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Winter Garden
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn't know her mother? From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last timeand all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.
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Nebklvr
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Mehso-so

I liked this one but the story felt very familiar as well as fairly forgettable.

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Coleen
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

Kristin Hannah tends to be hit or miss for me as far as the writing itself. I like her stories, but not always her writing style, though she has matured and her more recent novels are better. This one falls somewhere in between for me, actually somewhere between a pick and a so-so. The second half was definitely stronger than the first.

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sblbooks
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

While not my favorite Hannah, I loved the historical bits about the siege of Leningrad. I had to knock off a star for the "lack of communication" trope.

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sblbooks
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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#snowedIn @puddlejumper
An Unwanted Guest and Northern Lights

#BookedInTime early medieval January 2024
@cuilin @dabbe The Road To Jerusalem

#SeasonalCozies @JulieClair
Murder on New Year's Eve

#ChildrensClassicRead2024 @TheBookHippie
The Rescuers

#MiddleGradeMarch Book Club on YouTube
The Winter King

#JanuaryTBR #WeatherForecast @Cinfhen

Cuilin Great choice 👍 3mo
PuddleJumper 💙❄️💙 3mo
dabbe On the #BookedInTime spreadsheet! 🤩 3mo
julieclair What a nice variety of books! 3mo
29 likes4 comments
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rebbyj
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
Mehso-so

Sweet

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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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One of my favorites set in winter ❄️ Another one is No Exit 🥶

#SundayFunday

5feet.of.fury No Exit was so good! Thank you for reminding me I haven‘t watched the adaptation yet 4mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @5feet.of.fury I haven‘t either! I need to fix that! 4mo
BookmarkTavern Hannah‘s an excellent choice! Thanks for posting! 4mo
47 likes3 comments
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BarkingMadRead
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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I made my #bookspinbingo #wintergames TBR stack! It‘s little eclectic but I‘m looking forward to trying to get them read!! I have some ARCs too, but I didn‘t include them. #snowflakesquad @PuddleJumper @TheAromaofBooks

5feet.of.fury ACOMAF 💚 4mo
Faranae What's the red bound book on the top right? It looks so charming! 4mo
BarkingMadRead @Faranae it‘s a Christmas Carol 😍 4mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 4mo
PuddleJumper Looks great! Very festive colours 4mo
41 likes5 comments
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Maggie_Reads
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

Have some tissues handy. This one gets you hard in the feels…😭😭😭

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Allthebookclubs
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

I wasn‘t expecting the sadness in this book. WWII books take so much from me, as they should because we should NEVER forget the atrocities humans imposed on each other. I love KH books and while this one hurt, it was very good. Book #30 in 2023

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NovelNancyM
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Panpan

My least favorite of the Kristin Hannah books I've read. A friend recommended this one, but I found the plot line too cliched and found the character Meredith annoying. The ending was too neat and tidy too.

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CoffeeNBooks
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Loved this one 📚💙🥶 1y
Eggs Perfect 👍🏼❄️💙 1y
52 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Read4life
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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#ManicMonday #LetterW @CBee
📖 Winter Garden, Wish You Were Here
🖋 Stuart Woods
📺 West Wing, Will & Grace, White Collar
🎤 Whitesnake
🎶 Who Says You Can‘t Go Home (Bon Jovi), Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi), Waiting on Superman (Daughtry), Walk Like an Egyptian (The Bangles)

peaKnit Nice The Bangles for #manicmonday ! 1y
38 likes1 comment
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Eggs
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Great choice 💙 1y
Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❄️💙❄️ 1y
48 likes2 comments
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Read4life
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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#12BooksOf2022 Day 2 #February @Andrew65

One of my favorites of the year.

Andrew65 One on my radar at the moment. 1y
BooksNBowls I read this last January and STILL think about it to this day.. 💙 1y
39 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Read4life
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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#AdventRecommends @emilyrose_x

I forgot to post this yesterday.
Kristin Hannah has become a favorite author of mine over the last year and a half. I read this book in February and it‘s a finalist for my favorite book of the year.

