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Arbor Vitae
Abby Graham is uncommonly lovely, happy and content with her life, but when she finds herself a widow just a week before her 40th birthday, the secure world that she thought was permanent is suddenly on very shaky ground. Struggling to work through her grief, she always puts her children’s needs first, leaving little time for herself.
Five years later her youngest child leaves for college and Abby decides to kick start a new lease on life by returning to the dating scene, as well as transforming the backyard of her home into an oasis of beauty and tranquility.
She hires Clancy O’Connor, a high-spirited young landscape architect who is trying to build a business. Clancy develops a serious crush on the beautiful widow before their first meeting is finished. It's a recipe for heartache; even though Abby seems remarkably comfortable with Clancy’s lesbianism, Clancy is unable to imagine that Abby would be willing to take the leap given the differences in their age, class, wealth and lifestyles.
As Abby reveals more of herself to Clancy during their many hours of consultation, the connection between them begins to spark. After an evening of small intimacies and shared dreams, the women can no longer fight their mutual desire. Although Abby has her doubts about the future, she and Clancy embark on a torrid love affair… but all too soon a threat develops that could destroy the tentative bond that holds them together.
Five years later her youngest child leaves for college and Abby decides to kick start a new lease on life by returning to the dating scene, as well as transforming the backyard of her home into an oasis of beauty and tranquility.
She hires Clancy O’Connor, a high-spirited young landscape architect who is trying to build a business. Clancy develops a serious crush on the beautiful widow before their first meeting is finished. It's a recipe for heartache; even though Abby seems remarkably comfortable with Clancy’s lesbianism, Clancy is unable to imagine that Abby would be willing to take the leap given the differences in their age, class, wealth and lifestyles.
As Abby reveals more of herself to Clancy during their many hours of consultation, the connection between them begins to spark. After an evening of small intimacies and shared dreams, the women can no longer fight their mutual desire. Although Abby has her doubts about the future, she and Clancy embark on a torrid love affair… but all too soon a threat develops that could destroy the tentative bond that holds them together.
461 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2006
22 people are currently reading
483 people want to read
About the author
Susan X. Meagher
59 books370 followersSusan X Meagher was born in southern Illinois and grew up in East St Louis. She attended college in Chicago and started her working career there. She and her partner moved to the Los Angeles area in the late 80's. It was there that she started to write. Her first few books were simply posted on the web and became the I Found My Heart in San Francisco series. In 2002 she moved to New York and divides her time between Manhattan and the Jersey Shore. She has published thirteen books in the series and has gone on to write many individual books as well. She has partnered with other authors on two short story books and has written many stories that have been published in other mainstream anthologies. Susan is active in the lesbian author community and loves to attend Women's week at Provincetown and the GCLS annual conventions. Her stories revolve around the relationships that two women can build when given a chance and how those relationships can strengthen the individual and the partnership. Her genre is lesbian romance/fiction and she believes strongly in the happy ending that we all so deserve. Susan X Meagher was awarded a 2011 Lesbian Fiction Readers’ Choice Award for Favorite Lesbian Fiction Writer. She is the recipient of the 2014 Alice B. Medal for her body of work.
From the author's website: I live in New York with my spouse, Carrie. We've lived in Chicago and Los Angeles for significant periods, but New York fits us very well. I love to discuss my work and fiction in general. My goal in writing is to explore feelings. I want to entertain, but I also want to make people think. I've heard that life is all about finding out who we are. To me, life if about finding out who other people are. I'm interested in the small details of life, that's how a story about two young women in college is slowly becoming a 26 book series. The joke in Seinfield was that it was about nothing. I feel the same about most of my books. They are about the many things that happen when nothing is happening. The small joys and sorrows of everyday life can be fascinating, especially if you care about the people involved. I try to create characters that will make a reader care deeply. I'm always interested in hearing how close I am to that goal. So please drop me a line whenever you have a comment or a question about a story. Writing is a pretty solitary pursuit and it's great to know that I'm not alone.
