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Fiction. Literature. HTML:Now a Hallmark Original Movie! "A perfect read for lovers of Antoine Laurain's The Red Notebook, Gabrielle Zevin's The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, and Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove." �??Library Journal, starred review "Phaedra Patrick understands the soul." �??Nina George, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop A delightful gem of a novel about family, forgiveness and finding your way from the bestselling author of The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper Benedict Stone has settled into a complacent and predictable routine. Business at his jewelry shop has dried up; his marriage is on the rocks. His life is in desperate need of a jump start�??and then a surprise arrives at his door in the form of his audacious teenage niece, Gemma. Reckless and stubborn, she invites herself into Benedict's world and turns his orderly life upside down. But she might just be exactly what he needs to get his life back on track. Filled with colorful characters and irresistible charm, Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone is a luminous reminder of the unbreakable bonds of family, and shows that having someone to embrace life with is always better than standing on your own. Don't miss Phaedra Patrick's winning new novel, The Messy Lives of Book People! Look for Phaedra Patrick's other charming bestsellers! The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper The Library of Lost and Found The Secrets of Love Story Brid… (more)
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Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone is a story of broken dreams, fractured family, and the power of belief. One lonely night, Benedict Stone is woken by banging on his door. On the other side is a young woman
As the days turn to first one week, then another, Benedict begins to change under Gemma's influence. He begins to eat healthier, exercise more, and do spontaneous things. She drags several of his earliest jewelry-crafting pieces to his jewelry shop, where he's long since settled into a boring routine of crafting plain jewelry on autopilot. As Gemma begins to recommend custom designed pieces to customers who come in, trying to find gemstones that will be most beneficial to them, Benedict begins designing and crafting again. In doing so, he wakens his dormant creative passion.
Through all of this, Gemma also helps her uncle try to win his wife's heart back. For so long, Benedict has wanted children, though time and trying have proven he and Estelle cannot have natural children. He would be happy to adopt, but Estelle is dead set against it. Serious introspection helps Benedict figure out the underlying needs behind his desire for children, since it is his pushing for adoption that drove his wife away.
A chance discovery that Gemma has been, in part, lying to him prompts Benedict to finally track down Charlie's number and let him know where Gemma is. It also leads to Benedict sharing with Estelle the reason the brothers are estranged, and to Charlie showing up in sleepy little Noon Sun. Gemma flees her father and it takes Benedict, Charlie, and Estelle working together to find her, setting into motion healing on all fronts.
This was an amazing story, at times funny, and at others poignantly sad. Above all, it is relatable. Who doesn't have secrets in their families, or familial strife? Who wouldn't benefit from being shaken out of a rut in some aspect of their life? I love how the thread of magickal/emotional uses of gemstones is threaded all throughout the novel, especially with chapter headings. Gemma serves as a catalyst, jumpstarting Benedict’s personal and creative transformation, leading him to create beautiful pieces of magickal jewelry. As he frees from his lifelong ruts, beneficial change begins to overtake Benedict. As it does, his changes influence Gemma herself, allowing her to begin transforming in turn.
This is a story of family, and the many ways 'family’ can be defined. Despite being estranged for nearly two decades, Benedict and Charlie are brought back together by a mutual love for Gemma. Benedict learns that he doesn't need children of his own to have a family. He and Estelle can become a great aunt and uncle instead of great parents. He even learns that Cecil and Puss are part of his family, and that the village of Noon Sun creates a unique version of family as well.
📚📚📚📚📚 Highly recommended
If it were Estelle, though, it would be good news so Benedict decided to answer the knock.
Much to his surprise, it wasn't Estelle, but Gemma who announced that she was his niece from America and she had lost
Gemma was a bit on the troublesome side, but she also was good for Benedict since the house was pretty lonely after Estelle left.
Gemma was the one who was helping Benedict change even though Gemma was pretty closed mouth about why she appeared on his doorstep and didn't want to call her father to let him know where she was.
Benedict was sweet but naive and had a heart of gold. He and Gemma grew together, and Gemma helped Benedict in his jewelry shop - a shop Gemma said needed some new ideas and changes just like Benedict did.
Gemma also was playing matchmaker as she helped her Uncle Ben get his wife back.
I thoroughly enjoyed Benedict and felt sorry for him as he worked through living without his wife. His jewelry shop and their love just hadn't been enough for them after they were unable to have children after eight years.
RISE & SHINE, BENEDICT STONE was a heartwarming read about family, about trying new things, and about trying to get what you need in life.
