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The House on Cherry Street
Michigan, 1941 - Grace, daughter of a wealthy furniture baron, can have anything she wants—except her one true love.
Scotland, 2014 - Charlotte has big plans for her summer--when a surprise letter from America changes everything . . .
Grace – Grace’s life is dictated by society and her father’s wishes, right down to the man she’ll marry. So when she falls for Georg, she must keep their love secret--all while keeping up the pretense of going steady with another man. As America is forced into WWII, Grace must fight for all she holds dear. Who is following her and Georg? Grace’s intended, or someone with more sinister plans? Grace thinks she knows who’s to blame, but as events unfold, she realizes all was not as it seemed . . .
Charlotte – When an out-of-the-blue plane ticket to America arrives, Charlotte decides to use it, even if this means putting wedding planning and the purchase of her dream bed and breakfast on hold. But her trip becomes a solitary stay in a crumbling mansion and a puzzle at every turn. Thankfully, her life back in Scotland is falling nicely into place—or is it? Meanwhile, missing documents leave her confounded. Will the house give up its secrets at last?
Scotland, 2014 - Charlotte has big plans for her summer--when a surprise letter from America changes everything . . .
Grace – Grace’s life is dictated by society and her father’s wishes, right down to the man she’ll marry. So when she falls for Georg, she must keep their love secret--all while keeping up the pretense of going steady with another man. As America is forced into WWII, Grace must fight for all she holds dear. Who is following her and Georg? Grace’s intended, or someone with more sinister plans? Grace thinks she knows who’s to blame, but as events unfold, she realizes all was not as it seemed . . .
Charlotte – When an out-of-the-blue plane ticket to America arrives, Charlotte decides to use it, even if this means putting wedding planning and the purchase of her dream bed and breakfast on hold. But her trip becomes a solitary stay in a crumbling mansion and a puzzle at every turn. Thankfully, her life back in Scotland is falling nicely into place—or is it? Meanwhile, missing documents leave her confounded. Will the house give up its secrets at last?
- GenresHistorical Fiction
277 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 2, 2023
4 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 17, 2023
I enjoy historical fiction, especially when it's set in my part of the world. The author intertwines the stories of two women who find themselves at a crossroads: one living at the brink of a World War, and another searching for her sense of purpose in a once-grand house. The author draws generously from her own life experiences and passions.
May 8, 2023
Writing a review for a debut novel is difficult. On the one hand, it is a tremendous amount of work to write and publish a book, and it takes much courage to be so vulnerable! On the other hand, constructive criticism can be very helpful and refine a writer's talent. I try to be honest in my reviews, but I also know I'm just one reader.
The book follows two women in two eras. Grace is the daughter of a wealthy furniture manufacturer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who falls in love with one of her father's German employees shortly before World War II. She pursues this forbidden romance in secret, even after Georg is fired and sent to a German relocation camp during the war. Her brother joins the service and stays in Scotland after the war. He becomes the grandfather of the second main character, Charlotte, whose story parallels Grace's.
Charlotte is a Scotland-born lass who is engaged to be married. In the middle of looking at houses and planning her honeymoon, she receives a plane ticket from a mysterious great-aunt from America who she's never met. Upon her arrival, she discovers this great-aunt has died and left her an enormous mansion with little explanation. A handyman is hired to help with renovations in preparation to sell the house. As she digs deeper into her past, the story of her great-aunt's forbidden romance is revealed as she discovers pieces of the mystery hidden throughout the house.
The author did a good job writing the story. She included a lot of little facts about Grand Rapids and Scotland that shows she's actually been to these places, not just writing about them. I loved the Scottish phrases and way of speaking that was part of Charlotte's vocabulary.
Some of the things that I thought could be improved upon were these:
🐙The characters needed more depth. Their thoughts were limited to what was going on around them and needed more personality so that I could connect and relate to them better. I felt like I was reading about a story rather than feeling like I was experiencing a person's life along with them, including thoughts seemingly unrelated to the situation that reveal their maturity level and personalities.
🐙The romances were too predictable. Grace's romance was introduced so early that there was very little connection with the reader. Charlotte's fiance was distant, uninterested, and barely part of the story, and it was inevitable that the attractive Michigan handyman who drank tea and knew how to make spaghetti sauce from scratch would be her true love.
🐙It was confusing whether this is a Christian fiction or not. It's a clean book overall, mentions church attendance, and generalities like God has a plan even in the darkness. But a basic gospel understanding is lacking (nominal Christian?), and there's no interaction with pastors, churches, or Bible verse hope.
