Upstairs at Miss Hattie's

UPSTAIRS AT MISS HATTIE'S is a wonderful Harlequin Everlasting Love romance that tells the story of a love that survived the Depression and WWII. The historical detail adds to the romance. The hero is one of the highlights of Ken Casper's romance and the kind of everyday hero that will steal a reader's heart. Bram and Sarah Clyburn plan to marry but when a politician threatens to reveal Sarah's dark past, she plans to break off the marriage so Bram can be a politician without being hindered. Evvie and Edgar take this couple aside and tell them the story of their own love and the troubles they faced during the lean days of the Dust Bowl and also World War II. Evvie tells Sarah how she ended up working as a prostitute and how her past troubled her. Edgar tells Bram how he met Evvie and of his service in WWII, including his days as a prisoner of war. Seen from from the perspective of Edgar and Evvie's long happy marriage, will their story help young Bram and Sarah gain more perspective of those things that really count in life? UPSTAIRS AT MISS HATTIE'S provides an interesting variation on the theme of mixing business with pleasure in a romance. Evvie worked as a prostitute when her family desperately needed money but she never ever experienced an orgasm or took any sexual pleasure for herself as she pleased her customers. She loved one man and only one man and he is the only man who ever satisfied her sexually or in any other way. Edgar mixing business with pleasure? This theme has a little more of grey area there but Evvie grabbed his heart the minute he saw her at Miss Hattie's on that fateful day. This was a fun Everlasting Love read. The author's description of the times and of Miss Hattie's were very fine indeed. Ken Casper's research into World War II military history and American history clearly shone through in his writing and in the characterization, particularly his creation of Edgar. The shifting between Evvie and Edgar's story flowed naturally and often provided additional insights to the same events. At times, Evvie seemed a tiny bit strident in her tone, especially when justifying her job and that she was or was not a prostitute but that it was only her business. That tone only bothered me at the very end because throughout most of the romance Evvie's repetition of this defense is a means to bolster her self-image and separate her spirit from what she had to do to help her family survive. Through 98% of the book, Evvie's inner thoughts felt natural as they emanated from the character and her emotional needs. Only at the end did her tone feel slightly preachy. On the other hand, the end has one delightful surprise guaranteed to bring a smile (and not at all preachy!). A very nice beautiful romance!

Bram and Sarah Clyburn are about to end their marriage because of a mistake Sarah made in college. She found herself agreeing to and becoming an escort with her sorority sisters. While she quit long before she met Bram in her mind she can never escape the stigma of her past. When Bram considers running for office, a senator's wife brings up her past and tells her if Bram runs against her husband, she will ruin his reputation by bring up Sarah's past. Bram's grandparents are heart broken when they hear the news, and for the first time in their sixty-five years of marriage, they share their history with their families. For Bram and Sarah it makes them look at themselves and his grandparents, Evvie and Edgar in a new light. UPSTAIRS AT MISS HATTIE'S focuses on not only the present problems with Bram and Sarah who do indeed love each other, but Evvie and Edgar's story. Readers will learn that at the age of sixteen, Evvie was forced by circumstances to do things that were unheard of and unspoken about in her world. This reviewer won't ruin the surprises and the drama of this novel, but it is definitely worth the read. This is one of the most dramatic and heartbreaking novels this reader has read, yet it comes with a happily ever after that romance readers dream about. This novel will remain in the thoughts of this reviewer for a long time to come, the story comes packed with emotion, I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy when they past and present collide. This is the novel that tells just why your parents and grandparents sometimes know best. This novel's only downfall for this reader was the lack of proper proofreading. Although it is a debate what the correct use of the quotation marks should be, it is not consistent throughout the novel. This drew my attention from the plot and left me going back to see who the speaker was, and if as a reader I was missing something. Review Courtesy of LoveRomancesandmore

Out of love for her spouse, Sarah Clyburn decides to divorce her architect husband Bram so he is not impacted by the scandal that is brewing over her. The wife of a political rival has proof that Sarah paid her college tuition as an escort. Bram's grandparents, Evvie and Edgar know the pair deeply love each other and wants them to reconsider. Evvie tells Sarah that years ago she earned a living as one of those girls at Miss Hattie's house of ill repute. That was how she supported her dirt poor Oklahoma family during the depression. Feeling ashamed of what she did Evvie was going to throw away Edgar's love for his sake until he went overseas fighting for America during WW II. She prayed for him everyday to come back to her; as her past had nothing to do with the present or future except to affirm she was a strong person willing to sacrifice virtue for food for her family. Six plus decades later her loving marriage to Edgar is the legacy she leaves to Sarah and Bram to match and top. UPSTAIRS AT MISS HATTIE is a well written tale that affirms there is still plenty of room for creative story lines. The relationships, past and present, are fully developed so that the audience knows the four prime players. Readers will especially appreciate Evvie who did what she had to do to insure her family had food on the table during the Depression and while her Edgar served overseas during WW II. Ken Casper provides a strong family drama starring fully developed likable characters, especially the women, willing to do whatever for the benefit of their loved ones. Harriet Klausner