Review: It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke

It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke

Publication Date: August 28, 2018

The Heart of Dixie

Genre: Fiction/Historical/Romance

Alabama, 1947.

War's over, cherry-print dresses, parking above the city lights, swing dancing.

Beautiful, seventeen-year-old Violet lives in a perfect world.
Everybody loves her.

In 2012, she's still beautiful, charming, and surrounded by admirers.

Veronica "Ronni" Johnson, licensed practical nurse and aspiring writer, meets the captivating Violet in the assisted living facility where Violet requires no assistance, just lots of male attention. When she dies, she leaves Ronni a very generous bequest―only if Ronni completes a book about her life within one year. As she's drawn into the world of young Violet, Ronni is mesmerized by life in a simpler time. It's an irresistible journey filled with revelations, some of them about men Ronni knew as octogenarians at Fairfield Springs.

Struggling, insecure, flailing at the keyboard, Ronni juggles her patients, a new boyfriend, and a Samsonite factory of emotional baggage as she tries to craft a manuscript before her deadline.

But then the secrets start to emerge, some of them in person. And they don't stop.

Everything changes.

Alternating chapters between Homecoming Queen Violet in 1947 and can't-quite-find-her-crown Ronni in the present, IT ALL COMES BACK TO YOU is book club fiction at its hilarious, warm, sad, outrageous, uplifting, and stunning best. In the tradition of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and Olive Kitteridge, Duke delivers an unforgettable elderly character to treasure and a young heroine to steal your heart.

Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This year is shaping up to be one of my best years of reading yet! I've been super lucky with books this year and have found some true gems. And now I can add It All Comes Back to You to that list!

Ronni works at an upscale Nursing Home when a patient that she was close to, Violet, passes away and leaves her an inheritance in her will. There's a stipulation to the inheritance though. Ronni must write a book within one year based on Violet's life using the letters that Violet left to Ronni. She must tell no one about the book, or ask for any assistance.

The book alternates between Ronni's current storyline and flashes back to Violet's past as a teenager and beyond. As usual, I preferred the historical timeline for Violet but Ronni's story was great too. In addition to finding out about Violet's past, there is also a mystery surrounding her passing and who she was with that added an extra mystery to the book.

I found It All Comes Back to You as a good mix of Southern and Historical Fiction. You will laugh, cry, and root for Ronni and Violet. I felt like with Ronni, she was a character I could finally relate to! She wasn't the usual gorgeous and skinny heroine - she had insecurities and self-conscious about her weight. It was nice to be able to connect with a character like that. And Violet reminded me of my Southern grandmother - sassy and the center of attention. Men loved her and the women did not. She was a lot of fun!

It All Comes Back to You was charming, entertaining, and hard to put down. You should definitely pick it up!

Thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Through My Letterbox for allowing me to host the tour!

About the Author

Beth Dial Duke is an Amazon #1 Best Selling author and the recipient of short story awards on two continents. She is eyeing the other five.

Beth lives in the mountains of her native Alabama with her husband, one real dog, one ornamental dog, and a flock of fluffy pet chickens. She loves reading, writing, and not arithmetic. Baking is a hobby, with semi-pro cupcakes and amateur macarons a specialty. And puns—the worse, the better.

Travel is her other favorite thing, along with joining book clubs for discussion. Please invite her to London...England or Kentucky, either is fine. Anywhere! Please see bethduke.com for more information.