The Basement Quilt: A Novel

Colebridge Community #1

by Ann Hazelwood

You'll love Anne Brown and the Colebridge Community! In The Basement Quilt, a novel by Ann Hazelwood, you'll get to know the family and friends of Anne Brown, a plucky florist whose daily ups and downs will seem so familiar you'll identifywith her right away. Anne decides to learn to quilt to help her aunt, and in the process learns family secrets. Then she uncovers a mysterious presence in her mother's basement or does she? Anne learns about love, too, in various forms. She and the members of the Colebridge community go through some big life changes. Are their decisions wise or does trouble lie ahead? The Basement Quilt is not just the title of this first novel in a series the basement quilt itself is a character. You'll want to meet other quilt characters throughout the series. Electronic Book (e-Book) Policy: Purchaser of this e-Book may not sell, rent, lease, transfer, lend or share the e-Book. Digital download of this e-book is offered in a PDF format and is best viewed in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Quilting, Cozy, Mystery, Paranormal, Chick Lit

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2012

About the author

Ann Hazelwood was the owner of a quilt shop for 30 years. She has always adored quilting and is a certified quilt appraiser. In addition to her cozy quilt fiction, she has written travel guides and quilting non-fiction.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just OK for me. Although I enjoyed the mention of local businesses and events mentioned knowing Author was referring to Main Street (really St. Charles, MO) i.e. J. Noto's Bakery, Michelle's, Festival, etc., and could invision the decorations of the area at Christmas time because I live here, I was quite disappointed the book's ending was "to be continued". I also found "The Kodak Moments" to be a bit much. Sorry Ann.

[Deb York · Rating 1 out of 5]

I agree with Susan MO, this one of the most poorly written books I have ever read. Not only is the plot predictable, but apparently no one proofread one sentence. Many grammatical & punctuation errors. Don't waste your time. My 8-year-old grandson could have written a better book!

[Addie · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. I really tried, but gave up by page 110. (About 1/3 of the way through.) This book was written in 2012 but reads as if it was written in the 1980's. The writing style was outdated, boring, and actually... bad.

The author is quite vague in her descriptions and expects the readers to understand what she is implying when characters make odd comments like, "Hmmmm..." to differing circumstances. "Hmmmmm..." explains nothing. It is merely someone's thought in word form without an explanation and I got tired of guessing what those vague comments implied.

Many of the paragraphs ramble on aimlessly, until the ending sentence has nothing to do with the beginning sentence, making it very hard to follow or focus on. Quite ADHD, actually. It was also a very dry read. It felt more like reading someone's shopping list than a story, especially because of the strange paragraph style. I skimmed through the remaining pages to see how certain aspects turned out, but I had no desire to waste more time on it. The storyline was not enough to pull me in, let alone keep me hooked.

Also, the characters make every choice based on either society's rules or boredom. I'm past the point of spending time reading about how lackadaisical attitudes and choices are the main focus in the plot of a story.

This is isolation during the coronavirus quarantine...I need something much more entertaining, uplifting, and worth my time to read to keep me from feeling like I'm going crazy! And this book was not it.

[Marcia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book because of a research project I'm working on, and if I could have tossed it aside, I would have done so before the first page. The author provides a character list and an authorial note to describe the surrounding community--both in such contrived, static ways that neither are necessary as a good writer would have covered those details within the exposition of the narrative. The prose, particularly the dialogue, is halting, grammatically-incorrect, and often antiquated. Furthermore, the characters lack depth and development. The author choses to use stereotypical descriptions, where her protagonist is a slender, blonde, 29-year old woman while her cousin--whom everyone openly pities in fairly condescending ways--is 32, overweight, and plain with mouse-brown hair. The paranormal activity isn't engaging, nor is the relationship between Anne and Ted. Anne spends the first several chapters of the novel actively avoiding Ted and complaining that she doesn't see the relationship going anywhere, but the second she sees him having a coffee with his ex-girlfriend, she dives into a depressive, jealous pout as though she were nine, not 29. Poor writing. Poor characterization. Poor plot development. Shame on the American Quilter's Society for placing this text as one of its "Fiction Series."

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Awkwardly written and poorly engaging. I finished the book in hopes that the mystery basement presence would be more than what it was (it wasn't). This made the plot generally dull and disappointing - especially because there was so much potential for more. Characters were fairly standard, with bland personalities that didn't truly capture my interest.

