Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd Book Review

Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd

Description from Amazon:

Answering a woman’s desperate call for help, young Navy widow Helen Devries opens her Whidbey Island home as a refuge to Choi Eunhee. As they bond over common losses and a delicate, potentially devastating secret, their friendship spans the remainder of their lives.

After losing her mother, Cassidy Quinn spent her childhood summers with her gran, Helen, at her farmhouse. Nourished by her grandmother’s love and encouragement, Cassidy discovers a passion that she hopes will bloom into a career. But after Helen passes, Cassidy learns that her home and garden have fallen into serious disrepair. Worse, a looming tax debt threatens her inheritance. Facing the loss of her legacy and in need of allies and ideas, Cassidy reaches out to Nick, her former love, despite the complicated emotions brought by having him back in her life.

Cassidy inherits not only the family home but a task, spoken with her grandmother’s final breaths: ask Grace Kim―Eunhee’s granddaughter―to help sort through the contents of the locked hope chest in the attic. As she and Grace dig into the past, they unearth their grandmothers’ long-held secret and more. Each startling revelation reshapes their understanding of their grandmothers and ultimately inspires the courage to take risks and make changes to own their lives.

Set in both modern-day and midcentury Whidbey Island, Washington, this dual-narrative story of four women―grandmothers and granddaughters―intertwines across generations to explore the secrets we keep, the love we pass down, and the heirlooms we inherit from a well-lived life.

I pretty quickly got pulled into this story and came to really like the characters. I was really into Helen and Eunhee's story and was a bit disappointed when the story shifted focus to Cassidy's timeline. I've gotten really tired of these dual-timeline stories as they can be really annoying to keep straight with their many characters; but fortunately that wasn't the case with this one! 

Both characters were so expertly written that I found myself feeling a little sad (but also excited) when the story switched back to the other. I definitely preferred Helen and Eunhee's story, but Cassidy's flowed well throughout.

Having grown up in Washington state (not too far away from where the book was set!) I was extremely familiar with the setting and it was very nostalgic for me. I could easily imagine everything going on what things looked like or how things were. This is also a testament to how well the book was written; even if you've never visited Washington the story is so well described (without being over the top) that it's easy to imagine it like a movie in your mind. 

And not only is the book well written setting-wise, it's well written period-wise as well. I enjoyed all the descriptions and nods to life during the 50's. Rotary phones and party lines, Elvis on TV, learning to cook from cookbooks and gardening from Better Homes & Gardens books. It all really helped to set the scene!

I appreciated the mentions of the Korean war and the role it played in Eunhee's life. There is unfortunately a reason why it is called The Forgotten War and I always wonder why books (even ones written during the 50's) completely ignore it. Life for the Korean people before, during, and after the Korean war was very difficult. There is a huge gap in the market for stories like this. 

Eunhee coming to America with her Navy husband and then trying to make a life here, while also trying to keep in touch with her family in Korea, leads to some struggles and heartbreak (I don't want to give any of the plot away!).

I enjoyed learning about the Korean culture and the role it played in the story. Especially son-mat, which means "hand taste or the taste-from-one's-hands". What a sweet way of passing on family traditions/recipes to the next generation! 

This was a beautiful story about family, friendship, community, culture, and heartbreak. This story touched on some tough topics but there were so many wonderful, tender moments that made this a truly enjoyable story to read. I read a lot of books and while there aren't many that I would say truly stick with me, this was one I will continue to think about for a long time.

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. 

Heirlooms releases on July 5, 2022.