Nadine Rose Larter

In high school they were the best of friends; growing up in a remote country town they had little other choice. Now, years later, they had all grown up and gone their separate ways, at least most had. There were some who were still clinging to the past, unable to change or move on from events long ago, others however tried outrunning the memories of the past that still haunted them. None of them had expected to meet up so soon, there were some who would have rather not at all, but death has a way of bringing people together, weather they want to or not.

Coffee at Little Angels brings together seven people who were once close high school friends but now have nothing more in common then the death of a mutual friend. While for most of them it had been years since they last meet up, for others there had barely been a day between visits. All had been affected by the friendships they once had, all were hurting from the secrets, betrayals and broken hearts of the past. Now however over one weekend and numerous cups of coffee these strangers will reconnect, and rediscover what brought them together in the first place.… (más)

Interesting interplay of characters a decade after their graduation from High School and their dispersion from the small town they had been raised, into the world and their individual fortunes. One of their HS group who had remained in their home town was killed early in the morning while out jogging with his dog by a hit'n'run driver. Their remaining hometown friend, Kaitlyn, contacted the group of friends and extracted a promise to return for the funeral to honor Phillip (even though all of them had moved on and didn't have any regular contact with either Phillip or each other. Kaitlyn and her mother owned the motel and restaurant/lounge that she booked her HS friends into and planned the funeral as Phillip's parents had died earlier. Each chapter is headed by the name of one of the characters and they generally spoke for themselves, giving their version of the feelings and linkages that separated their characters and drew them together. The all basically questioned why they had returned and wondered why they couldn't feel the loss or mourn for their friend. They started to question their personal honesty and missed the tears that they felt obliged to shed. Phillip showed up on his own chapters and filled in the story from his own perspective and balanced out the story, giving comfort to Sarah who had missed her chance to tell him she really loved him until he appeared following his death. The coming together allowed this group to work out the group tensions that they had left their home town with and straighten out the misconceptions that had been a drain on their happiness. Good characters, strong feelings, emotional baggage and valid spiritual release in a good ending. Good book to re-read and enjoy!… (más)

This was an interesting book. I first thought about the movie “Sweet Home Alabama” where the main character has to go back to her home town to get her divorce papers signed so she can get remarried. At the beginning we see her behaving like she doesn’t belong there at all. As the movie progresses we see her becoming comfortable with who she is inside. In the book we hear from each character, beginning with the deceased. We learn what has happened to each of them as they have moved on with their lives, leaving their small town behind. For most of them, reuniting is painful. We learn that many of them feel duty bound to attend the funeral even though they don’t like each other very much. The author truly has a gift of creating characters that are flawed.

In the beginning I really disliked Maxine. She seemed so cold. When she returned and we learned the reason for her hard shell, we got to see the real Maxine inside. We realized she was soft and loving inside. You could see the growth and change that came forth through deep painful, snips at each other to get to the person that had existed when they were young.

I loved the way the book ended. I didn’t expect it and that twist made it all come together. Phil was the one constant throughout the entire book. The one who thought he was never enough but we find out was more than enough. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Then you must read this book.… (más)

Some of us had our "clicks" in school and you either were apart of the one or the other kind of group. But some more than others preferred not to be apart of any one's "click" rather than their own. This is the norm in Coffee Time at Little Angels.

The book takes you through the days of seven people after they all return to their home town for the funeral of their eighth group member. Each one deals with the death of their friend in their own way and the book is not so much a story as it is a collection of narratives of the seven remaining friends.

How you may ask does the title come about? Well this because of the fact that they meet for coffee at a coffee shop called, yes you guessed it, Little Angels. Now the book is overall very well written and does offer some very valuable insight into dealing with the death of a friend. And I definitely learned something from what it must feel like to loose a close personal friend, as for much of my life I have only personally dealt with the death's of family members and beloved pets so the feeling of loosing a close friend is still something I need to face but for one who might have faced this already or like myself still needs to this book will definitely be like a type of guide for what it is like being on the "other" side.

The author has definitely proven she amongst one of the great writers to come out of South Africa and I can tell only more good things are in store for us the readers.

Reviewed by Desere
Review copy provided by Nadine Rose Larter

http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2011/11/review-coffee-time-at-little-angels-by...… (más)