From the author's website: I live in New York with my spouse, Carrie. We've lived in Chicago and Los Angeles for significant periods, but New York fits us very well. I love to discuss my work and fiction in general. My goal in writing is to explore feelings. I want to entertain, but I also want to make people think. I've heard that life is all about finding out who we are. To me, life if about finding out who other people are. I'm interested in the small details of life, that's how a story about two young women in college is slowly becoming a 26 book series. The joke in Seinfield was that it was about nothing. I feel the same about most of my books. They are about the many things that happen when nothing is happening. The small joys and sorrows of everyday life can be fascinating, especially if you care about the people involved. I try to create characters that will make a reader care deeply. I'm always interested in hearing how close I am to that goal. So please drop me a line whenever you have a comment or a question about a story. Writing is a pretty solitary pursuit and it's great to know that I'm not alone.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 1, 2017
Fabulous book! long but worth the time to read this incredibly and also entertaining love story..brimming with a few unbelievable characters who the author really took the time to defined and developed in this solid storyline..nice outcome at the end (paperback!)
October 1, 2018
It took me 6 days to finish this book which is longer than it normally takes me to read a book of this length and there are several reasons for that. A large part was because of the writing style. The 3rd person omniscient POV, or head hopping, whatever you want to call it, really wasn't my kinda thing.
I think the other part was because Meagher writes about day to day life whereas normally I read novels that tend to have a certain build up that I somehow felt missing here. Though the story is written well enough to keep me reading and eventually finish the book, I never felt in a rush to get home or to immediately start reading again unlike with most other books. For example with "All That Matters" which I had trouble putting down.
The main characters, Clancy and Abby, were quite likable though I had to roll my eyes several times, like when in Clancy's case she would throw a tantrum or Abby would slip into full on "the world is ending" mode. That spike in drama was sometimes a little too.. well.. dramatic and felt a little over the top.
There are quite a couple of secondary characters introduced as well. Some were obviously more likable than others but they each had a distinct role to play that worked great to really add to the overall plot. But there is 1 of these characters that ruined the book for me because of the way she was written. I'm talking about Abby's daughter Hayley.
Here's some backstory about me that you didn't ask for but you're getting anyway. A month after I turned 17 my mom unexpectedly passed away. Unlike Abby and Will who met in college, my parents were high school sweethearts. Oddly enough, just like between Hayley and Trevor, my brother is also 7 years older than I am. That's one hell of a coincidence but it's also why some parts of the story hit me like a freight train.
Now I know that everyone deals with grief in their own way but every time I saw the name Hayley, once she found out about her mother's relationship with Clancy, it was like that Ironside music from Kill Bill started playing in my head. Every time things seemed to be going smoothly between Abby and Clancy there was Satan's spawn Hayley to mess it all up again. I could never imagine myself acting the way she did.
Despite this female version of Damien Thorn, I managed to finish this book. But i'm damn glad it's over now!
I think the other part was because Meagher writes about day to day life whereas normally I read novels that tend to have a certain build up that I somehow felt missing here. Though the story is written well enough to keep me reading and eventually finish the book, I never felt in a rush to get home or to immediately start reading again unlike with most other books. For example with "All That Matters" which I had trouble putting down.
The main characters, Clancy and Abby, were quite likable though I had to roll my eyes several times, like when in Clancy's case she would throw a tantrum or Abby would slip into full on "the world is ending" mode. That spike in drama was sometimes a little too.. well.. dramatic and felt a little over the top.
There are quite a couple of secondary characters introduced as well. Some were obviously more likable than others but they each had a distinct role to play that worked great to really add to the overall plot. But there is 1 of these characters that ruined the book for me because of the way she was written. I'm talking about Abby's daughter Hayley.
Here's some backstory about me that you didn't ask for but you're getting anyway. A month after I turned 17 my mom unexpectedly passed away. Unlike Abby and Will who met in college, my parents were high school sweethearts. Oddly enough, just like between Hayley and Trevor, my brother is also 7 years older than I am. That's one hell of a coincidence but it's also why some parts of the story hit me like a freight train.
Now I know that everyone deals with grief in their own way but every time I saw the name Hayley, once she found out about her mother's relationship with Clancy, it was like that Ironside music from Kill Bill started playing in my head. Every time things seemed to be going smoothly between Abby and Clancy there was Satan's spawn Hayley to mess it all up again. I could never imagine myself acting the way she did.
Despite this female version of Damien Thorn, I managed to finish this book. But i'm damn glad it's over now!
