The Tidewater Sisters by Lisa Wingate

Tandi Jo Reese has finally found a safe place to build her life and hope blooms strong as her wedding nears. However, when Tandi receives notice of a lawsuit against her, she is convinced she must confront her sister, Gina, who, most likely, is the cause of this issue. However, when she arrives in Tidewater, she finds the past she needs to confront is far more vast than she knew.

The Tidewater Sisters by Lisa Wingate is the postlude novella to The Prayer Box. In a sense, the novella could stand-alone as Wingate gives the essential background information, but I don't think it would be particularly engaging to me if I hadn't read The Prayer Box. It was my previous enjoyment of these characters that helped me enjoy The Tidewater Sisters.

As is common for novellas, there's limited character development, but Wingate does an admirable job in other areas. The plot never dragged. The relationship between Tandi and Gina rings with authenticity. She remarkably portrayed the reality of dysfunctional families without a miraculous, neat, wrap-everything-up-in-a-fake-way ending. However, she managed to give Tandi a hopeful and healthy future.

Bottom Line: If you enjoyed The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate, you'll enjoy revisiting Tandi Jo Reese in The Tidewater Sisters.

Let's Talk Heartbreaking Books - #TFBRC

Today on The Thankful for Books Reading Challenge, hosted by I Am A Reader & Clean Wholesome Romance, we are discussing: HEARTBREAKERS!

I read mostly Inspirational / Christian fiction and happy endings are pretty standard. That's the way I like it.

But there are two that I've read this year that I found pretty sad.

1.  Passing By Samaria by Sharon Ewell Foster. This book was hard to read. It deals with racism and doesn't gloss over things that were done to African-Americans.

2.  Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Not only was the story sad, but it was based on real-life happenings which made it even worse. Thankfully, the story finished with some hope and sisterhood.

What heartbreaking books have you read?

If you're interested in joining the Thankful for Books Reading Challenge, join here. There are prize rafflecopters and plenty of fun topics yet to come:

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

Just when Tandi Jo Reese has found a safe place for herself and her children, her landlord, Iola Anne Poole, passes away. Desperate to find income and stay in the rental cottage, Tandi agrees to clean out Iola's home. To Tandi's surprise, she finds beautifully decorated prayer boxes that contain prayers and a life story. She finds unexpected connection with the author of the prayers and healing begins to take root. Read more in The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate.

Once again, my book club has introduced me to an amazing book that wasn't even on my radar. It's one of the best books I've read this year. The novel held my attention from the beginning, was well-written, and progressed at the perfect pace. I was intrigued by the prayer boxes and the characters pulled me in, making me wish they were real. Tandi's character development was phenomenal. I loved watching her grow, change, and open her heart to the right people. Prayer is a prominent theme in the novel, but there were other secondary themes about grace, empowerment, and helping others.

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate is the first full-length novel in the Carolina Heirlooms series. It has a prequel novella, The Sea Glass Sisters, and a postlude novella, The Tidewater Sisters, which appears to continue Tandi's story. Neither of these are required to understand and enjoy The Prayer Box. I highly recommend The Prayer Box to anyone who enjoys inspirational fiction.

Read an excerpt from The Prayer Box on the publisher's website.

What My Next Few Months of Reading Looks Like...

Normally, when I go to the library, I visit their used book store and post a photo of my purchases.

Today, I'm mixing it up and posting a photo of the library books I borrowed:

In retrospect, I know I was a bit ambitious. My current reading rate is one book per week, at the most.  (In my defense, it was substantially higher before having children)  This is at least six weeks of reading... Most likely I'll be renewing a few of these.

The Mayflower Bride and The Patriot Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse - These have been on my want to read list since I read Michelle Griep's The Captured Bride. All three of those are part of the Daughters of the Mayflower series.  Most likely, I'll be reading one of these this weekend.

All the Emily Dickinson Books - Back in my college days, I thoroughly enjoyed Dickinson's poetry. I'm wanting to get back to reading some non-fiction, so this seemed like a good place to start! I read Harold Bloom's BioCritique of Emily Dickinson years ago and remember it being informative.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate - A bestseller that I haven't read, but am eager to dig into.  Realistically, this will probably not happen for a few weeks.

So, what's on your TBR stack?

My TBR Stack...

My current TBR stack:

I'm planning to read at least one of these fabulous sounding books this weekend. 

Probably The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate as it was this month's pick for the book club I attend. 

I received Tessa Afshar's Thief of Corinth in the mail just today and I am really looking forward to reading that one.

Actually, I'm really looking forward to all of these books....  😁

Never Say Never

Kai Miller has traveled all her life. Now at 27, she is displaced once again – this time by hurricane. When Hurricane Glorietta makes a turn towards Kai’s home in Perdida, Kai joins the wave of residents fleeing the hurricane’s path. Along the way Kai finds herself thrown together with Donetta Bradford of Daily, Texas, and two of her friends. The four of them find a relationship forged from desperation and hope. Kai accompanies Donetta to the haven of Daily, Texas, and finds herself thrown together with Kemp Eldridge. As an attraction grows between Kai and Kemp, so does Kai’s doubts. Will she find the faith to stay and finally call a place home?

I was excited when I received this book from Bethany House Publishers. I had seen it advertised and the plot sounding interesting. I was not disappointed throughout the story until the very end. The author’s tone was perfect as she gave Kai and Donetta their own personal voices to narrate the events, the story was written with humor (especially during the parts when Donetta was narrating), the plot moved at a good pace and was filled with things to keep you interested in the story. My biggest complaint with this book was that the ending was unsatisfactory. An additional chapter or epilogue would have cleared things up nicely. The reasons that Kai left Kemp were all valid and never resolved; the issues that Kai dealt with in the past were somewhat resolved, but not fully; and Kai failed to ever make a decision about God.

Never Say Never is an enjoyable read, but the imperfect ending strongly affects the whole perception of the book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."