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The 1929 Series #3
1930: Aryl's Divide
After the gloomy memorial, the formerly pampered 1929 characters mourn the loss of Aryl Sullivan. Claire, now a pregnant widow, is too devastated to cope and withdraws from the group, delving into a deep depression. Caleb drowns his own sorrow in a bottle of whiskey, and Jonathan becomes obsessed with finding the true cause for the boat’s explosion. And Ava anxiously awaits the birth of their child.
As the family and friends come to grips with Aryl’s death, the struggle to survive both emotionally and financially strains everyone in different ways.
So it’s up to Maura to see them past the worst of it, but she faces setbacks of her own when complications arise in her pregnancy. The new sheriff, Marvin, is working both sides of the law and takes advantage of Caleb’s state, getting him involved in bootlegging that threatens the business and his family. A concerned Patrick tries to help him, but stubborn as a mule, Caleb won’t listen.
But the gears of life slowly start to move again, and new friends are made and old enemies return. Claire finds refuge in Gordon, a widower, and the two find a common bond, finally allowing her to move on and accept her new life.
Until she’s met with a shocking surprise.
As the family and friends come to grips with Aryl’s death, the struggle to survive both emotionally and financially strains everyone in different ways.
So it’s up to Maura to see them past the worst of it, but she faces setbacks of her own when complications arise in her pregnancy. The new sheriff, Marvin, is working both sides of the law and takes advantage of Caleb’s state, getting him involved in bootlegging that threatens the business and his family. A concerned Patrick tries to help him, but stubborn as a mule, Caleb won’t listen.
But the gears of life slowly start to move again, and new friends are made and old enemies return. Claire finds refuge in Gordon, a widower, and the two find a common bond, finally allowing her to move on and accept her new life.
Until she’s met with a shocking surprise.
412 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 18, 2013
855 people are currently reading
1408 people want to read
About the author
M.L. Gardner
47 books165 followersM. L. Gardner is the bestselling author of the 1929 series. Gardner is frugal to a fault, preserving the old ways of living by canning, cooking from scratch, and woodworking. Nostalgic stories from her grandmother’s life during the Great Depression inspired Gardner to write the 1929 series—as well as her own research into the Roarin’ Twenties. She has authored nine books, three novellas, one book of short stories and a cookbook. Gardner is married with three kids and three cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
April 23, 2014
I've now read the first 3 books in this series -- my review for every book is/will be the same. (I wrote "will be" since I know I'll keep reading to the end of the series.) In a nutshell, these are books I love to hate. The storyline is engaging, and I definitely want to keep reading to see what happens to all the characters. Having said that, there are SO MANY historical inaccuracies that it's almost, but not quite, enough to make me walk away. Other readers have pointed out some of the obvious errors, like showers in the NYC tenements, etc. I'll point out a couple of things that just about drive me crazy: (1) the author's constant use of bad grammar in an effort to make the dialogue more authentic -- at least I can only assume that's why she uses it. Case in point, "Me and Caleb used to go there when we were younger." (OK, this isn't a direct quote, but you get the idea.) Every time I read another example of "Me and ____ did such and such" it makes me grit my teeth. (2) Getting a very simple detail like the Ides of March incorrect. In Book 3, one of the chapters is titled, "March 10, 1931," and starts off: " 'The Ides of March,' Jonathan grumbled as he carried Jean back to his bed." NO! NO! NO! The Ides of March is the 15th!!! The Ides of any month is the 15th!!! IMO, this sort of error is inexcusable. (3) In Book 2, a large chunk of the plot is "lifted" straight from the movie "Ghost." Hardly original.
OK, so it's obvious I have a number of issues with the series/writing. BUT, as I've said above, I'll keep reading to see what happens. And I guess ultimately that's what matters to the author.
OK, so it's obvious I have a number of issues with the series/writing. BUT, as I've said above, I'll keep reading to see what happens. And I guess ultimately that's what matters to the author.
October 13, 2013
I don't typically do "series" books. but I have to say, I am in love with this series! The time frame is very appealing to me and the initial plot about the stock market crash in the first book 1929 had me completely enthralled. I have bought (and I never buy books when I can get them free) the next book in the series the second I finish the one I am reading. I am completely invested in these characters and I am anxious to see how it all wraps up. They are easy reads with a good amount of predictability, though not always, I've been surprised a few times. I love how each book has a bit of a different feel or slant. I definitely recommend this series to any reader of historical fiction. M.L. Gardner"s writing is descriptive enough to make you feel as if you are walking down Wall Street on the day of the crash without it being exhausting and overdone. LOVE THEM!