July 24, 2025
I always enjoy a well-done age gap romance story, and this is one of the best I've read so far. It might be a tad bit too long in some parts, but overall I loved the book a lot. All the characters felt real, and the problems that come with having huge differences in age were explored well. Recommend to everyone.
EDIT: Just as good on my 3rd read.
EDIT: This book will always be amazing. Absolutely loved my fourth read of the book. Looks like I last read it mid pandemic four years ago, and it felt somewhat fresh again. I'll return to this book in another four years for sure.
EDIT: Just as good on my 3rd read.
EDIT: This book will always be amazing. Absolutely loved my fourth read of the book. Looks like I last read it mid pandemic four years ago, and it felt somewhat fresh again. I'll return to this book in another four years for sure.
August 30, 2017
This is another excellent read from this author. Not quite as good as my favorite but excellent nonetheless.
April 5, 2018
I’ve wanted to read this book for a while so I was really excited when it finally landed on my kindle.
After loosing her husband, Abby feels lost and has to rebuild herself and her life. What she is not expecting is falling for a much younger woman, especially when she has been living as a straight woman all of her life.
Clancy knew she could fall for Abby after the first time they met. The only issue is, how they will navigate their relationship with Abby’s children, parents and her friends. Can they really make it work with so many hurdles ahead?
This book gave me all the feels. I love age gap romances and this one had a delicious side of finding a new sexuality. Abby was really my favourite character because as a mum I get the idea of hurting your kids in your path of becoming your true self and for that reason I really connected to Abby.
I felt at times the story had a lot more detail than was necessary however what I adore about Susan X Meagher books is that the story lines are so involved and clear as you watch the protagonists evolve and grow together.
Can’t wait to scroll through her books and pick what I am going to read next.
4 stars
After loosing her husband, Abby feels lost and has to rebuild herself and her life. What she is not expecting is falling for a much younger woman, especially when she has been living as a straight woman all of her life.
Clancy knew she could fall for Abby after the first time they met. The only issue is, how they will navigate their relationship with Abby’s children, parents and her friends. Can they really make it work with so many hurdles ahead?
This book gave me all the feels. I love age gap romances and this one had a delicious side of finding a new sexuality. Abby was really my favourite character because as a mum I get the idea of hurting your kids in your path of becoming your true self and for that reason I really connected to Abby.
I felt at times the story had a lot more detail than was necessary however what I adore about Susan X Meagher books is that the story lines are so involved and clear as you watch the protagonists evolve and grow together.
Can’t wait to scroll through her books and pick what I am going to read next.
4 stars
December 23, 2014
Love this book! (and also All That Matters)
January 14, 2018
I really like this author, her stories have lovely cadence and despite being longer reads they hold my attention throughout.
A great read about dealing with loss and new love between 2 women with an age gap. It combines family drama and dealing with coming out as well as a sweet love story and romance between the main characters.
A great read about dealing with loss and new love between 2 women with an age gap. It combines family drama and dealing with coming out as well as a sweet love story and romance between the main characters.
April 28, 2018
This was another “start at the very beginning, it’s a very good place to start” book for me. I’ve never read anything by this author, but she has a huge body of work and people seem to enjoy her. So I thought I’d give it a try. Unfortunately this was not good.
It was way too long. I’m all for long books, but they have to fill their pages with plot development and character growth. This had neither of those. The characters kept circling around the same obstacles over and over, never moving past them and never learning anything about themselves.
The prose was also lacking, in my opinion. The sentence structure and the word choice felt clunky and juvenile, and the dialogue was simplistic. This felt like a poorly written fanfic, both in the actual writing, as well as the unwieldy length. It was self indulgent to stay with these characters for so long, with so little happening.
I always like to give an author at least two chances to make an impression, so I’ll read one more before making up my mind.
It was way too long. I’m all for long books, but they have to fill their pages with plot development and character growth. This had neither of those. The characters kept circling around the same obstacles over and over, never moving past them and never learning anything about themselves.
The prose was also lacking, in my opinion. The sentence structure and the word choice felt clunky and juvenile, and the dialogue was simplistic. This felt like a poorly written fanfic, both in the actual writing, as well as the unwieldy length. It was self indulgent to stay with these characters for so long, with so little happening.
I always like to give an author at least two chances to make an impression, so I’ll read one more before making up my mind.
