The Mill River Redemption: A Novel

I like how the book continues its trend of the first; going back and forth through time. Without spoiling anything I admit that there was a part that made me feel such emotions that I actually cried out in anger. Very well written, I'm ready for more of Mill River.

Mill River, we're back. Darcie Chan scores in her sophomore novel. I was so excited to see another in the Mill River series but a bit disappointed. Considering what I consider Mill River Recluse one of the most enjoyable books I've read and Darcie Chan's masterpiece all others will have a hard time if not impossible in my view to live up to Recluse. Not so much a criticism but high praise for Darcie Chan's writing and her creation of the wonderful Mill River. Josie Disanti and her two daughters Rose and Emily flee to the safety of Mill River from New York City to live with Aunt Ivy whom they barely know after Josie tragically loses her husband in a fire. We follow the Disantis as they cope with life in small town, financial problems, careers, the girls growing from little to two very different teens and finally totally estranged for some reason. Josie has passed away in the present with the story starting in 1985 or 86. She concocts a will that can only be honored if her two daughters work together. But can they since they can't stand the sight of one another? While we patiently, oh so patiently try to find out why they have grown apart we welcome back a few of the characters from Recluse. Most notably the aging and grieving Father O'Brien coping with Mary McAllister's passing. Kyle and Claudia's burgeoning romance, Daisy and her potions. All is answered and well, maybe too much. I didn't care for the twist which I won't dare spoil any more than the characters themselves didn't. We're left with a lot of open endings in Mill River and to be continued anxiously waiting for us in Darcie Chan's next book. I've already reserved my copy. Darcie Chan has done what few others have done maybe with the inclusion of Dan Brown and a few others. She's created devoted following. Certainly this reader is one. Maybe that's why any criticism will be harsh, because we love the town and characters so much. With that and of course the accolades I'll stick with her and the wonderful town she created.

I feel good story. Held my interest and I think it was a good story

As the oldest of three sisters, this story drew me in from the very beginning. The characters are so strong, individual, and full of human strengths and frailties. The small-town, rural setting of Mill River is so like the community my sisters and I grew up in. I found myself truly inside this story, and I felt the inner emotions of each and every one of its female characters. I was and am the sister, the mother, the grandmother, the great-aunt and the friend.To learn toward the end that Josie was still alive threw me totally off course. At first, it left me feeling deceived and disappointed that my true-to-life involvement in this saga seemed knocked completely out of reality and into some unnatural realm of science fiction. I've lost my own mother and fully understand the reality that when death takes her, life doesn't return her in human form. By the end, though, I realized this story needed a mother's death to resonate with the daughters and make sense of the events that followed in their adult lives. It also used the reappearance of that mother to share the feelings and responsibilities that only a mother can know. This mother explains for us all just how far we'd go to give our children opportunities for fulfillment and happiness in their lives. In the end, I cried with understanding and truly FELT the realities of family importance, forgiveness, abiding love and new beginnings.

I am a native Vermonter and grew up in the general area of "Mill River" and the amount of research that was done for this story is really impressive. I could picture every place mentioned in the book and it was like being back home. I had gotten the first book in the series "Mill River Recluse" as a freebie from an email list of free books and read it more or less to see how many mistakes I could find about the general area (I found none by the way) I got sucked into the story an ended up buying this book and read it in one day - both books in 2 1/2 days. The way the chapters alternate back and forth between the past and the present is unusual to me but it works out well. It gives a little glimpse of the past in little bits and pieces and does it smoothly. Something I wouldn't have thought would work, but it does. The storyline has so many twists and turns and surprises that I couldn't put it down until I had finished the story... and there is one twist that I never saw coming that made my jaw drop and I even said a word or two out loud that I would be able to say in front of small children. This is a great set of stories and I hope to read more about "Mill River" soon.

"Mill River Redemption" - five stars and worth every one of them!Having read the first novel, "Mill River Recluse", I was prepared for a really good story. And Darcie Chan did not disappoint me. She's a good writer, a great storyteller. Her writing skill seems to put the reader almost as part of the story, right in town. The characters are well-developed, some of them carrying forward from the first novel. But as far as I can tell, you don't have to read the first novel to know what's going on. But just so you know, you should read "Mill River Recluse" because it's such a great novel.If I was forced to choose, I think the first novel was a bit better, but only a bit. Both novels are most definitely worth reading. If you liked the first novel, you'll like this one, too. The characters are delightful, the town is wonderful. I want to move there!I hope Darcie Chan continues to write stories about the people of Mill River. It's a delightful place with some really great characters that could be stories in and of themselves. I do so hope!Patrick

Enjoyed this more than Mill River Recluse, although I was very annoyed with Josie and her method of solving her daughters estrangement, however the story had me hooked from the start. A nice relaxing read.

A fantastically , gripping story. I don't like to compare authors, but if you enjoy Diane Chamberlain and Helen Gudenkauf, you'll certainly love this.

I loved these books. Mill River with all it’s lovely inhabitants made me yearn to up sticks and move there.

As good as the others!

loved this book