Book Review: "Dreams of Arcadia" by Brian Porter

A captivating story of self discovery and long-buried family secrets.

Nate Holub, a veterinarian with two teenage daughters, takes a job in his father’s hometown, wondering if a city boy has what it takes to be a country vet. As he struggles to adapt, Nate reconnects with his family and discovers that his father’s accidental death thirty years earlier was much more complicated than he realized.

Nate probes the past, afraid of what he might find. He encounters a resentful cousin, a wary town patriarch, a reclusive uncle and his long-sequestered daughter, a beguiling hidden garden, a mysterious illness, and a war widow who shows him that love is still possible. He is drawn to the Holub family farm, where he seeks refuge in nature and tries desperately to reach Viola, his inscrutable grandmother. The farm is a place that haunts his memory, a place where dark family secrets dwell. - from Booksirens.com

I received this eARC through Booksirens.com and am providing an unbiased review.

This was a well-written story of a family tied to the land, and a loss that has been secreted for many years. The writing style was so understandable and gave such detail to the descriptions of not only people, but places. I really felt drawn into the story, and though there needs to be a final stop somewhere, I wish there was more for Porter to share with us. This was a unique look into what many would consider a regular American family over the past 50 or so years.