🐙Because some of the information surrounding the manufacturing company, Grand Rapids during WWII, and even Scotland is lesser known to readers, it would have been nice to have more information and details there. Readers love to learn and travel places through books, and this type of information would have added depth to the story.
🐙It lacked unpredictable plot twists and impossibilities to overcome. I had questions at the end (maybe I missed the answers?). Was there a reason why Grace was so eager to have a German boyfriend but her controlling father was hostile toward them? Why wasn't she also prejudiced (at least, at first) if she was part of the elite, part of his home? Why was Charlotte so emotional over a great-aunt she'd never met? Where were her father's relatives? What about other family in Michigan, or those who knew the company or her relatives? Why didn't she travel to see the factory, or where it has been? Why wasn't the furniture line a bigger deal in her connection to her family? Why wasn't Grace's social circle a bigger part of the story? Why wasn't Charlotte focused on wedding details, even while in Michigan, especially with her wedding only a few months away? Also, Charlotte gets upset when her fiance breaks up, but wasn't she doing the same to him with the handyman?
🐙I have a hard time connecting to characters who fit an ideal rather than reality. Give them some character flaws that change and grow by the end. It's charming when a handyman who eats Cheetos and leaves his pop cans around the worksite starts taking initiative and shows thoughtfulness, more than the ideal guy who's already amazing. Honorable men are flawed and often rough around the edges. Men who know how to romance a woman too quickly make one wonder what their motives are and seem sketchy.
I would encourage the author to persevere though. Her writing style is engaging and she had a great plot to work with. This was an interesting story for what it was.
🍄The book included discussion questions.
The book follows two women in two eras. Grace is the daughter of a wealthy furniture manufacturer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who falls in love with one of her father's German employees shortly before World War II. She pursues this forbidden romance in secret, even after Georg is fired and sent to a German relocation camp during the war. Her brother joins the service and stays in Scotland after the war. He becomes the grandfather of the second main character, Charlotte, whose story parallels Grace's.
Charlotte is a Scotland-born lass who is engaged to be married. In the middle of looking at houses and planning her honeymoon, she receives a plane ticket from a mysterious great-aunt from America who she's never met. Upon her arrival, she discovers this great-aunt has died and left her an enormous mansion with little explanation. A handyman is hired to help with renovations in preparation to sell the house. As she digs deeper into her past, the story of her great-aunt's forbidden romance is revealed as she discovers pieces of the mystery hidden throughout the house.
The author did a good job writing the story. She included a lot of little facts about Grand Rapids and Scotland that shows she's actually been to these places, not just writing about them. I loved the Scottish phrases and way of speaking that was part of Charlotte's vocabulary.
Some of the things that I thought could be improved upon were these:
🐙The characters needed more depth. Their thoughts were limited to what was going on around them and needed more personality so that I could connect and relate to them better. I felt like I was reading about a story rather than feeling like I was experiencing a person's life along with them, including thoughts seemingly unrelated to the situation that reveal their maturity level and personalities.
🐙The romances were too predictable. Grace's romance was introduced so early that there was very little connection with the reader. Charlotte's fiance was distant, uninterested, and barely part of the story, and it was inevitable that the attractive Michigan handyman who drank tea and knew how to make spaghetti sauce from scratch would be her true love.
🐙It was confusing whether this is a Christian fiction or not. It's a clean book overall, mentions church attendance, and generalities like God has a plan even in the darkness. But a basic gospel understanding is lacking (nominal Christian?), and there's no interaction with pastors, churches, or Bible verse hope.
🐙Because some of the information surrounding the manufacturing company, Grand Rapids during WWII, and even Scotland is lesser known to readers, it would have been nice to have more information and details there. Readers love to learn and travel places through books, and this type of information would have added depth to the story.
🐙It lacked unpredictable plot twists and impossibilities to overcome. I had questions at the end (maybe I missed the answers?). Was there a reason why Grace was so eager to have a German boyfriend but her controlling father was hostile toward them? Why wasn't she also prejudiced (at least, at first) if she was part of the elite, part of his home? Why was Charlotte so emotional over a great-aunt she'd never met? Where were her father's relatives? What about other family in Michigan, or those who knew the company or her relatives? Why didn't she travel to see the factory, or where it has been? Why wasn't the furniture line a bigger deal in her connection to her family? Why wasn't Grace's social circle a bigger part of the story? Why wasn't Charlotte focused on wedding details, even while in Michigan, especially with her wedding only a few months away? Also, Charlotte gets upset when her fiance breaks up, but wasn't she doing the same to him with the handyman?
