Review: Stiltsville

Frances is in Miami for a wedding when she’s invited to visit one of the stilthouses in Biscayne Bay.  She loves the house, the water and the view and while she’s there she meets Dennis, the man she will marry.  She leaves Atlanta behind and embraces Miami and her new life.

I have to admit that Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel started out a little slow for me, but it didn’t take it long to captivate me, and at the end of the book I cried like a baby.   The writing is magnificent in this story of love – between friends, parents and children, and spouses.  It’s about the deep, abiding love we all strive for.  I found myself lost in Daniel’s words and became emotionally involved.  This is a book to savor.

I loved Frances and Dennis – they were loyal and determined and faithful.  Their marriage had its ups and downs but they stuck with it and worked together to make things better.  Their marriage and their friendships felt so real to me.  They were just ordinary people doing the best they could – sometimes it was easy and sometimes it wasn’t.  Isn’t that what real life is all about?  That description probably makes the book sound average, but believe me when I say it’s not!

Stiltsville is set in Miami, beginning in 1969, and I loved the way Daniel incorporated real events into it.  I actually remembered many of the events she wrote about and that added to quality of the book for me.  Miami became another character in the book and I enjoyed reading about how it grew from a sleepy little town into the city it is today.  I also loved reading about the real Stiltsville and would love to see the houses that remain – be sure to check out the photos on the author’s web site.

There is so much to love about this book – a fantastic story, gorgeous writing and a little history – do yourself a favor and read it.

Review copy provided by Harper Collins for this TLC Book Tour.