Patterns of Change

This one was an ok read for me. The good - a wonderful story of love, friendship, forgiveness, and bravery to forge ahead when life throws you obstacles. It's very well written with a wonderful host of characters. The characters however were part of the problem I had while reading this one. There are just so many of them. When reading be reading to flip back and forth to make sure you know who each one is. The other thing about this one that bothered me was the pace of the book. The whole thing just seemed a bit drawn out. So to me the overall story was good but I did struggle a bit to finish it.

Patterns of Change by Terri Dulong is the first book in the Ormond Beach series. Chloe Radcliffe is trying to get over the recent deaths of her Aunt Maude and her significant other, Gabe (who died suddenly). She has just been drifting along and believes it might be time for a change. Chloe decides to visit Ormond Beach, Florida. Chloe and Gabe were going to move there before he passed away. Chloe rents a condo from Henry Wagner. She meets Yarrow and Mavis Anne Overby. Yarrow owns the Yarrow’s Tea Shop and Mavis Anne owns the beautiful Victorian home that Chloe has been dreaming about (before she ever saw it). Mavis Anne convinces Chloe to open a yarn shop in a cute building behind the Victorian Home (named Koi House). Half the building will be the new yarn shop and the other half with be Yarrow’s tea shop. This is a new start for Chloe. Then she is reminded of an incident from college. In order for Chloe to move forward with her life (especially her love life) she will need to learn forgiveness. Can Chloe forgive and embrace her new life in Ormond Beach? You will have to read Patterns of Change to find out. I enjoyed Patterns of Change. It is nice to see Chloe and all our old friends from the Cedar Key series. I like that she is moving on (and we will get more stories). Patterns of Change is easy and enjoyable to read. The setting of Ormond Beach is just lovely (the author wrote some gorgeous descriptions of the city and beach area). The Victorian home described in the book is my dream home and I can understand why Chloe wants to live in it. I like the message of forgiveness in the book. It is so hard to forgive someone especially when they committed a horrible act against a person. The other message in the book is friendship. Chloe arrives in town not knowing a soul and ends up with some great new friends. They are united through their love of yarn and creating objects with fiber (there is also a great shawl pattern enclosed in the book). It does help to have read the Cedar Key series (so you know the history of Chloe), but it is not necessary (since it is a new city and new characters). I give Patterns of Change 4.5 out of 5 stars (there are a couple of slow areas). I liked reading Patterns of Change and will look forward to reading the next book in the Ormond Beach series. I received a complimentary copy of Patterns of Change from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.