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Mary Ellen Taylor grew up in a southern family that embraced stories of all kinds, from a well-told anecdote to a good yarn or a tall tale. It may have been destined that Mary Ellen would take her storytelling heritage to new heights, moving beyond the oral tradition to become a published author.
"I realized early on the tremendous power stories have to inspire laughter, love, sorrow and even fear. It didn't matter if they were found in the pages of a book, spoken in hushed tones around a campfire, or shared at an old-fashioned family reunion. Stories created connections, and I knew that's what I wanted to do," says Mary Ellen.
Born in Richmond, Mary Ellen has spent most of her life in Richmond, but also lived in Alexandria for four years, which is when she fell in love with Alexandria's Old Town, the location for the McCrae family's bakery. She received her degree in English from Virginia’s Hollins University. After a decade of working in marketing and sales, she left to devote her time to writing. Today, in addition to her books as Mary Ellen Taylor, twenty of her romance and suspense novels and four novellas written as Mary Burton have been published and have earned spots on The New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. The latest, No Escape, has just been published.
When not writing or appearing at conferences and book signings, Mary Ellen continues her culinary pursuits. She's been a kitchen assistant for more than
Reviewed by Karen Pirnot for Readers' Favorite
Sweet Expectations by Mary Ellen Taylor is the latest in the Union Street Bakery series and it is a sensational read! Daisy McCrae was adopted at the age of three when her mother abandoned her. The bakery owners - the McCrae family - took her in and never let her go. Daisy has two sisters who are both adventuresome yet responsible adults. One sister is an archaeologist and the other a widow with five-year-old twins. In the past, when tragedy strikes, the McCrae family pulls together and makes lemonade from the lemons they have been handed. This book is no exception. At the time the bakery is under renovation, Daisy gets an unexpected surprise which will dramatically change her life as well as the lives of her extended family. She takes a no-nonsense approach to her problem, and even though she is the impulsive one in the family, she buckles down and makes life-changing decisions.
The plot of Sweet Expectations is well developed and author Taylor moves it at just the right pace. The characterizations are brilliant! Not having read the previous books in the series, the characters were presented fresh and new for me. I loved Daisy. She was the perfect combination of a bohemian, carefree woman who runs smack dab into life and all its issues. Daisy's sister Margaret comes off as a faithful family member with unfulfilled needs. The widowed sister Rachel is the perfect blend of the woman desperate to engage in life yet who is afraid to move ahead to potentially more pain. This is a story to stay with you as you watch others in the world struggle toward unmet needs and sweet expectations.
