Review: The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox

Genre: Dual-Timeline 
Publisher: Revell
Released: September 7, 2021
324 pages

About the Book:

Present Day. After tragedy plunges her into grief and unresolved anger, Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home determined to finally follow her long-denied dream of running Old Depot Grocery alongside her mother and grandmother. But when she arrives, her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that the store is closing. Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a pact to save the store, but Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons--but she'll certainly never reveal the real one.

1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she's pregnant with her deceased fiancé's baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve the family reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined.

 

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This story touched me so much. As it began, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it as the beginning felt slow, but then I realized a marriage of convenience was going to happen and I was hooked. It is told in a dual-time perspective, following three generations of women. These women are trying to get along, work together and deal with hurts from the past, but along the way they discover secrets have been kept and learn how these secrets have impact their lives. There was a scene in the middle of the book that had me sobbing and I rarely cry in books. While I liked each of the women characters it was the male characters that I absolutely loved, my favourite being Clarence. Each of the men supported, cared for and showed love to the women. There is so much included in this story – family relationships, dealing with regrets, times of loss and grief, second chances, sacrifice, romance and finding true love. During the last chapter I thought I knew what the scene was leading up to then the last scene happens and I was shocked. A good shock as I was happy that’s the way it ended, but it wasn’t what I had been expecting, I loved it. This story took me on a ride and will stick with me for a while. This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Cox and I have already added her others to my wish list. 

Favourite Quotes: 

“Living is seeing past the challenges and not letting fear or false guilt be the decider for your life."

“Secrets cause damage. And sometimes that damage can't be undone."

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)