🐙I have a hard time connecting to characters who fit an ideal rather than reality. Give them some character flaws that change and grow by the end. It's charming when a handyman who eats Cheetos and leaves his pop cans around the worksite starts taking initiative and shows thoughtfulness, more than the ideal guy who's already amazing. Honorable men are flawed and often rough around the edges. Men who know how to romance a woman too quickly make one wonder what their motives are and seem sketchy.
I would encourage the author to persevere though. Her writing style is engaging and she had a great plot to work with. This was an interesting story for what it was.
🍄The book included discussion questions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2023
I am not a fast reader but this book definitely kept my attention. The story is fictional, but alternates on lives of a family between WW2 and 2014, chapter by chapter, at the House on Cherry Street. She has done a lot of research in creating a very believable read, as she has included very important information of an older Grand Rapids, and a more current Grand Rapids as well. She also shares the bitterness of WW2, and the horror that happened to our ancestors that came here to escape the life they had in Italy, Germany or Japan, for a better life in USA.
February 13, 2025
I really enjoyed the pace of this book. The author did a fantastic job inspiring me to want to keep reading as one chapter ended in one time period and the next started in the other.
Having just traveled to Scotland and living near GR, it was so fun to see those two worlds collide a little bit. I will say that most of the story is set in Michigan so I was hoping for a little more about Scotland.
The author balanced having romantic moments while remaining clean very well.
There were two different things that felt lacking to me.
One was that I would have enjoyed having the character profiles built up a little more. I was left with a lot of questions about some of the main characters. I think that if I know more about them, it would have drawn me in more emotionally. The sad moments would have been more sad, the happy moments would have been happier, etc.
For example: Who was George? Where did he come from? What was his personality? What were his strengths and weaknesses? Why did he and Grace love each other? What was it about George that made Grace not want to give up on their relationship in the face of such adversity and vis versa?
The other part that felt lacking was the ending. Maybe I overthought it, but it seemed like bits and pieces were left along the way that were going to tie together in a big reveal at the ending.
For example, I thought it was going to be revealed that Matthew was somehow related to one of the characters in the earlier time period so that there was a specific reason HE was brought into Charlotte’s life.
Overall, even though I only read occasionally, I’m very glad to have read this novel. It put several smiles on my face. I would definitely recommend it and I hope I get to read more from this author in the future!
PS Why was the house on Cherry Street in such rough shape? I might have missed that part.
Having just traveled to Scotland and living near GR, it was so fun to see those two worlds collide a little bit. I will say that most of the story is set in Michigan so I was hoping for a little more about Scotland.
The author balanced having romantic moments while remaining clean very well.
There were two different things that felt lacking to me.
One was that I would have enjoyed having the character profiles built up a little more. I was left with a lot of questions about some of the main characters. I think that if I know more about them, it would have drawn me in more emotionally. The sad moments would have been more sad, the happy moments would have been happier, etc.
For example: Who was George? Where did he come from? What was his personality? What were his strengths and weaknesses? Why did he and Grace love each other? What was it about George that made Grace not want to give up on their relationship in the face of such adversity and vis versa?
The other part that felt lacking was the ending. Maybe I overthought it, but it seemed like bits and pieces were left along the way that were going to tie together in a big reveal at the ending.
For example, I thought it was going to be revealed that Matthew was somehow related to one of the characters in the earlier time period so that there was a specific reason HE was brought into Charlotte’s life.
Overall, even though I only read occasionally, I’m very glad to have read this novel. It put several smiles on my face. I would definitely recommend it and I hope I get to read more from this author in the future!
PS Why was the house on Cherry Street in such rough shape? I might have missed that part.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2023
Would you travel to a foreign country to visit a distant aunt if given a plane ticket a few weeks before your wedding? I would! The story starts with a hidden romance set in the 1940's, but quickly switches to present day Charlotte, a young lady from Scotland who's busy with wedding plans and dreams of owning a B&B.
A letter arrives and off she goes to America to meet her aunt, but she is in for a few disappointments and surprises along the way. I really enjoyed this novel. The writing was engaging, and the story moved at a good pace. I liked the switching back and forth between time periods and the two main female characters--especially Charlotte who was very relatable.
Although it was a little obvious who Charlotte would end up with, I didn't mind it at all since I wanted the characters to be together. On the other hand, if there was one thing I wished this book had done, it would be a little more character development of Georg, the German immigrant, who Grace is in love with. Because the romance is already in progress on page one, I would have liked to know Georg better since Grace is willing to go to great lengths to be with him despite opposition.
Having said that, I had trouble putting the book down and was satisfied with the ending. I'd definitely read more books by the author!
