I thought there would be more mystery surrounding the charms, but most of them were boring and I honestly get a little annoyed with Arthur and his constant wishywashiness on if he should investigate the charms or not. The writing was very simplistic, which doesn't have to be a bad thing, but the dialogue was horrendous. No one talks like this in real life and everyone was just too perfect in the end... Addition is overcome, the trapped find freedom, the lonely find love, estranged just suddenly start caring again.. and everyone comes together in the end to be one big giant happy family. Gag. The overall message that life goes on, and you should YOLO while you can is touching, but not worth the read. Pass.

This was probably between 3 and 4 stars for me, so I'm rounding up. :)

Along the same vein as The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which I read previously. I'm thinking that if I had read this one first, I would have liked it better, but it suffered by not being totally fresh to me. Still, a sweet, quick read that I could recommend to anyone.

Arthur is eccentric, charming, and definitely changed by his search for who is wife was before she married him. In the vein of Little Paris Bookshop and The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry. A lovely, gentle read.

I really loved The Curious Charms of Author Pepper. Ms. Patric has created a very likable protagonist and several supporting characters with whom he interacts during his search for the truth of his late wife's life before meeting Author.

The story begins a year after Author's wife dies. They had a wonderful marriage for over forty years. He is having a difficult time as he is alone now; wife died, daughter divorced and living away, the son living and raising a family in Australia. Neither of the kids came to their mother's funeral.

He decides that it is time to get rid of his wife's things and in doing so finds a charm bracelet. He chases down the meaning of the charms. During this time, he learns a lot about his wife. I thought there was nothing about which she would have been ashamed, they just never learned about life before their meeting.

As it happens, she was a remarkable woman. I will leave the discovery of her life to you as you read, or listen to the book. I actually listened.

While the story itself is wonderful, I am sure that the narrator helped the enjoyment. All in all, I can highly recommend The Curious Charms of Author Pepper

A cute tale of an elderly gent finding himself through his investigation of who his wife was before him

Such a beautiful story about Arthur Pepper trying to find his way after his wife's death. Very uplifting and sweet. I highly recommend it!

A sweet story about an elderly widow's unexpected journey to learn more about his wife after finding a forgotten charm bracelet. It was interesting to learn more about his wife's past with Arthur. The characters were very likable and the ending very sweet. The "murder" storyline seemed unnecessary though.

4.5

Such a sweet read! Loved the main character Arthur and his adventures. (I wish something else would have happened to the bracelet and elephant charm but don't want to give spoilers.)