December 2, 2017
Arbor Vitae is one of my all time favourite books. I've read it multiple times. I collect S. X. Meagher's books, but I'm several letters behind in the IFMHISF series. Meagher is an amazing novelist and it's great that lesbian fiction is her chosen genre!
March 2, 2024
I LOVE this book! I cant believe I just discovered it! Yes, it is long, but it tells you about the complex lives of Abby and Clancy! How in tune to one another the two women are. Not just the sex, which is HOT, but also how they communicate with one another! The 15 year difference isn't a problem except for Abby's friends. Her being with a woman is a problem for bestfriend and being in a relationship is for her daughter Hailey.
There is a lot to unpack but the love seeps through. What a touching age gap love story. Worthy of many more than 5 stars!! A favorite!
There is a lot to unpack but the love seeps through. What a touching age gap love story. Worthy of many more than 5 stars!! A favorite!
May 26, 2015
I'd love to find more books like this. I found it wonderful. Yes, it was long and a little repetitive at times but the characters were believable, we'll written and predominantly likeable. More please!
February 26, 2019
OMG… SOOO AMAZING!!!
What a book!!! Absolutely beautiful!!! 💯, this story TOTALLY rocked & then some— my faith & hope in true love is renewed!! This story broke my heart, pissed me the hell off & reduced me to tears, riding the emotional rollercoaster from the prolgue to the epilogue of finding & rediscovering the friendship, safety, power, pain & pleasure in real love!!!
Loved the journey of attraction, recognition, understanding & love as it developed & intensified between Abby & Clancy— while simultaneously in the midst of a redefining self-discovery in understanding & acceptance their transformed identities… All of which was crafted marvelously!!
There's just nothing like finally finding the love you've wanted, waited & wished for thru so many years of patience, pain, promise & possibilities!
This story was absolute perfection!!! With every page I read, the more I identified with & felt connected to these characters then the more I became invested in their journey of revealing pieces of themselves & exploring each other— hostages to the pleasure & pain, intoxication & desperation of love.
It was just so realistic & relatable. I appreciate the rawness, vulnerability & innocence in how it was appreciated without being distorted &/or diminished from what it addressed!! Awesome & Amazing!!
What a book!!! Absolutely beautiful!!! 💯, this story TOTALLY rocked & then some— my faith & hope in true love is renewed!! This story broke my heart, pissed me the hell off & reduced me to tears, riding the emotional rollercoaster from the prolgue to the epilogue of finding & rediscovering the friendship, safety, power, pain & pleasure in real love!!!
Loved the journey of attraction, recognition, understanding & love as it developed & intensified between Abby & Clancy— while simultaneously in the midst of a redefining self-discovery in understanding & acceptance their transformed identities… All of which was crafted marvelously!!
There's just nothing like finally finding the love you've wanted, waited & wished for thru so many years of patience, pain, promise & possibilities!
This story was absolute perfection!!! With every page I read, the more I identified with & felt connected to these characters then the more I became invested in their journey of revealing pieces of themselves & exploring each other— hostages to the pleasure & pain, intoxication & desperation of love.
It was just so realistic & relatable. I appreciate the rawness, vulnerability & innocence in how it was appreciated without being distorted &/or diminished from what it addressed!! Awesome & Amazing!!
March 31, 2021
This book has a special place in my heart. It’s funny, I first read it right off the back of “All That Matters,” which is arguably Ms. Meagher’s best work. I thought for sure nothing could top that book, but I was eager to get my hands on something, anything else this author has written.
I’m so glad I chose “Arbor Vitae” as my second book to read from her. I’ve gone on to read other works from this author, but this one remains in my top two. It is just as good, and just as satisfying a story, as ATM, just in a different way.
Firstly, I love a good age gap romance, and this one is going down as the best I’ve ever read. But Abby and Clancy’s story is also just so very sweet, sexy, well paced, and real. Very few writers in this genre take the time to slowly draw and develop characters and their circumstances the way Meagher does. It’s something I love about her writing, even if it appears to draw some criticism from readers who prefer the more succinct style of a lot of other authors in lesrom (but hey, to each their own). Personally I love spending hours getting to know the characters in Meagher’s books, and the characters in “Arbor Vitae” are no exception.