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Tove_Reads
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Too many books to read, can‘t make up my mind what to read next, so I‘ll go for these five 🤣🤣 Only three are crime books, so feeling quite proud of myself! I‘m so lucky to live during a time we have an endless supply of great books! #WinterReadathon

Andrew65 Definitely good reading ahead. 1y
34 likes1 comment
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Read4life
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

1. I usually have multiple books going at the same time.
2. Winter Garden by Hannah has been one of my favorites this year. I bailed on The Silent Ones. I just couldn‘t get into the story and wasn‘t enjoying the narration.

Eggs Agreed on Winter Garden—so good 😢 1y
34 likes1 comment
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SheReadsAndWrites
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Bailedbailed

I'm going to be the unpopular opinion here and admit I DNF this one. I read 48% of it and still just couldn't stay. Meredith and Nina were just a hamster wheel of the same emotions/excuses/lack of communication and I figured out that not having the mother's POV made me have no interest in her story. Having said that, Hannah's writing is great. Truly. It's what kept me reading for as long as I did. #sosorry #dnf

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BilboBookends
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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“To lose love is a terrible thing. But to turn away from it is unbearable. Will you spend the rest of your life replaying it in your head? Wondering if you walked away too soon or too easily? Or if you'll ever love anyone that deeply again?”

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Read4life
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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#AlphabetGame #LetterW

One of my favorites by Hannah. Just love this book.

AmyK1 Mine too! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love this one!! 2y
33 likes2 comments
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AmyK1
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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There are so many good books that begin with the #letterW but I had to go with this one-it‘s one of my favorites.

#alphabetgame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I loved this one!! 2y
29 likes1 comment
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stavreskad
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

All I can say is that you have to read this book,to feel the story,the pain...
I'm speechless.
It's one of my top 10 reads of all time. It's definitely a story you'll never forget.
📚 Macedonian cover and edition.

You can follow me on IG where I write book reviews.
https://www.instagram.com/stavreskad

KristiAhlers That‘s a lovely cover! 2y
stavreskad @KristiAhlers right? I like it better than the original one 2y
22 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Bec_lectic
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

Hannah pulls the heart strings again! What a story! Nina and Meredith‘s mom has been distant their whole life and it isn‘t until their fathers passing that the truth of why comes out. I‘ll admit the book starts out slow but the story that unfolds at the end is well worth sticking it out for. Make sure you have tissues handy if you‘re an emotional reader. Powerful story and awe for the men and women that endured the storyline of this book.

48 likes1 stack add
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Read4life
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Here‘s my 2022 Reading Bracket through April. I read many really good books Jan-Apr. Kristin Hannah‘s Winter Garden just couldn‘t be beat.

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CoffeeNBooks
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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tpixie Loved this! Loved how this unfolds! 2y
Eggs So beautiful 😭 2y
CoffeeNBooks @tpixie It was a great book! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love this one! 2y
tpixie @CoffeeNBooks so glad you enjoyed it! 2y
54 likes5 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

I had mixed feelings about this one. I actually loved the story, and loved the story-within-a-story. But the beginning was a struggle because I disliked all three women (and I hate it when people, in fiction or in real life, go around saying things like "I know I should talk about X with Y or else LITERALLY OUR WHOLE RELATIONSHIP WILL TANK but I just can't be bothered right now" just UGH), but I have heard many good things about Hannah's writing⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) so I stuck it out, and I'm glad I did. Once the actual story of this mother sharing her story with her (adult) daughters got rolling, it was thoroughly engaging. It was also weird because I had just finished reading a WWII story set in Poland, and then ended up reading this one with a section of the book set in WWII in Russia, so a different perspective on the same setting. It was a hard story to read but really good. I think my main ⬇ 2y
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) issues were over how long it took for all of this to come out, so I'll put some ??? in the spoiler comment below.

This book was a birthday gift in 2020 from @AmyK1 so thank you so much for it and I finally actually read it!!

