Hearts Upon a Fragile Bough

by Vera Jane Cook

When Hannah Reilly steps off the ship on the shores of Ellis Island in 1912 she has no idea that it is not a convent that awaits her. It is a man who finds her far too beautiful to marry God. Madly in love, Hannah and Wade settle in Jacksonville, Florida, where the world holds the promise of sunshine. They have two wonderful children before life changes and Wade insists that Hannah abort her third child. When Hannah refuses, Wade turns to alcohol and other women. Joy turns to darkness after Wade commits his wife to a mental institution where her life ends by her own hand in 1934. Hannah's third child, Vita, flees her aunt's motel where she is forced to work as a cleaning maid and winds up in Miami in Kit Malone's high class brothel. Beautiful and stately, vita becomes a high class prostitute, a millionaire mistress and a Billy Rose showgirl. When Vita meets the love of her life in Manhattan, the charming but naive Julius Clark, life blossoms into something both frightening and titillating. But when Vita gives birth to her daughter, Fanny, it is this shadowy and stormy relationship that alters the course of both of their destinies and defines their future.

279 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note: Also writes as Olivia Hardy Ray

Reviews

[Marianna Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vera Jane Cook's newest book "Hearts Upon A Fragile Bough", is another beautiful story. I loved her first novel, Dancing Backward In Paradise, and decided to get her new release. I loved it, a heartfelt story of three generations of women. It's a family saga with lots of sex, passion and crime. The book is very lyrical and told as if she were telling a story about a very fascinating family Yeah, I can't wait for the sequel, which culminates in the contemporary conclusion of the granddaughter. Vera Jane Cook is my new very favorite author. I will look for her books always.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this from first reads free giveaway. I thought the whole story felt rushed. Time & place changed from one paragraph to the next without giving details. I just didn't feel like I "knew" any of the characters. I wanted to be more positive about this story but I just couldn't get into it.

[Djrmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a LOT of story in this book, perhaps a little too much story for one book. We start of with Hannah, a young woman who comes to the United States as a novice and falls all too quickly in love and starts a very different life. When that life crumbles (very melodramatically, but I love good melodrama, so that's not a negative) the focus moves to Hannah's daughter, Vita, and her very colorful series of relationships. Both of these women had very full lives, and if this book was an epic about a family, telling thier stories in context would have worked better. But the book reads as two seperate historical fictions, with occasional glances from the more recent story to the past, and both women's stories are shortchanged (and occasionaly very truncated) to fit into one book. The settings are sometimes beautifully detailed, and other times, especially at the end when the story is really rushed, the reader only gets a feel for period through the chracter's dialects and nicknames. It's clear from some parts of this book that Ms. Cook can write beautifully layered historical fiction, if only there wasn't so much story in her story.

[BAM who is Beth Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another win from goodreads!

i really wanted to like this book...i just didn't. i felt that Hannah's whole story was rushed and much of what was going on in her life was never fully explained. it seemed that the entire struggle of her marriage came without any explanation.

actually, the entire book seemed rushed. like the author had too many stories to tell and tried squeezing them into one novel that never fully explored any single storyline.

i didn't find any of the characters very likeable...and was completely thrown off by the entire story of Vita's marriage.

honestly, i felt like this book was a series of story setups that never delivered...just kept jumping around.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband won this book in the first reads giveaway. This was a really good book and I was hardly able to put it down. I wish there had been more about Hannah, but by the time I got toward the end of the book, I thought I understood why her part in the book was so short. I was thinking about how bad I felt for Hannah's crappy life when it dawned on me that her short part in the book really helped to signify how her life was mercilessly cut short even before she took her own life.

If you are easily offended, this might not be the best choice for you, and it is definitely not appropriate for teens.

I can't wait for the sequel, which is scheduled for publication in the Spring of 2010.

[L (Sniffly Kitty) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. The synopsis on the back made me feel as if it would just a big soap opera all the way through. The characters are surprisingly well-developed and have inner voices which elicit sympathy. The references to god are worked in subtly enough that they didn't bother me as much as it has in other books.

Disclaimer: I won this for free from First Reads.

[Kellie Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through a giveaway on Goodreads. I enjoyed the book and reading about the different generations of grandmother, mother & child. However the ending confused me regarding the ruby & diamond ring. Will this be explained more in the sequel?

[Barb]

Set this one aside. Not sure if I will pick it up again.

[Sean]

I won this book in the first reads giveaway. My wife read it and posted her review.

[Janene]

A First Reads win!