January 13, 2016
This is the third in an odd series of books that are only tangentially connected. The first was about three wealthy couples who lost everything in the stock market crash. The second was about a man in an asylum who fell for another patient. He ultimately had peripheral contact with a couple of the characters from the first book as did his love interest, but there was an element of life beyond death that was annoying.
This one goes back to those three couples and their friends after one of them has been killed in a fishing boat accident in Rockport, Massachusetts. At least this one is grounded in reality even though the plot strains credulity.
High art? No. literature? Not a bit. Entertaining? Well, yes, if you can get past the utter ridiculousness of it all.
This one goes back to those three couples and their friends after one of them has been killed in a fishing boat accident in Rockport, Massachusetts. At least this one is grounded in reality even though the plot strains credulity.
High art? No. literature? Not a bit. Entertaining? Well, yes, if you can get past the utter ridiculousness of it all.
September 6, 2018
I made the mistake of reading this book before reading book one. I was completely lost with no help from the author. Hello? Backstory please?
I did enjoy a few characters and the writing, while choppy in some areas, was consistent. The characters: well, I didn't see much value in any of them. The plot was confusing (and I'm being nice here). I'm not sure if I will bother with book one or anymore in the series.
Reviewed by: Mrs. N
My Rating: 2 stars
I did enjoy a few characters and the writing, while choppy in some areas, was consistent. The characters: well, I didn't see much value in any of them. The plot was confusing (and I'm being nice here). I'm not sure if I will bother with book one or anymore in the series.
Reviewed by: Mrs. N
My Rating: 2 stars
August 5, 2015
Flat characters
I didn't really care for this book. Possibly it's the genre that I don't find appealing. But I believe more research could have been performed in order to provide a more realistic feel for the time period. Perhaps more work would have provided the reader with an education into the time period.
The characters seemed two-dimension and easily predictable. I admit that I skipped parts of the book where it seemed as if nothing was there. I can't recommend this book.
I didn't really care for this book. Possibly it's the genre that I don't find appealing. But I believe more research could have been performed in order to provide a more realistic feel for the time period. Perhaps more work would have provided the reader with an education into the time period.
The characters seemed two-dimension and easily predictable. I admit that I skipped parts of the book where it seemed as if nothing was there. I can't recommend this book.
June 3, 2013
Didn't enjoy this one as much as the first. Found quite a few editing errors that I hope the author will go back and fix. There definitely comes a point where you have to wonder how a group of friends can be SO unlucky. Still, I plan on reading the next book when it comes out.
Read
April 27, 2013Loved the continuation of the story. Can't wait now for 1931 to come out. Currently reading Elizabeth's Story, which is supposed to clear up some events in 1930. Can hardly put it down!
October 20, 2019
Reading some of the reviews, especially the one stars I was wondering if we read the same book.
Yes, there were mistakes: grammatical, timeline and historical mistakes - but does that really impact the story. Or are they so critical about all of the above that they had no empathy for the plot?
This is not an easy read, for sure. But, saying that, it is also a defying story of people being thrown together, helping each other and really standing together. They have accepted each other's faults as part of them. Not one of us is perfect and the author has done a wonderful storytelling by portraying it correctly in their actions and emotions. Making this an original and believable story.
Life is messy, many can attest to that fact, I included. When we are confronted with the messy side of life, it looks frightening and even unbelievable but since that is part of the way we are shaped it becomes beautiful at the end.
I really had found the story more than interesting, the building up, the way the characters are struggling with their own demons a gripping story of heartache but mostly of pure love. The thing that really touches our hearts and breaks the bonds of fear and turmoil. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.
Thanks for a wonderful saga, not shieling the ugliness but highlighting in such a manner that one is completely drawn in.
Yes, there were mistakes: grammatical, timeline and historical mistakes - but does that really impact the story. Or are they so critical about all of the above that they had no empathy for the plot?
This is not an easy read, for sure. But, saying that, it is also a defying story of people being thrown together, helping each other and really standing together. They have accepted each other's faults as part of them. Not one of us is perfect and the author has done a wonderful storytelling by portraying it correctly in their actions and emotions. Making this an original and believable story.
Life is messy, many can attest to that fact, I included. When we are confronted with the messy side of life, it looks frightening and even unbelievable but since that is part of the way we are shaped it becomes beautiful at the end.
I really had found the story more than interesting, the building up, the way the characters are struggling with their own demons a gripping story of heartache but mostly of pure love. The thing that really touches our hearts and breaks the bonds of fear and turmoil. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.
Thanks for a wonderful saga, not shieling the ugliness but highlighting in such a manner that one is completely drawn in.
