I was sent a free copy of A Matter of Happiness by Tori Whitaker by TLC Book Tours. All opinions are my own.
About A Matter of Happiness:
A cherished heirloom opens up a century of secrets in a bittersweet novel about family, hard truths, and self-discovery by the author of Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish.
Melanie Barnett thinks she has it all together. With an ex-fiancé and a pending promotion at a Kentucky bourbon distillery, Melanie has figured out that love and career don’t mix. Until she makes a discovery while cleaning her Jordan MX car, a scarlet-red symbol of the Jazz Age’s independent women that she inherited from her great-great-great-aunt Violet.
Its secret compartment holds Violet’s weathered journal—within it an intriguing message: Take from this story what you will, Melanie, and you can bury the rest. Melanie wonders what more there is to learn from Violet’s past.
In 1921 Violet Bond defers to no one. Hers is a life of adventure in Detroit, the hub of the motorcar boom and the fastest growing city in America. But in an era of speakeasies, financial windfalls, free-spirited friends, and unexpected romance, it’s easy to spin out of control.
Now, as Melanie’s own world takes unexpected turns, her life and Violet’s life intersect. Generations apart, they’re coming into their own and questioning what modern womanhood—and happiness—really means.
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You can purchase A Matter of Happiness on Amazon.com
About the Author:
Tori Whitaker is the bestselling author of Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish and A Matter of Happiness. She belongs to the Bourbon Women Association and the Historical Novel Society. Her work has appeared in the Historical Novels Review and Bookmark magazine.
Tori graduated from Indiana University, is an alum of the Yale Writers’ Workshop, and is recently retired from a national law firm where she served as chief marketing officer. She spent a decade in Detroit because of her husband’s career in the automotive industry. The two now reside near their children outside Atlanta and have been married for forty-five happy years.
Connect with Tori through www.toriwhitaker.com
My Opinion:
Imagine inheriting a car from a beloved relative and finding out that she left you much more than a vehicle.
Melanie mourns the loss of her beloved aunt but as she goes through the Jordan MX she has been bequeathed she finds her Aunt’s journal which turns out to be a far greater gift than the car. In it she reads the ups and downs of Violet’s life and the struggles that she had when women were considered useful for two things – housewifery and producing children.
But Violet chose to fight convention much as Melanie does and the parallels between their lives offers some clues to Melanie as to what may lie ahead should she choose to continue her path.
This was a wonderful read about two strong women in male dominated worlds. As many of us can attest the times changed but only so far and they still need to change more. It was a book I had a hard time putting down and I really loved both these characters. I did find Violet’s story slightly more compelling but only slightly.
Rating:
5