If you need an uplifting read for any reason, RISE & SHINE, BENEDICT STONE fits the bill. It brings back memories and thoughts of the precious things we all have in our lives and truly need to focus on.
ENJOY!! 5/5
This book was give to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. It is a sweet, tender story about an up-tight, rather taciturn, 44 year old middle aged man, Benedict Stone, and his 16 year old niece Gemma Stone. Although uninvited, she arrives on his
Benedict Stone is a jeweler who has recently been rejected by his wife Estelle, an artist. They had once lived happily and quietly in what seemed to be a lovely English village called Noon Sun. Benedict dearly wanted to have children, but he and his wife were, so far, unable to start a family. She moved on, but he would not give up hope and it was straining their marriage. Gemma is the daughter of Benedict’s younger brother Charlie, a man he had not seen or heard from in 18 years. Benedict was 18 and Charlie was 10 when their parents were killed in a tsunami. Benedict devoted his life to raising his brother until the day Charlie left for America to live with his girlfriend Amelia’s family. Amelia was the woman who was to become his wife. Gemma now lives with her father on a farm in Maine. Her parents were divorced but her father and his new wife are expecting a child. Gemma feels utterly unwanted and rejected by all of these new developments in her life. Essentially, the absence of a child in one couple’s life and the presence of a coming child in another’s, is the seed of all of the problems.
When Estelle left Benedict to move into her friend’s apartment to ostensibly pursue her art career and to think about their waning relationship, he lost his interest in most things. Without her, he went through his days automatically. He took his comfort in food and disregarded the condition of his home which was succumbing to his neglectful ways. When someone banged on his door in the middle of one rainy night, he was surprised to find, not his wife returning, but instead, a bedraggled, rather arrogant teenager was on his doorstep. She demanded to be let in after announcing that she was his brother’s daughter, a brother he had not had any contact with for 18 years, a brother who lived across the ocean in America! From here on in, this semi-stranger, his niece Gemma, helps to bring about many positive changes in the lives of all those she meets in the village. As long kept secrets are exposed, and new ones are suddenly discovered, revelations cause monumental changes in all of their lives.
Together, the budding relationship between uncle and niece, which begins in fits and starts, teaches them both, and those with whom they interact, how to see things more clearly, how to open themselves up to challenge and face their fears, and it brings them all satisfaction and provides them with the confidence they need to make the necessary adjustments that will improve their lives.
Fairytale like, this unconventional young girl brings joy into the lives of all she meets with her brutal honesty and sincerity. Sometimes, her analysis seems to be coming from the only adult in the room, defying the reality that she is the only child present. She enables many of the town’s residents, who are floundering, to find their way to happiness, although she has a hard time finding consistent joy for herself.
It was a pleasure to read and learn about the meaning of each gemstone, it’s purpose, and the way in which it was used in the story to help a character achieve his/her goal. It was the magic of believing that seemed to pave the way, seemed to be the impetus for the achievement each character sought. The stones seemed to be the mechanism that united families, friends and lovers, that mended fences and romances, and that renewed hope in many. Although secrets destroyed relationships, revealing them sometimes led to more solid foundations and reconciliation.
The names of the characters seemed to have been chosen tongue-in-cheek. Benedict Stone’s parents died on a business trip in search of gemstones. Benedict is a jeweler who works with stones. Gemma’s first name and their common surname Stone is an obvious combination of both words in gemstone. It is through the gemstones and their meanings that the book develops and the characters grow. They come in search of something nebulous, and Gemma and Benedict give them the tools they need to fulfill their dreams. As the “gem and the stone” discover each other, they provide what just might bring them all the happiness they seek.
Then Gemma comes into his life. The daughter of his brother, the only living family members he has left. And, things begin to change.
The story then took a new twist with Gemma learning and teaching about the meaning of gemstones and handing them out to people with hopes to better their lives. Gemma is hiding a huge secret, but then so is Benedict. Even Estelle doesn't know Benedict's secret and she knows everything about him.
When this story was all said and done, I was so sorry that I thought of Benedict as a loser. He's not a loser. He just needed a push, something to get him out of his misery and his sadness of not being able to have a family.
A beautiful, entertaining and enjoyable read! Thanks to Harlequin and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
His wife left him, he hasn't spoken with his brother in many years, and now he is forced to relate to this wayward teen aged child.
There is nothing dramatic. Benedict is simply stuck on the fact that he wants children and he and his wife are not successful in that endeavor. Now that they are mid-life, things should slow down, but change is in the air and, Benedict must somehow break out of his emotional wall before he loses it all. Just like a wonderful spot of tea, this is a soft story, both humorous and poignant.