September 7, 2017
This is really book #2 of the story line, as 1930 picks up about where 1929 leaves off. The extra book between is a side story, which I found easy to skip. I read this second book because it was given to me as a gift, but am going to figure that this book's ending is good enough to call a halt on the rest of the series.
In my review of 1929, I mentioned that I really did like the premise... a group of friends finding their way through life after the crash of the Great Depression wipes out everything they have built. But it is not at all "Historical Fiction"... I'd call it "Romantic Drama" or "Soap Opera Fiction". Other than the time setting during the Great Depression, there is very little in the way of history surrounding this story.
1930 has the group in a small New England town of Rockport, where once again there is a parade of misfortune; between the deaths of loves ones and the moustache-twisting villains, hardly a week goes by that there isn't some grand drama playing out. (spoilers) Murder, arson, drug mafia, amnesia... if it's a soap opera cliche, this book has it. If this type of reading is your cup of tea, then the series delivers, and then some. But I was looking for more history than fiction, and this series is notably short on that element.
In my review of 1929, I mentioned that I really did like the premise... a group of friends finding their way through life after the crash of the Great Depression wipes out everything they have built. But it is not at all "Historical Fiction"... I'd call it "Romantic Drama" or "Soap Opera Fiction". Other than the time setting during the Great Depression, there is very little in the way of history surrounding this story.
1930 has the group in a small New England town of Rockport, where once again there is a parade of misfortune; between the deaths of loves ones and the moustache-twisting villains, hardly a week goes by that there isn't some grand drama playing out. (spoilers) Murder, arson, drug mafia, amnesia... if it's a soap opera cliche, this book has it. If this type of reading is your cup of tea, then the series delivers, and then some. But I was looking for more history than fiction, and this series is notably short on that element.
July 12, 2017
Why this series keeps pulling me in, I do not know. I could relate to both book because what the characters had experienced, I had experienced in some measure both small and large. In book one, the characters lost their financial security. I have been there once or twice. There were hard drug issues with some mob involvement, I suspect. Yes, I was trapped between the police and some drug dealers in a raid one time. One of the main characters was lost at sea. I have been lost in the dark in a boat on a huge finger lake, but the shore patrol found me. Enough about me.
As in the first book, there were grammatical errors in the present book. The protagonists were too trusting. I thought they should have been more sophisticated in recognizing the next life storm that was always brewing. They had to work sixteen hours a day six days a week to survive their present living conditions, yet they spent so much time solving non work related crises I do not see how they could manage to do both.
Thank you, Ms. Gardner, for a good read.
As in the first book, there were grammatical errors in the present book. The protagonists were too trusting. I thought they should have been more sophisticated in recognizing the next life storm that was always brewing. They had to work sixteen hours a day six days a week to survive their present living conditions, yet they spent so much time solving non work related crises I do not see how they could manage to do both.
Thank you, Ms. Gardner, for a good read.
August 21, 2018
The book begins with the memorial for Aryl who presumably died in the boat explosion. This event leaves everyone depressed and despondent. Claire, his pregnant wife, goes into a deep depression and withdraws from the group, Caleb starts to drink heavily, and Jonathan is determined to find out what truly caused the explosion.
The big question is whether the group can survive this catastrophe, or if it is too much and will break the group up.
This is a heartbreaking book with all of the ruinous events that occur in the story line. There are, however, some uplifting events that get the group back into the groove of life. That is until the shocking twist at the end.
Again, another excellent book that I couldn't put down. From the moment I opened it up to the point that I finished it, I could not stop reading. A very captivating read.
The big question is whether the group can survive this catastrophe, or if it is too much and will break the group up.
This is a heartbreaking book with all of the ruinous events that occur in the story line. There are, however, some uplifting events that get the group back into the groove of life. That is until the shocking twist at the end.
Again, another excellent book that I couldn't put down. From the moment I opened it up to the point that I finished it, I could not stop reading. A very captivating read.
December 19, 2017
Third in the series...
The story shifts back to Rockport and what happens to the friends during the months that Aryl is gone. Caleb, consumed with survivor's guilt, crawls into a bottle. He gets talked into storing bootleg whiskey and opium in his barn by a crooked deputy, who then blackmails him. Claire, Aryl's wife, is pregnant with their child. She begins seeing Gordon, the local dairyman, and consents to marry him so the child will have a father. Meanwhile, Jonathan struggles to hold together the lobster business...
The story shifts back to Rockport and what happens to the friends during the months that Aryl is gone. Caleb, consumed with survivor's guilt, crawls into a bottle. He gets talked into storing bootleg whiskey and opium in his barn by a crooked deputy, who then blackmails him. Claire, Aryl's wife, is pregnant with their child. She begins seeing Gordon, the local dairyman, and consents to marry him so the child will have a father. Meanwhile, Jonathan struggles to hold together the lobster business...
