Secrets over Sweet Tea: A Review

 

Secrets rarely stay secrets. Pastor's wife Scarlett Jo, news anchor Grace, and lawyer Zach are learning that it's better to confront the past and deal with it than ignore it. After all, secrets are a little less bitter with friends and sweet tea.

 

I'm a Denise Hildreth Jones fan. I've loved her voice and deep characters from her Savannah series. In this book, I love that she tackles the topic of divorce. It's a tough topic, especially for Christians. Most books stick to dealing with divorce only in cases of adultery, but it's a deeper issue than just cheating.

Grace and Zach's lives intersect, and I love the balanced look at struggling marriages. Their feelings were authentic and often raw. And best of all, Jones doesn't give a pat answer for what to do when life is hard. Instead, each character wrestles with their feelings and messes up along the way to finding out what God wants from them.

 

Scarlett Jo is the perfect solution to a hard topic. She's funny and relentless.

 

Fans of Christian fiction, especially those who like books about real topics, will enjoy this book.

 

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The First Gardener

This has to be one of the saddest yet encouraging books I've read in a long time. Governor Gray London and his wife Mackenzie struggled for ten years to get pregnant, and their little girl, Maddie, now five, is the center of their world. When tragedy strikes, they lose their faith and their way. Can the gardener remind them  that no matter how dark the winter is, spring will come?

This story will tear at your heart. The first tragedy happens, and just when you think Mack and Gray will have a break from the hurt, another tragedy strikes. And the messy aftermath is handled perfectly by Jones, who does a wonderful job capturing her characters, from the depressed Mack to the quirky old ladies who add laughter to balance the tears. 

The characters are developed slowly but deeply, and my favorite of all is Jeremiah, the old gardener, who loves the London family and ministers to them faithfully through flowers. The twist at the end regarding Jeremiah brought tears to my eyes, and the theme that God owes us nothing and each thing we have is a blessing straight from Him is one that will stay with me.

Although this book is a switch from her fun Savannah series, this is a book I recommend to any reader...fans of both Christian fiction and those who just like a good story.