Never Say Never: A Review

 

When senior citizen Donetta's cruise is threatened by a sudden shift in a hurricane's course, she is thrown together with twenty-something Kai, who is also trying to escape the storm's arrival. What happens next is two women's journey from survival to healing.

 

I love Lisa Wingate's books, especially the small town flair and character. Being a Texan, some of the dialect seems a bit exaggerated, but that's what makes it fun. Never Say Never reunites readers with the characters they already know and love in Daily, Texas. Wingate does such a great job creating characters who are real---flaws included. I also love that the story is told from two women's point of view. Their differences in age and experience didn't matter as much as their similar desire to belong and to be loved.

 

It took me a little bit to get into the plot although I liked the characters from the beginning, but after the backstory was finished, the storm was enough to carry the novel to a fantastic finish.

 

Fans of Lisa Wingate will enjoy this book, and those who like Christian fiction with strong characters will want to pick up this series too.

 

 

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Talk of the Town: A Review

I think I've figured out what I love most about Lisa Wingate's writing: her ability to capture a small town and its eclectic members. City girl Mandalay has no clue what's waiting for when she goes to Daily, Texas, to get ready for the homecoming episode of a TV singing contest. The quirky old ladies, small-town rumor mills, and the handsome stranger sharing her "suite" in a bed and breakfast are a bit much for her to control.

Seeing the town through Mandalay's eyes shows the quirks that make small towns unique. Seeing Mandalay through Imagene's eyes helps develop her as a character. The chapters go back and forth between their points of view, and it creates a nice flow for a fast read.

Fans of Christian fiction will enjoy a visit to Daily, Texas. 

Firefly Island: A Review

At 34, Mallory Hale has given up on love and decided to focus on her career as a congressional staffer. At least that's what she tells herself. When she meets Daniel Everson on the capitol steps, it's love at first sight. After a fast relationship and quick wedding, she follows him and his adorable son to Moses Lake, a small town in Texas for what should be a quiet life until it's not. Will Firefly Island hold the answers?

I'm a huge Lisa Wingate fan, and I have enjoyed the other Moses Lake books. This one isn't my favorite because I sometimes felt disconnected from Mallory's relationship with Daniel...like why she loved him in the first place. When I take him out of the equation, the book was fabulous. I love the mishaps Mallory finds herself in (rodents, ants, a house falling apart) as she transforms from a single city woman to a stay-at-home country mom. The mystery was steady and well-developed. 

Just like the other Moses Lake books, the heart of the book is the community that holds secrets but ever-so-interesting characters who can be found at the bait shop or riding around in the lake under the cover of night to help Mallory find out what's hiding on Firefly Island.

Wingate's fans will enjoy this addition to the series, and readers who haven't checked out her novels should add them to their must-read lists. 

I received this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts are my own.

Larkspur Cove: A Review

When Andrea and her son flee to Moses Lake after a bitter and public divorce, she is determined to rebuild her life...on her own. Game Warden Mart judges Andrea too quickly to be an uninterested parent when her son Dustin is picked up with some other teens for driving illegally on the water.

The two continue to run into each other in the small town, particularly when they both become involved in a case of a little girl who suddenly showed up to live with an outcast of a man in a shack deep in the woods. As they work together to figure out who the girl is and what is best for her, they find that first impressions aren't always lasting ones.

Lisa Wingate has quickly become on of my favorite Christian authors. The characters are well-developed and show true growth. While romance is a part of the book, it's not the driving force. The plot keeps a slow but steady pace, building to the climatic and satisfying ending.

What I liked most was the community members of Moses Lake. From the pastor to the restaurant owner Shirley who tries to slip in healthy food into the main menu, the residents are quirky and have their own story to tell as well.

My only complaint was the book ended before I wanted it to. Although Mart finally comes to grips with his brother's death, I wanted him to reconnect with the sister-in-law and nephew. I also wanted to see more of what happens with Dustin, particularly his relationship with his dad. Perhaps that will happen in another Moses Lake book.

Fans of Christian fiction will enjoy this tale by Lisa Wingate and quickly become a fan of hers if they aren't already.

Dandelion Summer by Lisa Wingate

What a wonderful book! This is my first book by Lisa Wingate, but it will not be my last. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m a character-driven reader, and this book has two wonderful characters. Epiphany is a teenager who doesn’t quite fit in anywhere. Her mother never wanted her, and for her sixteen years, she’s been trying to find her place in life. When she gets a job looking after an elderly man on the rich side of town, she’s sure she won’t fit in there either. Except J. Norman Alvord isn’t a typical old man. He’s a grumpy man who is desperate to maintain his independence, and that means running of the teenager his daughter hired to help look after him. Both of them struggle to find their place in the world: Epiphany isn’t sure about her future, and J. Norman isn’t sure about his past. Can they work together to find the answers?

I think I enjoyed this book so much because I have taught hundreds of Epiphanys in my nine years working in low-income schools. Kids who are trapped in poverty, trapped in a school where it’s not cool to want to succeed, trapped in an environment that seems hopeless. This character captured my heart, and I was rooting for her to beat the odds from the beginning. J. Norm, as Epiphany calls him, is a cantankerous old man, and the two of them together create some funny scenes, which balance out the serious theme of the book.

One short passage stands out to me. It’s from a section of the book where J. Norm and Epiphany are on the run and he shows her Saturn in the sky. As she relaxes and looks at the massive sky, she thinks, “Maybe not everyone got the mom who baked cupcakes and showed up at all the school parties. There weren’t enough of those to go around, so maybe God used other people, like Mrs. Lora and J. Norm, to make sure you learned how to shell a purple hull pea or find Saturn in the night sky.” So while this book is a work of fiction, it is a beautiful reminder of how as God’s children, we need to be involved in other people’s lives, especially when they have been forsaken by the ones who should be there.