This week’s Fiber Arts Fiction Friday post is a little bittersweet, as it’s the sixth and final book in Marie Bostwick’s Cobbled Court Quilt series (although we do get two additional books about some of the characters in the Too Much Texas spinoff!). While Apart At the Seams brings out time in New Bern, Connecticut, to a close, the women of the Cobbled Court Quilters will always remain in our hearts.
Synopsis (Story Details Below, But No Major Spoilers)
Gayla Oliver has a thriving college admission counseling business in New York City. Her twin children are now grown and she’s looking forward to spending more time with her husband, Brian. Her world crashes down upon her when she accidentally discovers an unsent letter addressed to her in which Brian reveals he had an affair and wants a divorce.
Gayla flees the city in a fog of sadness, eventually ending up in their vacation home in New Bern, Connecticut. She struggles to control her emotions, finally finding relief by smashing china dishes outside in the middle of the night. Her neighbor comes over the next day, concerned, and Gayla is forced to make up a story about putting in a garden to explain her erratic nocturnal adventure.
Meanwhile, Cobbled Court Quilter Ivy Peterman has just learned that her abusive ex-husband is about to be released from prison and wants to reconnect with their children, Bobby and Bethany. Ivy’s been working hard to rebuild her life in New Bern, and has even begun working towards her college degree by taking one class at a time at the local community college. A well-meaning professor encourages her to apply for a special scholarship that would allow her to complete her degree in three years, but Ivy soon realizes it would be too much of a hardship for her family.
As they have so often done in the past five books, the Cobbled Court quilters recognize Gayla’s need for a strong group of friends and invite her to join their weekly sewing circle. As Gayla tells her story to them, the idea of a summer sabbatical emerges. Each of the women agrees to tackle a project or task of their own choosing over the summer, seeking to grow and learn in new ways. At the end of the book, each character reveals their summer sabbatical activity, which runs the gambit from skydiving to gardening!
My Review
Apart At The Seams was a wonderful end to the Cobbled Court Quilt series and our time in New Bern. Marie Bostwick wraps up the arching storylines that have been told over the six books and ends the series with happy endings for everyone. Although none of the characters ended up quite where they thought they would be, each and every one has found contentment in their own life and in their own way.
This has been one of the most enjoyable series of books that I’ve ever read, and one that I know I’ll continue to return to in the future anytime I need a reminder that there are good people in the world who will help support one another through thick and thin.
Final Thoughts
I’m looking forward into diving into the spinoff series, Too Much Texas, to get a few more pages with Mary Dell Templeton, one of the characters met through the Cobbled Court Quilters. The first book in this spin-off is Between Heaven and Texas. Marie Bostwick is one of my all-time favorite authors and I’m so grateful for the time I’ve spent reading and imagining the world she created in New Bern.
Ready to read Apart At The Seams? Grab your copy on Amazon here.
Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Leave a Reply