17 Marigold Lane (Prudence Penderhaus Book 1) by R.M. Gilmore – Review by Angela Hayes

17 Marigold Lane by R.M. Gilmore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

17 Marigold Lane is the first book in the Prudence Penderhaus series by R.M Gilmore. This is the first book that I have read by Ms. Gilmore, so I was intrigued to see what I would discover once I opened the cover. This is a bit of an emotional young adult story with lots of mystery, humour, secrets, lies, courage, learning to live in the face of death, the dreaded “C” word, and so much more.
I didn’t expect to discover a story with quite as much depth as this has, or one which gave me pause in a thought-provoking way. I thought the author did a really wonderful job of developing and ‘growing’ her characters- they really added an extra element of interest to the whole story. The plot was really well developed too, but I think the story is more character driven, because without these quirky, off-beat, and endearing characters, the story just wouldn’t be the same.
Prudence was anything but your typical 17 year-old. She’s socially awkward and bit of an outcast. But things change dramatically when she gets a grim diagnosis. She decides to throw caution to the wind and do the things that she’d always been too afraid to do. Which is where this story really takes off. Add Cassius to the mix, and the plot takes a wonderful turn. Cass is on the Autism/Asperger’s spectrum, but seems to be high functioning. He’s just as socially awkward as she is, and so they are well suited and make a great ‘team’. When mystery arrives, these two take us on an intriguing, and quite touching adventure….. and the story is set to continue in the next book. Although it was a little slow in the beginning, this didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of this story.
I can’t wait for book two and will definitely be pouncing on it as soon as it releases.
A really great little read!

Thank you, R,M Gilmore!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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