Title: The Keeper of Happy Endings
Author: Davis, Barbara
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Pages: 415
Date Read: 08 August 2025
Bookshelves: read
My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I began this book with understandable enthusiasm and very high expectations after completing the author’s The Echo of Old Books sometime last year. I also began this book as a means to escape my lived reality, which did not help with expectations. In truth, I asked a lot from this book and I am pleased to report that the book held its own despite my heavy expectations.
The book is centered around Soline, a dress maker who learnt the craft at the feet of her mother around a time when the world was at war and the Germans were at the door of Paris. We follow Soline as she lives as a recluse following a personal tragedy. We also meet Aurora, who was navigating quarter life crisis following a different kind of loss. Soline meets Aurora by fate, and in a style only Barbara Davis can replicate, we are told of of the many ways their stories intersect.
The Keeper of Happy Endings was a great book. It was historical fiction themed around loss, love, survival family, and inter-generational healing. And while i did have serious demands starting out the book, I love that the book accomplished what it set out to do, stayed true to its title, and delivered twists and cliff-hangers in places that left the reader asking for more. It was well-written, cute, and an all-round great book. Loved it!
To be clear, this is not Davis’ best work. It took me a while to get into it, and I did not find myself highlighting as many sentences as I thought i would. In these areas, I think The Echo of Old books is a far better read. However, that takes nothing away from this work. It is a solid effort in its own right. In fairness to Davis, The Echo of Old Books was published a few years after this one. So there is an argument to be made about how much her writing improved between the works. Only problem was I read the books in the wrong order, and I insist that my reality be acknowledged. Sue me!
Five stars! Won’t be making it to my favourite shelf though :)