Southern fiction

New Wine Transportation Company by Heather Norman Smith – Review

May 18, 2022 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

About the Book

Springville Community Christian Church is nestled in the mountains of North Carolina and is a quiet, Mayberry-esque type of town—that is until a ruthless businessman sets his sights on the town and opens the first bar in the middle of the quiet community.

Pastor Daniel Whitefield seeks only to do the will of God. Nothing more, nothing less. When he’s pressured to join the Springville League of Churches—a coalition in protest of the bar—he resists, causing tension with friends and congregants. He further risks his credibility by organizing a taxi service for the bar’s customers, as a way to witness.

The seven members of New Wine Transportation Company are excited to serve, despite the naysayers, but as damaging rumors spread, he begins to question the project, too.

Is the church members’ witness of God’s grace powerful enough to reach bar patrons, merely by giving them a ride home after a long night out?

Light the Way by Lin Stepp – Review & Giveaway

March 29, 2022 by Suzie Waltner 1 Comment

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Light the Way

(The Lighthouse Sisters #1)

By Lin Stepp

Christian Fiction, Contemporary Romance

Paperback & ebook, 292 Pages

April 1, 2022 by Mountain Hill Press

In this new coastal series, Lin Stepp transports her readers into the rich, colorful lives of Burke and her sisters, Lila, Gwen, and Celeste, who grew up at the Deveaux Inn and Lighthouse on a windswept island, accessible only by boat. Get ready to be introduced to the ups and downs, joys and sorrows, challenges and adventures of a Lighthouse Keeper.

Life had grown hard for Burke Deveaux at the family inn and lighthouse since her father died. She missed his warmth and still expected to see him walking into a room, his big laugh booming. Burke and her mother were gradually adjusting to the change, and Lila had come home this winter to help, but the workload was heavy. With spring coming and tourism picking up in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Burke welcomed Hal Jenkins’ request for his son Waylon to work for them. Waylon, retiring early from the Navy, knew the island and the lighthouse, having grown up nearby. Burke also knew Waylon well since they’d grown up together. He’d always been older, and she wondered how he’d see her now.

Waylon had been away from Edisto Island for over twelve years now, traveling around the world in the military, but it felt good to be home. He’d hated learning Lloyd Deveaux was gone, the warm-hearted Lighthouse Keeper he’d followed around as a boy. But he liked the idea of coming to stay at the lodge at Watch Island to help the Deveaux family with the inn, lighthouse, and nearly five-hundred acres of land the Lighthouse Station occupied. He knew Burke had picked up many of her father’s old tasks and he looked forward to seeing her again. He’d kept feelings for her clamped down for years but one look at her brought them surging back. How would he handle that with them working together?

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Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

PRAISE FOR LIN STEPP AND HER RICH SOUTHERN NOVELS:

“This book feels just as tranquil as Edisto and has a wonderful, laid back flow, like beautiful ocean waves lapping up on the shore … you can’t help but fall in love with every facet of this novel.” – Christ F. JUST READS Review

“From the stunning backdrop of the South Carolina Lowcountry … this book was like going home.” – Kim Standridge Boykin, Bestselling Author of Palmetto Moon

“Each book showcases Lin Stepp’s natural gift as a novelist for originality and narrative driven storytelling.” – MIDWEST REVIEW

Glory Road by Lauren K. Denton: Review & Giveaway

March 23, 2019 by Suzie Waltner 15 Comments

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Glory Road by Lauren K. Denton with JustRead Publicity Tours! We continue the Glory Road celebration on social media starting March 26.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Glory Road
Author: Lauren K. Denton
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Southern Fiction
Release Date: March 19, 2019

Written in Lauren Denton’s signature Southern style, Glory Road tells the story of three generations of women navigating the uncertain pathways of their hearts during a summer that promises to bring change–whether they’re ready for it or not.

At thirty-eight, garden shop owner Jessie McBride thinks her chances for romance are years behind her and, after her failed marriage, she’s fine with that. She lives contentedly with her fiery mother and her quiet, headstrong daughter. But the unexpected arrival of two men on Glory Road make her question if she’s really happy with the status quo. Handsome, wealthy Sumner Tate asks her to arrange flowers for his daughter’s wedding, and Jessie finds herself drawn to his continued attention. And Ben Bradley, her lingering what-could-have-been from high school days who’s known her better than anyone and whom she hasn’t seen in years, moves back to the red dirt road. Jessie finds her heart being pulled in directions she never expected.

