Susan Meissner is a master storyteller. Once again I was drawn quickly into her story. Clara Wood knows she's escaped from the traumatic event of witnessing someone she cared about jumping to his death during the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire by taking a job on Ellis Island. She prefers to stay in what she calls her in between place but when an immigrant arrives wearing his recently deceased wife's scarf, she is drawn to their common experience of grief. Fortunately for Clara, there are others around her who see that she needs to heal rather than escape from her trauma. The scene where the doctor helps her board the ferry to go to Manhattan is so descriptive I felt Clara's anxiety while I rooted her on. The parallel modern story, which gets much less coverage in the novel but is equally powerful, involves Taryn who happens to have that same scarf with her when the World Trade Towers collapse, killing her husband before she has a chance to tell him something important. Ten years later a photo of her is published, bringing back painful memories but also propelling Taryn into finally sharing the story with her daughter. I loved how Meissner tied this up in such a satisfying loving way.

I truly loved this book and highly recommend it to readers of both historical and contemporary novels who like stories about overcoming pain to love again.

I received a complimentary copy from Berkley/New American Library, a division of Penguin Group for an honest, unbiased review.

A Fall of Marigolds is a perfect example of that skill. This story invites us into the stories of two women who experienced tragedy in New York City, one on 9/11 and the other in the early 1900s. The tragedies have amazing similarities not the least of which is a scarf that is decorated with marigolds that ties the heroines together. The stories flow seamlessly back and forth and propelled me easily through the book. I longed to know what was going to happen to both women.

This story will grip you and pull you in whether you prefer historical or contemporary novels. Give this book a try...I don't think you'll be disappointed.

This is the first book I've read by Susan Meissner, but it certainly won't be the last - couldn't put it down! I love the way she wove together the stories of two women, 100 years apart, whose lives were touched by painful loss and united by a beautiful, silken scarf of marigolds. Each is given the opportunity for a fresh start - will they be brave enough to let that new life include love?

Meissner's characters are achingly honest and persons you somehow feel you already know. Clara and Taryn both protect themselves from pain by hiding behind a thick layer of scar tissue over their broken hearts. They wrestle with wondering about providence, and their own feelings of responsibility for the deaths of men they loved. In time, each is given an opportunity, not to turn back the clock as they'd hoped, but to peek into the past and find hope and healing.

I loved the plot twists and unexpected history lessons in this tightly written gem. Read it yourself and be transported to New York City then and now. This book is worth every tear you'll shed reading it!

I liked the way the story moved back and forth between the two women who lived a century apart. I kept waiting to see how the scarf connected them, and didn't expect how it turned out. It was a great story of healing. I loved this story and I would recommend it.

I won this book in an online giveaway.

At times emotionally overwhelming, a woven thread of character stories that tore at my heart — and then proceeded to put it back together again — "A Fall of Marigolds" is sure to impact lives and remind readers of what they have to be grateful for.

Set between two American tragedies in 1911 and again on 9/11 there were scenes throughout the book that were so emotionally evoking that I almost wanted to set the book down and breathe a different breath of air. I was taken to the streets of Manhattan on both of these tragedies that tore at my heart.

Clara and Taryn are two women, separated by one hundred years and yet tied together with this piece of cloth, a scarf that has seen them through some of the hardest points of their life. While the story has much going on within our characters, there is a tremendous level of hope. The story is told so both spectrums are well balanced and I found I didn't want to put the book down. I wanted to find out what happened to these women that came alive on the page.

This novel is written for the secular market, but one no less powerful with a story line that I think will connect with so many readers. It takes a great deal of emotional energy to write an emotionally impactful story and that was certainly accomplished within this novel.

This review is my honest opinion. Thanks to the author and publisher for my copy to review.