modern love story, complicated and full of reality. The author excels at describing the beauty of the coastal Maine town, its sturdy and caring inhabitants, and the careful hope of two broken people. I look forward to more from Katherine Davis (her previous novel, "Capturing Paris" was a delight also).

East Hope really kept my interest throughout the book. In fact, I couldn't put it down. The author's speech was somewhat simplistic, but I felt this was just regional flavor, and I enjoyed it. The characters seemed mostly believable. But then came the last page, which I felt was just such a let-down. It seemed that the writer just got tired of writing and walked away, letting the reader fend for themselves. It could use another 3 chapters and a different ending. But. . . I'll look for this author again, because with that exception, I enjoyed her writing very much.

I found this story charming and calming. Caroline is a rather gentle soul, a bit too dependent for my taste, but likable enough. She's a bit wrapped up in herself. Will is extremely likable, if a bit naive. They are a couple of misfits, but much preferable to high-powered achievers they both married.

Peripheral characters will well done, and I would like to have had more from them.

The mundane details helped create a strong sense of place. The plot line was not complex, but kept my interest

Davis has a charming style of writing that I enjoyed in "Capturing Paris," and I look forward to reading more from her. If you enjoy BEING there, I mean feeling the setting of the story, read this book.

A Maine village and Paris. A contrast for sure, but Davis captures each one well with engaging characters and stories.

I really loved East Hope, but there it could have had a little more character depth (Caroline & Will) and a little less sadness to the story. I really didn't love the ending. It could leave room for a sequel but should have tied up the "loose ends" a little better.

very charming story...i could almost smell the fog and sea air in Maine..loved the 2 main characters..only disappointment was the last paragraph.. i felt as if was left hanging over a cliff wondering if the seas were to be calm or stormy in the future..

I thoroughly enjoyed EAST HOPE. Katharine Davis is a wonderful writer, and the story is well told and holds your interest throughout. I loved the Maine setting and it was convincingly written. I totally disagree with the reviewer who didn't like Will and thought he was an idiot. I could understand Will. His problem is he and his wife were mismatched from the beginning. She wanted a different kind of life than he did and was just as unable to adapt to his life as he was to hers. I found all the characters real and believable, with the kinds of problems and decisions real humans make all the time. Sometimes the decisions are wise, but often they are not, and then we must live with the consequences, just as Will and Caroline must. Davis has done a fine job with EAST HOPE and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books in the future. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Katharine Davis, in East Hope, pens an extraordinary page turning read with descriptive characters, intrinsic scene details and transports the reader, to a locale that invites conversation. This book is a must read, fiction and non fiction lover's - it's exceptional.

The two primary characters, Caroline and Will invoke emotion for the reader and their story lines connect and weave a web with ebb and flow. As a Jodi Picoult fan, I found Davis' writing style refreshing, engaging and believable.

Laura's List: Books for Women
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Katherine Davis does a very good job describing her characters and her locations. Her main characters and their emotional responses to their life experiences are fully drawn and credible. I have a problem with Will though. We are supposed to be sympathetic to his resistence to join his wife's life in New York. However, he is a self-centered idiot who has no appreciation for his wife's professional accomplishments and has no ability to participate in what matters to her. The descriptions of Chevy Chase, MD, NYC, and East Hope, ME ring true. But the writing is pedestrian, and the plot seems like something that follows all the rules a writer might learn in a writing workshop.