#Roll100 - February @PuddleJumper
#RoadTripUSA2022 - Alaska @megnews
#19822022 - 2010 @Librarybelle
#MtTBR
#BookSpinBingo
2y
PuddleJumper Awesome! 2y
See All 8 Comments
TheAromaofBooks I just couldn't get past that their mom had treated them so poorly for their entire lives. Why did she even HAVE children if she was going to purposely try not to love them!? I can understand that her story was so traumatic that she wouldn't want to share it - but why didn't their dad give them more insight into their mom's character when the girls were older instead of just telling them to “try harder“?? The absolute waste of years really got me. 2y
Librarybelle Hooray! I have a copy of this that I keep thinking I need to read sooner rather than later 2y
SheReadsAndWrites Oh my goodness! I've been struggling to articulate how I've been feeling about Meredith and Nina and you nailed it! Hannah writes depth of emotion so well, but I went from feeling for the 2 women to "At some point ya'll need to address this stuff!" ? 1y
TheAromaofBooks @SheReadsAndWrites - Thank you!! I had such mixed feelings about this one! I actually loved the story and I even liked these characters, but their lack of communication started to drive me crazy, especially when they kept saying “oh wow if only I would talk with her we could work this out, but I guess I don't have time for that right now“ Like ??!?!? Oh my gosh! 😂 1y
SheReadsAndWrites My book club met today and discussed it and agreed to that, for sure. It made for a really good book club discussion. 1y
77 likes8 comments
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TheAromaofBooks
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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My #BookReport is a little light on actual completions, although I did wrap up two of my not-pictured chapter-a-day reads this week as well lol I finished Priory (finally) and breezed through Coffin Road in a day. I struggled with In Other Lands before deciding it just wasn't for me (the MC was soooo whiny and annoying, and the story was just all over the place). My next draw was Winter Garden. I really had trouble with the first hundred pages ⬇

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) because I found all three women to be quite bitchy in their own unique ways, but I persevered because I know so many people love Hannah's writing. Things have gotten better now that people are actually TALKING TO EACH OTHER so I'll see this one through to the end. This past week was super busy as I started doing some spring work at the orchard, worked for my grandparents for a day, and had to do my side gig with my sister (we walk around⬇ 2y
TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) and read all the water meters in our village - not hard, but time consuming lol) all this week, so there just wasn't a lot of spare reading time, especially since I was also way into finishing my play-through of RDR2 😅 Hopefully this next week will be a little calmer!!! @Cinfhen 2y
Cinfhen Sounds like a SUPER BUSY WEEK!!! Can‘t believe you didn‘t bail on priory 😁did you end up liking it??? 2y
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TheAromaofBooks @Cinfhen - I am glad I finished it, but there were several things that I had issues with, so it didn't become a new favorite or anything lol But it was interesting to read something printed in the genre so recently, to see where things are going with high fantasy. What's your favorite book you've read recently?? 2y
Cinfhen Good question!!! I liked these two very much / 2y
Cinfhen But I feel like I haven‘t read a book that blew me away yet this year 2y
TheAromaofBooks @Cinfhen - Those both sound good!! I also haven't had a book yet this year that has immediately become a personal classic, although I've read plenty I liked. Just nothing *magical*! 2y
Cinfhen Exactly/ I love that word…magical ♥️ 2y
63 likes9 comments
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Karons1
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Mehso-so

Tbh I would have bailed if it wasn‘t our village bookclub choice , it did pick up after 200 pages so towards the end , I seem to be in a minority with not enjoying this , personally I think the siege & the bronze horseman far superior

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Danay
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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22 #20 I seem to have a theme going with these last two books. Missed opportunities. Live your like without regrets. Speak love.

6 likes1 stack add
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MysticFaerie
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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4.5⭐/5⭐

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Read4life
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Wasn‘t even a contest. Best read of the month for me hands down.