The first person point of view writing revealed antiquated language and a poor sense of the overall family and community that this book was supposedly about. Anne's continous "Hmm"ing seemed a bit too much for me. On top of it, the poor grammar and spelling errors sprinkled throughout were glaringly obvious.

I was disappointed by the lack of quilting that was described - as though the author only had a vague idea on how quilting worked.

Overall, the book seemed rushed and was poorly edited before print.

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this series. Oooh! Quilters! Fabrics! A flower shop! Yeah. Not so much. First of all it is not well written. Grammatical errors and poor word choice. Only one character is really developed and I just didn’t like her that much. The author owned a quilt shop for forty years and this is the best she can do writing about quilts? Just…..no. Someone left the entire set of Colebridge Community books at the local YMCA and I was interested in a brand new (to me) series. Oh, well. My TBR pile just got seven books shorter. Oh, one other thing. There’s a lot of general praying going on but when one character has a heart attack, not one member of this Christian family even suggests calling their Pastor. Kind of like the author wanted to appeal to Christians but she missed the mark (full disclosure, I am not a Christian).

[Deb Blackbourn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, although it seemed somewhat "simple". It took me a while to get "into" the book. For a few occasions when I sat down to read, I told myself that I had paid for the book so I should read it & not set it off to the side.

I did like the family coming together to quilt but the conversations seemed somewhat stilted. I found the "spirits" that visited the basement quilting humorous. I would recommend the book to someone who quilts but I would note that the story was cute but that I had read better

[Cathy Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful reading.

[Jill Frederickson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written. Main character is supposed to be 29 but sounds more like 69. Kodak should have paid the author for all the “Kodak moments “ she calls out. This became a grudge read fairly quickly.

[Lynette Caulkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good selection for me, as a quilter, to read for the Popsugar hobby prompt. Hazelwood's story pulled me in despite glitches. I would still read the next installment if I came across it.

Cons: I found the rhythm of Hazelwood's prose to be unnatural and slightly distracting every couple of pages - a normal use of contractions is neglected, and an overabundance of "so" and "just" pulls me out of the narrative. I also found the protagonist's rude attitude and treatment of her boyfriend to be completely immature for a 29yo, and more appropriate for a high school or young college figure. Lastly, while I love a good ghost story, the happenings in this one are 100% unbelievable.

Pros: What quilter would not absolutely love to have a close-knit family group that meets regularly to quilt together? Immersing onself in this story line gives a little access to that atmosphere. The relationships between family members and coworkers are fun, but you have the tension of wondering exactly what come-uppance is awaiting Anne in the developments going on in her love life. Life Changes that start up in this series-opener promise more interest to come.

This is definitely a women's book. Men are a mysterious factor in this tale, presenting questions more than connections, despite a seemingly perfect whirl of a romance. Additionally, it is about relationships and interactions more than events happening.

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 1 out of 5]

The thing about a wildly successful series is that it spawns other similar series. Sometimes they are almost as good, sometimes even better. This is the first in an Elm Creek Quilters wannabee series. It is not as good as that one. But, worse, it emulates one of that series' great faults: Where the writing for Elm Creek Quilters is pretty clunky, this one is dreadful. There is, for example, very little attempt to let the characters show by their words or actions what they're feeling. The author just tells you, over and over again. Good thing, perhaps, because so often words and actions, where they do exist, don't fit with what the author claims the characters are feeling. The plot is also very slender and fairly predictable.

[Susan V · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my review of the first book I listened to by Ann Hazelwood I wasn't complementary to the narrator. I've come to learn that Hazelwood's writing style is stilted and uncomfortable and this was not the narrator's poor performance. I thought I would try a book in a different series and I find her style of writing dialogue is just sharp and uncomfortable, not written in the manner people speak. That being said, I think she does a good job of developing characters and although it drags sometimes, the story is pretty good. Like others have mentioned, she really could have used more editing.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Surprising Treasure

My personal opinion is a 5 star rating, but I am a quilter. I still believe this book would make a wonderful read for anyone who loves stories of family and community.
I have been traveling with my husband lately and I've been missing my sewing machine and fabric. It's been wonderful to be able to fill my free time with a group of fellow quilters in story form. Thank you Ms. Hazelwood.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A family story that shows the importance of a person's entire family, and the bonds they share. These women share their lives at a weekly quilting event around a quilting frame. Light reading and enjoyable.
Just enough mystery to keep you reading.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I loved the idea of "spirits" mixed in with quilting. I sometimes felt the time line was confusing. It either went too fast or two slow with regards to the story. I do plan to read more of Ann Hazelwood's books because I did enjoy her story-telling.