Admittedly, Haley gets a bit insufferable at times, and even two re-reads later there are still certain scenes that make me want to scream at Abby to tell her bratty child to kick rocks. But she handles the challenge of parenting her not-quite-adult-yet teenager in her own way in her own time. And Abby is just such a wonderful woman, who has dealt with so much sadness and loneliness in the years since she lost her husband, that I really can’t begrudge her literally anything. She’s such a dear. Despite everything, you feel her love for Clancy in every page, and vice versa. Theirs is an intense connection that grows out of an unlikely friendship, even as Abby still grieves what she lost (a matter which is handled with respect and dignity by both Clancy and the author).
The usual age gap and straight-girl-turned-gay obstacles apply here, but it’s nice to see that each of these women becomes deeply committed to the other pretty quickly once they cross over the friendship line. They challenge themselves and one another to overcome their separate hang-ups so as not to ruin a good thing. I will never not love it when adults behave like adults and push one another to do better in romance novels (sadly, we don’t see that as often as we should).
Wonderful book! 5/5 recommend.
I’m so glad I chose “Arbor Vitae” as my second book to read from her. I’ve gone on to read other works from this author, but this one remains in my top two. It is just as good, and just as satisfying a story, as ATM, just in a different way.
Firstly, I love a good age gap romance, and this one is going down as the best I’ve ever read. But Abby and Clancy’s story is also just so very sweet, sexy, well paced, and real. Very few writers in this genre take the time to slowly draw and develop characters and their circumstances the way Meagher does. It’s something I love about her writing, even if it appears to draw some criticism from readers who prefer the more succinct style of a lot of other authors in lesrom (but hey, to each their own). Personally I love spending hours getting to know the characters in Meagher’s books, and the characters in “Arbor Vitae” are no exception.
Admittedly, Haley gets a bit insufferable at times, and even two re-reads later there are still certain scenes that make me want to scream at Abby to tell her bratty child to kick rocks. But she handles the challenge of parenting her not-quite-adult-yet teenager in her own way in her own time. And Abby is just such a wonderful woman, who has dealt with so much sadness and loneliness in the years since she lost her husband, that I really can’t begrudge her literally anything. She’s such a dear. Despite everything, you feel her love for Clancy in every page, and vice versa. Theirs is an intense connection that grows out of an unlikely friendship, even as Abby still grieves what she lost (a matter which is handled with respect and dignity by both Clancy and the author).
The usual age gap and straight-girl-turned-gay obstacles apply here, but it’s nice to see that each of these women becomes deeply committed to the other pretty quickly once they cross over the friendship line. They challenge themselves and one another to overcome their separate hang-ups so as not to ruin a good thing. I will never not love it when adults behave like adults and push one another to do better in romance novels (sadly, we don’t see that as often as we should).
Wonderful book! 5/5 recommend.
September 18, 2018
I liked it.
This is my 3rd Susan X Meagher book purchase, & I've been happy with all 3 purchases. So far, I've chosen her longer stories because I reeeeally like the longer books, they keep me occupied a little longer so I'm not shelling out $20 A DAY on books 😂😂😂😂
I tried Kindle Unlimited, it doesn't work for me, I want to keep my books!
Anyway, I'd have liked this story more if the daughter Haley hadn't been such a manipulative a$$. I'll probably skip over her annoying temperamental parts whenever I re-read this book in the future. I don't have kids, so teenage angst is often annoying to me. Lol, I'm a year younger than Abby's character and I can't imagine treating my mother the way Haley does. My Mom would've rightly beat my a$$, and I can count on 1 hand the # of times I remember being spanked as a child AND have fingers left over!
So, other than the Haley character, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. 😃
This is my 3rd Susan X Meagher book purchase, & I've been happy with all 3 purchases. So far, I've chosen her longer stories because I reeeeally like the longer books, they keep me occupied a little longer so I'm not shelling out $20 A DAY on books 😂😂😂😂
I tried Kindle Unlimited, it doesn't work for me, I want to keep my books!
Anyway, I'd have liked this story more if the daughter Haley hadn't been such a manipulative a$$. I'll probably skip over her annoying temperamental parts whenever I re-read this book in the future. I don't have kids, so teenage angst is often annoying to me. Lol, I'm a year younger than Abby's character and I can't imagine treating my mother the way Haley does. My Mom would've rightly beat my a$$, and I can count on 1 hand the # of times I remember being spanked as a child AND have fingers left over!