A letter arrives and off she goes to America to meet her aunt, but she is in for a few disappointments and surprises along the way. I really enjoyed this novel. The writing was engaging, and the story moved at a good pace. I liked the switching back and forth between time periods and the two main female characters--especially Charlotte who was very relatable.
Although it was a little obvious who Charlotte would end up with, I didn't mind it at all since I wanted the characters to be together. On the other hand, if there was one thing I wished this book had done, it would be a little more character development of Georg, the German immigrant, who Grace is in love with. Because the romance is already in progress on page one, I would have liked to know Georg better since Grace is willing to go to great lengths to be with him despite opposition.
Having said that, I had trouble putting the book down and was satisfied with the ending. I'd definitely read more books by the author!
July 28, 2023
In Avonlea Krueger's dual timeline, debut novel, the intrigue begins on the very first page and kept me turning the pages until the end. The stories play out in the 1940's in Michigan just as the US enters WWII and in contemporary Scotland and Michigan. Privileged Grace Whittard finds herself in love with a forbidden young German immigrant, but her dad expects her to married his righthand man. Feel the tension... Then jump to Scotland in 2014 where engaged Charlotte has received an invitation from her great aunt to come to America. But when Charlotte arrives, her aunt has mysteriously disappeared. With the help of a benevolent neighbor and a good-looking handyman, Charlotte tries to find and put together the pieces of her granddad's and great aunt's past. The two stories converge in a beautiful and surprising way. The action, intrigue and warm emotion evoked in this hopeful love story will not disappoint.
June 5, 2023
This beautifully written story is exquisitely narrated. I found myself searching through the house on Cherry Street with Charlotte and experiencing news of Pearl Harbor with Grace. In every second that I listed to the audiobook, my disbelief was suspended. I became part of the house, part of Cherry Street. I longed for peace, longed for hearts to mend, and longed for survival right along with the characters. What I love best about the novel is how it reveals to readers and listeners the plight of patriotic immigrants who were in this country when we went to war. It wasn't pretty. War never is. This book, however, is incredibly beautiful and evokes compassion and empathy for survivors of WWII. Just splendid.
May 29, 2023
First time author, Avonlea Q. Krueger, weaves the lives of two characters from different times so well that you cannot help but believe them to be real. As a lover of historical fiction, the events and history of WW2 that are the basis of the story is riveting. It is obvious the author spent a lot time researching for this book. I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to more books by this author.
May 5, 2025
First of all, it’s really rare for me to give a book a five-star review. Usually a good satisfying book just gets a four-star from me but this book knocked it out of the park. Beautifully written and made me fall in love with all the characters. It was a true gem.. A one-of-a-kind engrossing novel. First-time author Avonlea Krueger hit it out of the park!
September 7, 2023
A sweet duel timeline WWII/modern day romance.
May 29, 2024
Highly recommend this historical fiction novel!
July 22, 2024
It was fun to read a local author and set in Grand Rapids!
November 10, 2024
I love historical fiction and I could not put this book down! Very well written and I love the paralell stories at different eras.
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February 4, 2025Lovely book! I am from the GR area, so a lot of the locations were familiar, which was fun. Avonlea is a friend, and I can see glimpses of her personality in this book. Highly recommend!
March 8, 2025
Great plot, hard to put down, and the different stories are connected to well. Split time novels are some of my favorites and this one did a great job.
May 29, 2023
This enterprising story works on several levels.
Obvious is the novel's two-fold timetable - set in both the 20th and the 21st centuries more than 60 years apart.
But the one constant is the house - a large lovely home set near the center city of Grand Rapids, Mich.
The stately house leads the way in the story of those who lived there in both eras.
The main characters - Grace and Charlotte - and are lovingly intertwined although do not come together either in Charlotte's native Scotland or in Grace's Michigan homestead distanced by the decades.
As inevitable changes occur - to both them and the house - Charlotte learns Grace's story and embraces her mysterious past and welcome an curiously unfolding adventurous future.
Obvious is the novel's two-fold timetable - set in both the 20th and the 21st centuries more than 60 years apart.
But the one constant is the house - a large lovely home set near the center city of Grand Rapids, Mich.
The stately house leads the way in the story of those who lived there in both eras.
The main characters - Grace and Charlotte - and are lovingly intertwined although do not come together either in Charlotte's native Scotland or in Grace's Michigan homestead distanced by the decades.
As inevitable changes occur - to both them and the house - Charlotte learns Grace's story and embraces her mysterious past and welcome an curiously unfolding adventurous future.
December 30, 2024
It was fun reading of places I know but it needed a more careful editing.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews