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    The Restoration of Celia Fairchild: A Novel
    The Restoration of Celia Fairchild: A Novel
    The Restoration of Celia Fairchild: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Restoration of Celia Fairchild: A Novel

    Written by Marie Bostwick

    Narrated by Sarah Naughton

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    “The Restoration of Celia Fairchild is wise, witty, and utterly compelling.” —Jane Green, New York Times bestselling author of The Friends We Keep

    Evvie Drake Starts Over meets The Friday Night Knitting Club in this wise and witty novel about a fired advice columnist who discovers lost and found family members in Charleston, by the New York Times bestselling author of The Second Sister.

    Celia Fairchild, known as advice columnist ‘Dear Calpurnia’, has insight into everybody’s problems – except her own. Still bruised by the end of a marriage she thought was her last chance to create a family, Celia receives an unexpected answer to a “Dear Birthmother” letter. Celia throws herself into proving she’s a perfect adoptive mother material – with a stable home and income – only to lose her job. Her one option: sell the Charleston house left to her by her recently departed, estranged Aunt Calpurnia. 

    Arriving in Charleston, Celia learns that Calpurnia had become a hoarder, the house is a wreck, and selling it will require a drastic, rapid makeover. The task of renovation seems overwhelming and risky. But with the help of new neighbors, old friends, and an unlikely sisterhood of strong, creative women who need her as much as she needs them, Celia knits together the truth about her estranged family — and about herself.

    The Restoration of Celia Fairchild is an unforgettable novel of secrets revealed, laughter released, creativity rediscovered, and waves of wisdom by a writer Robyn Carr calls ""my go-to author for feel-good novels.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMar 2, 2021
    ISBN9780063069329
    Author

    Marie Bostwick

    Marie Bostwick is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of insightful, uplifting fiction for women. Marie lives in Oregon with her husband. When not writing books, she enjoys quilting, hiking, cooking, and creating posts on her lifestyle blog, Fiercely Marie. Marie travels extensively, speaking at libraries, bookstores, quilt guilds, and conferences.

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    Reviews for The Restoration of Celia Fairchild

    4/5

    96 ratings16 reviews

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    • 5/5
      What a wonderful story! Many twists and turns but a really fun story line
      I highly recommend this book.
    • 4/5
      Entertaining and a lot of lovable characters. Although I could not connect with the main character I did love her restoration and the story behind her family. Found family is one of my favorite tropes and it was really well done in this book.
    • 4/5
      While chick lit can be entertaining, this genre with a southern bent is just a touch above all the others, especially when tackled by an insightful author. Marie Bostwick has given us characters to loathe, admire, love and cheer for. Everything was a plus, setting, dialog, plot and execution - I really enjoyed this book - how much? When I realized my water bottle had leaked and soaked the last third of the book there I was at 3 A.M. using my hair dryer to dry each page so I could finish the book. That’s how much I liked this book. Thank you LibraryThing and William Morrow for a copy
    • 4/5
      The Restoration of Celia Fairchild is a story about upheaval and taking risks to find a new way. Celia was a great character that followed her heart. Things were not wrapped up in a neat bow, which is realistic. That is life. It was a very enjoyable read with a great cast of characters and interweaving stories. Plus, I’m a knitter so I was “hooked” when they started talking crafts.
    • 4/5
      The Restoration of Celia Fairchild was well written with appealing characters. The story took turns I wasn't expecting, but that all were believable and moved the story forward. I enjoyed the descriptions of South Carolina and the people who lived there. I also liked the fact that all but one of the characters grew during the course of the book. (I react to characters that don't grow the same way I react to people in real life don't grow--I get sort of tired of them.) There is just a hint of religion in the book which accounts for the "everything came out fine for everybody" aspect, which can make for a happier book for people who enjoy that sort of thing. I'm tempted to read more by this author.
    • 4/5
      I read several reviews of this book before I started reading (as women's fiction can be a little hit-or-miss for me) and decided to proceed once I saw words like "witty", "Charleston", and "knitting". It took a little while for me to engage with the characters but once I did, I really enjoyed it. There is so much to love about this book--especially as a southern woman. If you're looking for a cotton candy read (light, fluffy and sweet), I would give this one a shot.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this sweet tale of advice columnist Celia Fairchild. She is reeling from a divorce and a unwanted career change when she finds out she has inherited a house from her Aunt Calpurnia. In the meantime, she decides she wants to adopt a baby and have her very own family. Well, she gets her family...in the very best way possible!
    • 4/5
      This is a sweet and charming read. I like Celia. She is someone that I was cheering for the whole time I was reading this book. Although, all of the characters in this story are very likable and engaging. Both really good qualities to have in characters. It makes the story that much more enjoyable. One of the things that I really liked are the letters that Celia wrote to her daughter, Peaches. Celia may not have her yet but she still loved her as if she was already there. It showed the love and how good a mother Celia would be. I have a good time reading this book. This book does give off feel good vibes due to all of the characters. Fans of Marie Bostwick will be happy with this book. Bonus, there is a reading guide included in the back of the book. So, this book would be great for a book club discussion.
    • 4/5
      Disclaimer: I am from Charleston, so I tried to divorce myself from things like streets running north to south that should have run east to west, or the number of times "hipster" was used to describe a place, and zoning issues that seem improbable in our historic district. That said, it is hot here, we do drink a lot of sweet tea (or just tea for those of us here by grace, not by birth), and there are a lot of "characters", though the number has sadly dwindled in my lifetime.That said, this was a fine book to read int he 70 degree sunshine of a February day here in Charleston, in the pandemic. I think we all should be allowed do-overs and rebranding at least twice each lifetime. Some people might call that growing up, or facing reality, but it's not really the case with Celia, who finds herself without a job, life partner, dream of motherhood, or goal in life, all quite unexpected. But the fates also handed her the family home in Charleston, at the death of her aunt, from whom she was estranged. There's family history to untangle, a houseful of hoarder bounty to clear, a chance to adopt, and a ragtag collection of Charleston souls (and not a hipster among them) to bring together as a family. All in all, Celia has the chance to make her dreams come true.Many thanks to Librarythin's early reviewers program and the publisher for sending me my copy.
    • 4/5
      I received an ARC of this book from the LTER in exchange for my honest opinion....This book that is mainly set in Charleston, SC was an overall enjoyable read. The main character, Celia, came across as a person I would like to know.... not just in her previous "life" as a famous advice columnist, but as the neighbor next door. There was a slight over-abundance of characters that made it a little tough in the beginning to keep them all "organized" in my mind, but they mostly added to the development of the story and of the main character. My favorite character was Calvin, the best friend, who would do anything for Celia.I could easily imagine this book as a movie for Hallmark, Lifetime or even PBS.... it made me smile!
    • 4/5
      It’s hard to find intelligent light fiction, but this is great for the genre. Celia and the cast of characters in NYC and Charleston are plausible, and celias troubles with her childless state are moving. A lot of detail about Charleston, which since I know the city brought back happy memories of boutique hotels and trendy restaurants. I loved reading about the restoration of calpunia’s house.. there used to be a lot more abandoned houses there. It parallels the restoration of Celia as she reinvents family in her own life.
    • 3/5
      Though well written, The Restoration offers an overload of angst for the main character as she tries to adopt a baby and help her friends.Why, as an adult, she never returned to check on her aging Aunt Calpurnia is never fully explained.Fans of Divorce, Death, Alcoholism, Females who keep covering their mouths with their hands, and zero diversity will enjoy this.Now, If Trey and Lorne or Calvin or Teddy or Becca had been Black or Brown, the plot would definitely have picked up.
    • 5/5
      I won this ARC from LibraryThing in turn for an honest review. This is the first I've read of Marie Bostwick and I truly enjoyed her writing. The details of a much loved city, Charleston, are so well written you can picture yourself walking through the streets with the characters of the story. It's a restoration of hope in humanity. Even when things don't go as planned, most of the time there are other roads to take to get us where we need to go. A nice read to have as we tumble through this year or so of pandemic. My favorite of the year so far.
    • 4/5
      Celia Fairchild has just lost her job as an advice columnist and divorced her cheating husband. She really wants a child and is hoping to adopt. When her Aunt Calpurnia dies, Celia inherits her house in Charleston and decides to fix it up in preparation for the new baby. As she works to restore the house she acquires friends, neighbors and helpers and eventually finds herself as well. I liked this book much better than I expected, the characters are all interesting and many are funny. The story unfolds naturally.
    • 4/5
      Celia Fairchild, living in NYC, has lost her job as an advice columnist, her ever straying husband and her self confidence. She has also just been placed on the list as a possible adoptive parent. Celia’s aunt, Calpurnia, has just died and her vintage southern home in Charleston, has been left to Celia. When Celia arrives in Charleston, the city she grew up in, she finds the old house to be a hoarders’ treasure box that is falling apart inside and out. The challenge is to restore the house before a home visit by the adoption agency.Enter a marvelous cast of characters from the neighborhood and old friends ready to help restore the house and in the process help Celia recognize her true self. A fun read that moves along quickly, sure to appeal to foodies, crafters and potential visitors to Charleston.Read as an ARC from LibraryThing.
    • 4/5
      Celia Fairchild, 37, has been writing a successful advice column, “Dear Calpurnia,” for twelve years. She also has been hoping to adopt a baby even after the failure of her 3-year marriage. As the book begins, however, Celia lost her job in New York after her online publication sold out to a larger media company, and even lost the rights to offer advice as ‘Calpurnia.” She needs a job and money, making her not exactly the best prospect for being selected by a mother wanting a home for her baby. She finds unexpected redemption, however, when she hears that she inherited a house in Charleston, South Carolina. It is a historic building, although it is a wreck and needs extensive cleaning and renovation. She soon discovers that the people you need most show up at the moment they’re most needed, as she finds help through new friends and community in Charleston. She even gets a “family,” albeit it is quite different than the one she envisioned starting out.Evaluation: This sweet story is someone reminiscent of a Hallmark Channel movie, but with more depth and sophistication. It is also quite the love letter to Charleston. The ending is unexpected, but nuanced and satisfying.