relzreviewz.com The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck

The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck

Synopsis:~

An invitation to join The Fifth Avenue Story Society gives five New York strangers a chance to rewrite their own stories.

Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed.

Literature professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud.

Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids.

Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage.

Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire.

When all five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to reveal their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.

Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.

Necee’s take:~

“You are cordially invited”…

Can you imagine it? Being secretly invited to be part of a private literary group in an old Winthrop library? To go where many literary scholars and wealthy patrons have visited before you? Well, settle in for a literary delight as Rachel Hauck pens a contemporary, whimsical story that is reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Though not set in the same time period, I loved how these five strangers become life long friends.

‘“Courage isn’t the absence of fear,” he would say. “It’s going forward anyway.”’

The Fifth Avenue Story Society was such a beautiful novel. Rather, it is really five stories within the walls of one book. Five broken people drawn together by a mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Literary Society Library. At first they are all closed off, not very open to one another, and bound by distrust and fear. It reminded me of how if we don’t open a book or only read the first chapter, we really never get to know the truth and meat of the story. We have to commit, to delve in, to soak in every aspect of the book to truly understand it. That’s how this book read…I will be honest in that it was a slow beginning. Trying to understand five different views, it took a bit to get into. So, I will say, this is a snuggle into your armchair with a cup of tea, and pretend you are making a new friend type of read. Let it slowly wash over you, and you will love it. As Lexa, Jett, Chuck, Ed, and Coral challenge each other to open up, the healing begins transforming them, and their friendships abound. They each become an open book and as their stories unfold, it opens the others up to share and heal. This is a beautiful story of choosing courage, of stepping out in faith and trusting others. When you’ve been hurt deeply, it is hard to step out in faith and put your heart out there again. But, with God you can heal. I loved that theme of the story. I loved the underlying faith element, the quiet faith that blooms into a strong testimony that by the end ties all their stories together. If you love romance, a light mystery, and stories of friendship, I think you will adore this book.

I was provided an advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my honest opinion.