3.5***
Benedict Stone is a middle-aged man with problems. His jewelry shop in the village of Noon Sun is barely operational, his wife has left him, he hardly cleans his house, and in his rather depressed state he’s resorted to baked goods which have
Thus, begins this delightful novel of one man’s awakening. Benedict is a good man, but consumed by his desire to have children, and by guilt for a long-past dispute that resulted in the break with his brother. Gemma, who wants details of her family lore, pushes him to recall and reconcile. She’s also the catalyst for Benedict’s change – improving his diet, insisting he exercise, suggesting new options for the shop, and providing some “romantic” advice on how to win back his wife.
There are some wonderfully endearing hilarious scenes that result from Gemma’s romantic advice. But there’s quite a bit of serious drama as well. It seems that Benedict isn’t the only Stone family member who is good at running away from problems rather than facing them. And sprinkled throughout is a bit of the mythology and meaning of gemstones.
Patrick has crafted a sort of modern-day fairy tale, with a cast of eccentric characters (and the village is practically a character in itself), and a happy ending. It was a charming, heart-warming read.
The audiobook is performed by James Langton, who did a marvelous job. I really like the way he interpreted Benedict and Gemma.
Benedict courted his wife and loved her with all his heart but he hid a secret about why there was a deep rife between him and Charlie. Benedict began to desire children. But it was not to be and it hurt her deeply when as the years unrolled, they knew that they could not have children. Estelle started to live separately efrom Charlie and this made him very depressed. It looked like life would never get better.
Then his niece, Gemma pops into the story. Benedict had no idea that she was coming. Mystery of why is she there starts to build. I have left out the book that Benedict's father wrote about the different qualities of gems. That stirred up my curiosty. I have a huge coffee table sized book about gemI loved this book even more than The Curious of Arthur Pepper because I could identify with Benedict Stone. Like the jeweler, I had a falling out with a relative. Benedict's parents died in an accidemt and he being the older son had to care for and raise his younger brother. He did his best, was father and mother Charlie. Charlie accepted everything that his older brother gave him and was to it and did not appreciate the great sacrifice that Benedict made for him.
Benedict courted his wife and loved her with all his heart but he hid a secret about why there was a deep rife between the brothers and began to desire children. But it was not to be and it hurt her deeply when as the years unrolled, they knew that they could not have children. Estelle started to live separately efrom Charlie and this made him very depressed. It looked like life would never get better.
Then his niece, Gemma pops into the story. Benedict had no idea that she was coming. Mystery of why is she there starts to build. I have left out that Benedict's father wrote about the different qualities of gems. That stirred up my curiosty. I have a huge coffee table sized book that I have always fascinated. You can sit for hours reading about gems while the hands of the clock whir and whir quickly forward.
I regret that my relative has not forgiven what I said and she remains quiet and shut off from me even I have begged her to forgive me. But I really get the sadness and poor Benedict was going through -I have experienced it! And for gems, they can be comfort and a fascination both. Please read or listen to the audio book. I think that audio book is better because of the different characters performed by James Langton. that I have always fascinated. You can sit for hours reading about gems while the hands of the clock whir and whir quickly forward.
I regret that my relative has not forgiven what I said and she remains quiet and shut off from me even I have begged her to forgive me. But I really get the sadness and poor Benedict was going through -I have experienced it! And for gems, they can be comfort and a fascination both. Please read or listen to the audio book. I think that audio book is better because of the different characters performed by James Langton.
Benedict Stone, 44 years old,
Then a vaguely familiar teenage girl shows up at his door. She is Gemma, 16-year-old daughter of Benedict's estranged brother, who moved to America years before. If Benedict thinks he has problems, Gemma's are worse. Feeling unloved after her mother left and her father diverted all his attention to a new woman, the girl has run away to England and the only relative she knows about.
Benedict, whose endless pining for a child is one reason Estelle left him, finds in Gemma the child he has yearned for. In her uncle, Gemma finds a loving father figure. Together they set about solving each other's problems. She turns out to have a gift for knowing the perfect gemstone for customers at that particular point of their lives, and she awakens Benedict's creativity in making jewelry. She also takes over Benedict's campaign to win back Estelle.
Meanwhile her uncle takes steps to reunite Gemma with her father, made difficult because that means reuniting with his brother himself. And that means facing up to the act that caused his brother to break contact with him so many years before.
So yes, this does seem as fake as costume jewelry, all a little too neat, but as with “The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper” and “The Library of Lost and Found,” the novel is a joy to read.