January 27, 2018
I read this entire series after purchasing the first one. I returned number 1 and read the entire series. The series takes place in 1929 and takes us through the depression. The market crash in 1929 and while fiction the actual crash did result in many people commiting suicide as they lost all there money
Multiple characters react differently and the author does an excellent job telling the story
Multiple characters react differently and the author does an excellent job telling the story
February 8, 2025
A fast-moving, interesting story of a close community with all its warts and scars, including bootlegging and illegal drugs, but also love, concern and loyalty. I had read 1929, but missed Book 2 so found it difficult to sort out all the characters. For best enjoyment, this series should be read in order. I found the ending somewhat abrupt.
Overall clean with no swearing, but some rough issues. Well-done and enjoyable story.
Overall clean with no swearing, but some rough issues. Well-done and enjoyable story.
March 1, 2018
1929 series, I enjoyed this series, M. L. Gardner did a fine job capturing the life styles of the rich to rags turbulence of the fall of the stock market on people's lives.
I enjoyed this series, M.L. Gardner did a fine job capturing the life styles of the rich to rags turbulence caused by the fall of the stock market.
I enjoyed this series, M.L. Gardner did a fine job capturing the life styles of the rich to rags turbulence caused by the fall of the stock market.
July 15, 2019
This is book 3 in the series. I did not read book one or two, so had a little bit of difficulty getting into the story but eventually figured out what was going on. The story was too much of a soap opera. Just when these couples get rid of one bad guy who was trying to hurt them, another one shows up who seems to be possibly worse.
June 14, 2020
Enjoyable read
I loved the first 1929 book, skipped the second book, and just finished 1930. It was good but not like the first book. Book four looks like another plot and could be answered by reading the summary. Might read 1931, but again, it seems like I know what it's all about by just reading the summary.
I loved the first 1929 book, skipped the second book, and just finished 1930. It was good but not like the first book. Book four looks like another plot and could be answered by reading the summary. Might read 1931, but again, it seems like I know what it's all about by just reading the summary.
September 16, 2017
Loved the characters in this book. I thought the way in which the turmoil of the people's lives were told was on point. it made me feel as if I was listening to my grandparents telling me how they might have lived and seen those times threw their eyes.
May 20, 2018
Decent
The number of main characters was difficult tho keep track of. The story interesting, though it failed to capture my attention. I found myself reading the same parts over and over not because they were compared, but rather because I kept losing interest.
The number of main characters was difficult tho keep track of. The story interesting, though it failed to capture my attention. I found myself reading the same parts over and over not because they were compared, but rather because I kept losing interest.
February 29, 2020
Soap Opera...
...continues with the original - and some new - characters. It's like reading a movie. Very entertaining: emotional, satiric, honest, truthful. Most of life's tangible and intangibles are involved, represented. A great read. Onto book #4! #buckroth
...continues with the original - and some new - characters. It's like reading a movie. Very entertaining: emotional, satiric, honest, truthful. Most of life's tangible and intangibles are involved, represented. A great read. Onto book #4! #buckroth
May 26, 2023
Continued from the book 1929. Another epic turn of events in the lives of Jon/Ava, Caleb/Arrianna, Aryl/Clarice, Maura/Ian, and others trying to survive. I love the way these friends scramble and fight to keep all of them afloat through good times and bad.
May 28, 2017
Liked It. On to Drifter.
June 20, 2017
Good story - I think it would not make sense if I had not read books 1 and 2 in this series
July 29, 2017
This series is drama starting with the crash of 1929. Not a really deep read, but gives a good sense of family, friendships and life during a "simpler" time.
November 1, 2017
I still like the series especially when it is telling us about the original characters and the aftermath of their friend's "death".
January 7, 2018
Families Divided By Strife
This is a book which I would not recommend to read, I did not enjoy reading it but maybe other people have a different opinion so be it.
This is a book which I would not recommend to read, I did not enjoy reading it but maybe other people have a different opinion so be it.
February 11, 2018
Good book
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
March 27, 2018
1930
I really liked this one! Kept my interest all the way through. Will keep reading this series. I hope the next one is this good,
I really liked this one! Kept my interest all the way through. Will keep reading this series. I hope the next one is this good,
April 20, 2018
Drugs and distruction
When I read this book, I was amazed at the purity and factual outpouring. It described the events so clearly and with such accurity, I want to read more!
When I read this book, I was amazed at the purity and factual outpouring. It described the events so clearly and with such accurity, I want to read more!
September 21, 2018
The story from the first book continues in the 3rd book. It's a great read and I didn't want to leave the characters at the end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews