WINNER!!! Christianity Today Award 2023 (print)!!!
Count your nights by stars, not shadows. Count your life with smiles, not tears.
1961. After a longtime resident at Nashvilleâs historic Maxwell House Hotel suffers a debilitating stroke, Audrey Whitfield is tasked with cleaning out the reclusive womanâs room. There, she discovers an elaborate scrapbook filled with memorabilia from the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Love notes on the backs of unmailed postcards inside capture Audreyâs imagination with hints of a forbidden romance . . . and troubling revelations about the disappearance of young women at the exposition. Audrey enlists the help of a handsome hotel guest as she tracks down clues and information about the mysterious âPeachesâ and her regrets over one fateful day, nearly sixty-five years earlier.
1897. Outspoken and forward-thinking Priscilla Nichols isnât willing to settle for just any man. Sheâs still holding out hope for love when she meets Luca Moretti on the eve of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Charmed by the Italian immigrantâs boldness, Priscilla spends time exploring the wonderous sights of the expo with Lucaâuntil a darkness overshadows the monthslong event. Haunted by a terrible truth, Priscilla and Luca are sent down separate paths as the nightâs stars fade into dawn.