So, other than the Haley character, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. 😃
September 14, 2016
If taken directly at face value without attempting to really think about the story or dig a little deeper into the characters, this was a fairly enjoyable simple book. It's a fairly typical lesbian/straight girl romance, with the two involved having practically the easiest relationship in known history. Now I'm not sure why this book had to be 500 pages, as absolutely nothing happens over the course of the book to warrant this, but examining the hour by hour minutiae of her characters seems to be this author's forte. Shrug. The first hundred or so pages are exactly the same as the next 400. But still for whatever reason, this book bothered me less than most other lesbian romance fiction.
June 28, 2021
Susan X. Meagher's ARBOR VITAE is incredible; although she had had other projects to her credit, including a series and some anthologies, ARBOR VITAE is the first of approximately 30 lesbian fiction works she has accumulated. It's admittedly a long book, but virtually every word has value to her story. A young landscaper, Clancy O'Connor, takes on a complex backyard redesign job for a wealthy widow, Abby Graham. Clancy is a lesbian just under 30; Abby is straight and 45 with two grown children. When these two very different women find to their surprise that they are sexually attracted to each other, a major storm of feelings and reactions is set off among relatives, friends, and those children. How can this play out? Well, that's what takes lots of wonderful, well-chosen words!
December 18, 2021
Well this was absolutely stunning. Arbor Vitae is a long novel, but the entire experience is oh so rewarding. I couldn't have had a better 50th lesbian romance entry for Goodreads than this. What Arbor Vitae did, and did extremely well was conveying emotions, thoughts and actions realistically and beautifully. The romance had its struggles but this one of the few romance novels without any clichés, unnecessary separations or other tiresome mechanics we see all too often. this was just a solid, gripping, romance novel with an interesting premise, great execution, wonderful writing and a satisfying ending. This gets a 10/10 on the wholesome scale from me, this was such a banger I cannot emphasize enough how good this is and you should def read this.
November 27, 2020
Love unexpectedly unites a 30 yo landscape architect with a widowed (straight) 45 yo.
Pro:
Loving and lovely MCs - Both MCs are well written and their actions are easily understandable. Sometimes it’s easy to let one character down by not being as clear about where they are coming from, Meagher definitely does not disappoint.
Realistic
Overcoming differences - How this is handled in this book is what makes it genius. It’s real, and it’s tough. And if the love is right, it will persevere!
Extremely good sex scenes - Oh yes!
Perfect epilogues at different times - I love seeing into the future of a couple
Con:
-
Pro:
Loving and lovely MCs - Both MCs are well written and their actions are easily understandable. Sometimes it’s easy to let one character down by not being as clear about where they are coming from, Meagher definitely does not disappoint.
Realistic
Overcoming differences - How this is handled in this book is what makes it genius. It’s real, and it’s tough. And if the love is right, it will persevere!
Extremely good sex scenes - Oh yes!
Perfect epilogues at different times - I love seeing into the future of a couple
Con:
-
January 27, 2019
YES!
+F/F!
+Age gap! Abby is 15 years old than Clancy!
+Every single character felt like a real person.
+The chemistry between Abby and Clancy develops really naturally.
+PUPPIES!!! Well, two grown Portugeuse water dogs who love to snuggle.
+Happily ever after.
NO!
-It's sooo long!
-Characters other than Abby and Clancy have their POVs randomly inserted. While I did enjoy many of them (Clancy's parents trying to figure out what's going on!), they did add to a lot of the bulk.
-Abby cries every other chapter.
+F/F!
+Age gap! Abby is 15 years old than Clancy!
+Every single character felt like a real person.
+The chemistry between Abby and Clancy develops really naturally.
+PUPPIES!!! Well, two grown Portugeuse water dogs who love to snuggle.
+Happily ever after.
NO!
-It's sooo long!
-Characters other than Abby and Clancy have their POVs randomly inserted. While I did enjoy many of them (Clancy's parents trying to figure out what's going on!), they did add to a lot of the bulk.
-Abby cries every other chapter.