Meanwhile, Jessie’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Evan, is approaching the start of high school and trying to navigate a new world of identity and emotions–particularly as they relate to the cute new guy who’s moved in just down the road. At the same time, Jessie’s mother, Gus, increasingly finds herself forgetful and faces a potentially frightening future.

As all three women navigate the uncertain paths of their hearts and futures, one summer promises to bring change–whether they’re ready for it or not.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Christian Book |B&N

IN MY OPINION

This is southern fiction at it’s finest. Lauren K. Denton draws you in with these three generations of women, the small town setting, and true southern hospitality.

Jessie gets the most page time as she runs her garden shop, raises her teenage daughter, worries over her mother, and navigates the interest of two men (but the romance is a very small part of Glory Road). Jessie, Evan, and Gus are strong women who battle doubts and disappointments while stirring the embers of hope. Through it all, they love and support each other.

Denton has once again wowed me with her thought-provoking prose, unraveling the details of this story much like a beloved tale. Grab your sweet tea and settle onto the porch swing for a long visit with the women on Glory Road.

My Rating:

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren now lives with her husband and two young daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, faith, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. On any given day, she’d rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books. Her debut novel, The Hideaway, is USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts bestseller. Her second novel, Hurricane Season, released in April, 2018, and was listed on BookPage’s 2018 list of Most Anticipated Fiction.

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR: website | facebook | twitter | instagram | pinterest

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(2) winners will each win a print copy of Glory Road.

Be sure to check out each stop on the Blog and Takeover tours for more chances to win. Full tour schedule on this tour shown below. Giveaway begins at midnight March 23, 2019 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 30, 2019. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Due to shipping cost, only US mailing addresses valid. For our giveaway rules and policy, click HERE.

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of blog stops!

AND

Be sure to stop at the takeover tour, starting on March 26, for more chances to win!

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.

Mourning Dove by Claire Fullerton – Review & Giveaway

August 21, 2018 by Suzie Waltner 2 Comments

Welcome to the blog tour & giveaway for Mourning Dove by Claire Fullerton, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Mourning Dove
Author: Claire Fullerton
Publisher: Firefly Southern Fiction
Release Date: June 29, 2018
Genre: Southern Fiction, Family Life

“An accurate and heart-wrenching picture of the sensibilities of the American South.” Kirkus Book Reviews

The heart has a home when it has an ally.

If Millie Crossan doesn’t know anything else, she knows this one truth simply because her brother Finley grew up beside her. Charismatic Finley, eighteen months her senior, becomes Millie’s guide when their mother Posey leaves their father and moves her children from Minnesota to Memphis shortly after Millie’s tenth birthday.

Memphis is a world foreign to Millie and Finley. This is the 1970s Memphis, the genteel world of their mother’s upbringing and vastly different from anything they’ve ever known. Here they are the outsiders. Here, they only have each other. And here, as the years fold over themselves, they mature in a manicured Southern culture where they learn firsthand that much of what glitters isn’t gold. Nuance, tradition, and Southern eccentrics flavor Millie and Finley’s world as they find their way to belonging.

But what hidden variables take their shared history to leave both brother and sister at such disparate ends?

PURCHASE: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Magnolia Storms by Janet W. Ferguson (Review & Giveaway)

September 25, 2017 by Suzie Waltner 16 Comments

Maggie Marovich couldn’t save her father or her home from Hurricane Katrina, but she’s dedicated her life to meteorology so she can warn others when the monster storms approach. Except…she works three hours inland and rarely risks returning to her childhood hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Both her single-parent sister and the ship pilot Maggie once loved refused to leave the Coast, despite Maggie’s requests. Now a hurricane’s headed toward Mississippi, and Maggie’s sister is seriously injured, leaving Maggie little choice but to head south—into the storm.

The water and tides flow through Josh Bergeron’s veins, and he can’t imagine giving up piloting—even for the love of his life, the infuriating Magnolia Marovich. He tried to move on without her, marrying and having a child. But after his wife abandons him and his little boy, his career choice is threatened by the weight of his parental responsibilities. Moving next door to Maggie’s sister and sharing their childcare seems like the perfect set-up. Until Maggie blows back into town.

Being forced to lean on Josh for help washes up the wreckage in Maggie’s faith. Where was God during the destruction of Katrina? Why do some prayers seem to go unanswered? Between the hurricane looming in the Gulf and another gale raging in her heart, can Maggie overcome her past and find the trust to truly live?

Amazon / Goodreads