[Sue Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book wandered all over the place with no sense of plot or purpose. The main character was not at all likable. She was so judgy and critical of her cousin's weight as if somebody who is 20 pounds overweight could never attract a husband. She also was scornful of a female in-law who went into the kitchen to help the hostess instead of staying to talk with the men. She claims to be strongly independent but accepted a marriage proposal from a man she'd only known for a few weeks—a man who's behavior is already giving me red flag warnings. The only things I liked in the book were the ghosts and the quilts. There was also some weird sort of glitch with the test that causes words to jam together in weird ways. wa sleaving instead of was leaving, woul dbe instead of would be, the mbeing instead of them being. There was at least one on every page. Some of them took long enough to figure out that they totally took me out of the story.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected, so I think that affected my view of the book. The plot involves a group of related women who put together a quilt in the basement of the mother's home. It follows their lives and has some supernatural elements.

I read this for our book club and had the impression it was supposed to be a Christian book (which it only kind of was). I think that affected my ability to enjoy the book.

It was well written, but it just didn't sit well with me. I'm not sure what it was that didn't click for me, but it just didn't click.

Rating: 3 stars

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the storyline, but the many punctuation and grammatical errors made the story less than enjoyable. I also got tired of "Kodak moments" and "Hmmmm" every time Anne learned something new about Sam. The overuse of "!" was annoying and there were quote marks randomly inserted in the middle of the text. I don't think this book had an editor to help smooth it out. I would probably read the next book if I ran across it, but I would not go out of my way to find it.

[Yvonne Spencer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would not recommend this book with a good conscience. I have never given a negative review before, but this book was not enjoyable. The storyline was good but not the writing. I finished the book out of curiosity because I know that this book series was very popular with quilters. I am a quilter and I was really looking forward to enjoying this book, but I was disappointed in it and I will not read any more books in the series.

[TammyGramlich · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love reading books with quilting in them but this was not a good one. The whole idea of spirits of her grandma and aunt helping out with the quilt was a little weird. I thought it would be a mystery and they would find out one of their “living” family members were helping. Will not continue with this series.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like it, but it was just okay. This was like a Hallmark movie sponsored by Kodak (way overboard on those references), and poorly proofread. A very minor characters names changed from John to friend, the main character at one point said she talked to Aunt Sylvia and her mother. Aunt Sylvia IS her mother. The whole spirit thing just got too hokey.

[Leeann Slack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I would have liked this book more if I had enjoyed the reader of the audiobook. She lacked excitement and emotions during all parts of the book.
The book finished fast, wrapped up as expected, no surprises.
Also the numerous references to a Kodak Moment, a bit much for me.

Best quote:
“The written word is the best legacy to leave. “

[Phyllis Mescia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another superb series!

I am just thrilled to begin another series by the wonderful Ann Hazelwood! This first book in the series did not disappoint! Wonderful storyline, wonderful characters! I will definitely be working my way through the Colebridge Community series. Like the East Perry series, I won’t want it to end!

[Edie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five family members quilt a quilt top, four being novices to quilting. As the quilt progresses, so do their lives and they share their secrets with their quilting group. Very well written by the president of the National Quilt Museum's board of directors.

[kc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting first book of a series of family, relationships and quilts. There are mysterious accomplishments occurring to Aunt Julia’s quilt when no one is around. I stayed up late to finish this book.

[Lynda Frantz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor plot development, poor character development, poor editing. The story makes a point of letting us know that the characters all drink at every opportunity. Several phrases are used excessively (Kodak moment, hmmmm).

[Sharon Wantuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read all quietest will enjoy these books just

Fun and relaxing . So glad I decided to read this group of books I will read all the upcoming ones

[Leora Hunt]

Enjoyed this book about the quilt group and their lives

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the family bond and the mystery, however I not like reading several books just to find out who did what.

[Bernice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book that I’d classify as relaxing. Its a bit suspenseful. Good book to read before going to sleep.