August 17, 2021
I enjoyed this book. It is long but I like long books, especially by a good author. The story centers on a widow, 45 years old, who falls in love with her landscape architect who happens to be not jet 30.
Abby lost her husband 5 years ago and still mourns him. She has had desires for women in the past but never during her 20 year marriage. The story is very well written. I love the MCs. A bit of annoyance for me was Abby's constant description of her lovemaking with her husband. It would be
a sure turnoff for me. I recommend it.
Abby lost her husband 5 years ago and still mourns him. She has had desires for women in the past but never during her 20 year marriage. The story is very well written. I love the MCs. A bit of annoyance for me was Abby's constant description of her lovemaking with her husband. It would be
a sure turnoff for me. I recommend it.
January 16, 2019
I have this in my collections, I first read it on line. It is really well written,long, but still well worth the time. I take it out for
I first read this online, it was hard to stop reading once I started. It is well written and flows with few ripples. When it became a paperback I bought it. It is in my reread pile. It is a good read for a long snowy day.👵
I first read this online, it was hard to stop reading once I started. It is well written and flows with few ripples. When it became a paperback I bought it. It is in my reread pile. It is a good read for a long snowy day.👵
June 18, 2013
I absolutely loved this book. i couldn't put it down. A wonderful story, an uncomplicated read. I cried and laughed and thoroughly enjoyed the story. I easily identified with Clancy, which is probably one of the reasons I enjoyed the book so much.
February 4, 2019
Enjoyable long read.
I have always enjoyed all of this author's work, and they are always a long read with a very good background and logical struggle. You like good read with a long sitting, various characters to blend with, you have to read her books.
She never rushed.
I have always enjoyed all of this author's work, and they are always a long read with a very good background and logical struggle. You like good read with a long sitting, various characters to blend with, you have to read her books.
She never rushed.
September 19, 2018
Wonderful book!! Not my favourite from Susan X. Meagher but still very good story with beautifully described characters. Sometimes it felt very long especially when some dialogues felt like a deja vu but except that specific moments I really enjoyed it.
June 9, 2012
I love this book as much as All That Matters also by the same author, Susan X Meagher.
March 2, 2014
I loved this book, Susan x meagher certainly knows how to write a good book! Good pace certainly got straight to the point which is a nice change.
May 20, 2019
I really love thus author, she keeps you interested in the story.Excellent book looking forward to reading other books by this author
August 2, 2020
Excellent!
I loved Arbor Vitae. What a great love story. Yes, that’s what it is. Loving someone despite the family drama.
I loved Arbor Vitae. What a great love story. Yes, that’s what it is. Loving someone despite the family drama.
December 17, 2020
Reading this book is almost like watching a long TV show with only a few notable plot points. There were so many filler scenes to count. I basically slogged through the second half.
The characters were fine. Abby was an unabashed bisexual, but did she need to EXPLICITLY discuss her sexual practices with her ex-husband AT LENGTH every time she was with her new lover Clancy? Clancy, who was rarely uncomfortable but also encouraged her to discuss it, even as they were having sex. This type of exchange was too unrealistic to be believable for me.
Clancy was wise beyond her years, except occasionally when the story slowed down and they needed a fight.
It was okay. The writing was enjoyable.
The characters were fine. Abby was an unabashed bisexual, but did she need to EXPLICITLY discuss her sexual practices with her ex-husband AT LENGTH every time she was with her new lover Clancy? Clancy, who was rarely uncomfortable but also encouraged her to discuss it, even as they were having sex. This type of exchange was too unrealistic to be believable for me.
Clancy was wise beyond her years, except occasionally when the story slowed down and they needed a fight.
It was okay. The writing was enjoyable.
May 31, 2022
Full confession: I am DEFINITELY not the target audience for this book. I'm a senior gay male, not really interested in lesbian love stories unless they're exceptionally written, which this one certainly is not. It's almost lesbian porn. A young female landscape architect is hired by an older straight widowed woman for a project, and the two fall in love. That's basically the plot. No complications or muddied issues. Yes, the straight woman has two kids who have qualms about they're mother becoming a dyke, but most of this book is about Clancy and Abbie having hot sex and talking, talking, taking about their relationship. Yawn city. From Page One I knew this couple would end up spending the rest of their lives together, and...surprise!! That is, no surprise at all.
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