BooksNBowls Winter Garden was my January pick! Such a good one! 2y
AmyK1 Winter Garden is one of my favorites 😍 2y
33 likes2 comments
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Read4life
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Ended February with 3 bingos.
11 of my reads were owned TBR books so I cleared out some space for new books. 🤓

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Fantastic month!!! 2y
31 likes1 comment
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TheAromaofBooks
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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#weeklyforecast - I whittled several books off the windowsill this past week, but a bunch of March "assignments" have been added! This pile doesn't even include my chapter-a-day reads (North & South, The Other Bennet Sister, Clanlands, and Ivanhoe). Several of these are carryovers from February, plus I have thrown in the next Bridgerton book into the mix. My current system involves doing a random draw for the next book in this pile to read, and⬇️

TheAromaofBooks (cont'd) it's working really well for me. I'm a little scared of Priory, but 2022 is all about tackling some chunkier books that I've been putting off, so I'm going get to it!! No way that I could resist that gorgeous cover forever! @Cinfhen 2y
Cinfhen The sill is looking very manageable 😍and I‘ve heard this book is worthy of its tome 2y
BookBosomed1 I‘ve heard Priory is fantastic. 2y
See All 10 Comments
Laughterhp You should love Priory of the Orange Tree, it‘s SO good!! 2y
Suet624 Random draws are the best. 😂 2y
Addison_Reads I really need to read Priory of the Orange Tree. I've had it forever but keep avoiding it because of its size. Maybe I'll add it to my March #BookSpinBingo 2y
MeganAnn I‘ll add my love for Priory of the Orange Tree 💖 It‘s SO good and well worth the long page count. 2y
TheAromaofBooks @Cinfhen @BookBosomed1 @Laughterhp @Addison_Reads @MeganAnn - I'm really looking forward to reading it!! I've put it off because of its size intimidates me, but I'm really enjoying getting some of these fatter books checked off the list!!! 2y
TheAromaofBooks @Suet624 - My entire complicated book-reading system is based on multiple random draws working together 😂 I may need help! 2y
Cinfhen @jenniferw88 just reviewed Priory and gave it 5 stars!!! Hope you LOVE it too 2y
77 likes10 comments
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Read4life
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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My reading list for the #20in4 Readathon hosted by @Andrew65
I‘ll have some travel time to read, but it‘ll be a busy volleyball weekend. 🚙📚🏐

Andrew65 Great to have you with us, good luck. 😊👍 2y
39 likes1 stack add1 comment
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HufflepuffGirl90
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

#Booked2022 #weathertermtitle

I loved listening to this audiobook!
It‘s such a heartwarming and heartbreaking novel.

Cinfhen Nice choice! Well played 😁 2y
34 likes1 comment
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TheAromaofBooks
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Woohoo!! @PuddleJumper announced the February numbers for #Roll100 !! I am reading Family for Beginners, which I'm excited about because I've really enjoyed every Sarah Morgan book I've read so far. Winter Garden was a gift from @AmyK1 over a year ago so it's definitely due to be read. I'm stoked!!

I still have one of my January numbers to read, but am definitely planning to get to it, hopefully this week!

AmyK1 Yay! Can‘t wait to hear what you think of it! 2y
PuddleJumper Ooh, looks fun! 2y
71 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BooksNBowls
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

Just finished my #bookspin pick with tears in my eyes. Of course Kristen Hannah never disappoints! What a beautifully tragic story! 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

37 likes1 stack add
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BooksNBowls
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Let‘s gooooo! #bookspin #doublespin

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aperfectmjk
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

I finally finished this one last night. I started it last year, and just never picked it back up. Then they added it to Kindle Unlimited with the audio, SCORE! #WGWordsearch - 4,110

Everything Kristin Hannah touches is pure magic.

#WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers @StayCurious

aperfectmjk @Jadams1776 using prompt 24 2y
TheSpineView Excellant! 📕📖📚 2y
See All 8 Comments
Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏 2y
TheAromaofBooks This one was gifted to me last year but I still haven't read it!! 2y
aperfectmjk @TheAromaofBooks it's pretty good. I still like The Nightingale best though. 2y
Jadams89 🎁🎉👍🏻🎄 2y
keys_on_fire On my shelf…maybe for WG2022 😝 2y
39 likes8 comments
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Blueberry
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love this book!!! 2y
54 likes1 comment
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vonnie862
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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1. Tagged
2. When I am visiting a place, yes. I can't imagine living in an area that snows though.
3. Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman

#sundayfunday @ozma.of.oz

BookmarkTavern Nice pick for 3! It‘s got some gorgeous artwork! Thanks for posting! 2y
17 likes1 comment
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KristiAhlers
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Mehso-so

Ugh I‘m so conflicted about this. First it was so slow to start and the ending seemed so random to me. I have enjoyed many of this authors books but this one just seemed to try too hard but couldn‘t deliver 100%.

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Rissreads
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

I listened to this for my school book club. It was a pick but only just. I don‘t like things that are neatly tied up with a bow. Very predictable. Next!

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SaraHasClass
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Mehso-so

Anya has spent her whole life avoiding loving her daughters. They feel despised by her and at fault. Upon the death bed of their beloved father, he makes them all promise to know one another. Only Anya's love for him gets her to reveal her true self to her daughters. In turn, they learn much more about who they are. For me this book had a slow start & a slow build, but by the end I was devouring pages.

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BayouGirl85
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Mehso-so

To be truthful, I almost put it down at first because I didn't like many of the characters. The idea of two daughters with a Russian mother was intriguing to me. It moved SO slow. The book was extremely sad to think that these two gals went most of their life with a cold mother and knew nothing about her. The ending gave me WTF issues big time. How does it just do a 180 and get happy.

April Book 25/25 #LitsyLove #doublespin @TheAromaOfBooks

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 3y
Chrissyreadit Checking to make sure you received your match for the Staycation In Time Swap 3y
BayouGirl85 @Chrissyreadit I sure did. Super excited. 3y
Karons1 Hi 👋🏻 I‘m reading it now for my bookclub and finding it v slow thinking 🤔 where is this going ??? If it wasn‘t a bookclub read I‘d dnf it ! 2y
23 likes4 comments
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Kgaudiuso
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
Pickpick

I loved this book so much. As usual, Kristin Hannah hooked me immediately with her writing style and drew me in with descriptive chapters. I could barely put this book down. I can‘t wait to read the next one of hers that I have for my book club.

3 likes1 stack add
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momchalance
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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It was all out there—the mystery, the beauty; beyond her ability to see now, but there just the same. It was simply a matter of timing and perspective, what one saw.
Kristin Hannah, Winter Garden

My favorite reading spot of 2020, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

#GrandTetons #Wyoming #Mountains #Travel

rather_be_reading 😍😍 3y
5 likes1 comment
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Kelly326
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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My March #bookspinbingo list. Lots of books to help ✅ off some challenge prompts in here. Still behind on my Goodreads goal thanks to January. Hoping spring break at the beach will help catch me up!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
4 likes1 comment
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candc320
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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Pickpick

I think Kristin Hannah might be one of my new favorite authors! Her books are so captivating and heartbreaking and I‘m completely convinced she wants to make her readers ugly cry constantly. My favorite aspect of this story was the inclusion of a fairy tale to relay a horrific time in history and it‘s devastating impact on the characters. Just brilliant! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 * this was also my #doublebookspin for Feb‘s #bookspinbingo

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3y
28 likes1 comment
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aperfectmjk
Winter Garden | Kristin Hannah
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I also started Winter Garden for #WinterGames2020 and #bookspinbingo in December and sadly, it's the only book I didn't finish on my card. #readnosedreindeer #ReadYourWay #CrushTheRush #ChristmasSpirit #nicnaxbookclubbingo #WinterSolstice #shutdownreadathon

TheAromaofBooks So close!! This one is on my TBR shelf as well. 3y
TheSpineView 👍📖📚 3y
DieAReader 👍🏻📚 3y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick You had a great reading month!! Well done 👏 👏 👏 3y
24 likes5 comments