At the end of her rope, single mom Lily Anderson is
determined to move her rebellious children in the right direction. That means
taking away their cell phones, tablets, and computers—at least temporarily—and
moving to the house where Lily grew up in the rural town of Comfort, Texas. But
Lily has a bigger challenge than two sulking kids.
The house comes with Mack Cooper, high school teacher and
handsome longtime renter. The arrangement: just housemates. But Mack’s devoted
attention to the kids starts to warm Lily’s resistant heart.
Then Lily finds an old leather-bound book in which five
generations of her female ancestors shared their struggles and dreams. To Lily,
it’s a bracing reminder about the importance of family…and love.
Now it’s time for Lily to add an adventurous new chapter
to the cherished family journal—by embracing a fresh start and taking a chance
on a man who could make her house a home.
Terrific book about family, friendship, love, and new
beginnings. In the five years since her divorce, Lily's life was taken over by
the day-to-day stresses of work and home, leaving her little time to give her
kids the attention they needed. Her cheating ex-husband gave her full custody
because his new wife had no interest in being around children. He flits in and
out of Holly and Braden's lives, unreliable in actions and attitude. She experienced
a rude awakening when she discovered 14-year-old Holly smoking a joint in the
library bathroom, and that 12-year-old Braden was regularly sneaking out to
drink and smoke with his friends. Devastated and furious, Lily takes drastic
action. She takes all of their electronics away and moves them from Austin to
her tiny hometown of Comfort, Texas.
I had to hand it to Lily. She didn't shilly-shally when
faced with trouble, but took immediate action. Nor did she allow the kids to
guilt her into changing her mind. She may harbor a few doubts, but she wasn't
about to show them to the kids. Returning to Comfort was a big step for her. As
a teen, she couldn't wait to get away from the small, sleepy town and
experience city life. Her return feels a bit like a failure, but she'll do what
she must for the kids. Her return also forces Lily to face some unresolved
guilt about her relationship with her deceased mother. In the middle of her
divorce, Lily was unwilling to deal with the stress of handling her mother's
house, so she rented it as is to Mack Cooper, the high school ag teacher. It's
a fairly large house, so she and Mack come to an agreement that he will
continue to rent and live in the downstairs, while Lily and the kids live
upstairs. They'll share the kitchen.
I really liked Mack. He's a quiet, steady man, who enjoys
his work with the kids at school. He's accepted that love is likely not in the cards
for him after having been burned twice. I ached for him and that part of his
past, as the two women he loved threw him over for his flashy and shallow twin
brother. Personally, I felt he was better off without them, as they obviously
didn't truly love him. I loved the way that he welcomed Lily and the kids into
his life. I especially enjoyed his connection with Braden and seeing the
positive influence he had on the boy. I had to laugh at Braden's enthusiasm for
the goats, much to his sister's disgust.
A lot was going on in this book. First and foremost was
Lily's need to reconnect with her kids and help them see the error of their
ways. It was a tough go at first, as the withdrawal pains from their lack of
electronics made them unusually irritable. I had a great deal of fun watching
them all cope with their new reality - no wifi??!!! Both kids had some severe
culture shock going on, and I enjoyed seeing their progress from spoiled brats
to good kids. It wasn't all smooth sailing for them, and I liked seeing them
deal with their various challenges. I especially loved Braden's defense of his
friend and cheered the awesome principal. There was a little while where I
worried that Holly was headed down the wrong path again, but she too came
through with unexpectedly mature decisions.
I also enjoyed seeing Lily reconnect with her childhood
friends. It didn't take long for them to be as close as they had ever been. I enjoyed
seeing Lily get involved in the antique store and discover that the slower pace
suited her new lifestyle. Her friendship with her mother's best friend also
gave Lily the chance to learn things about her mom that she hadn't known. When
going through her mother's desk, Lily found an old journal that turned out to
be written by earlier generations of the women in her family. I loved the
snippets that were shared in the book, and how many of them had parallels in
what Lily herself was experiencing. When Holly needed a school project, Lily
shared the journal with her. I loved how sharing that link with their ancestors
brought the two together in new ways. It was fascinating to see the effect it
had on both of them.
There was also the growing relationship between Lily and
Mack. It started as friendship, with the two learning to work together as they
shared the living space. Mack's quiet strength helped Lily stay true to her
goals for herself and her children. I liked how he took an interest in the kids
and provided the kind of example they didn't have in their own father. I
enjoyed seeing the two of them settle into a comfortable friendship with trust
and respect for each other. And the more time that they spent together, the
stronger the sparks of attraction between them grew. Both are a little wary, as
Wyatt did a number on Lily's belief in herself, and Mack's brother Adam's
dog-in-the-manger attitude toward anything Mack has made him reluctant to trust
his heart to another woman. I had to laugh at Lily's reaction to Adam and his
stunned disbelief. I loved that Mack was there for Lily when Wyatt pulled his
bone-headed stunt with the kids. I loved the ending and seeing the changes that
everyone experienced. I was left with a wonderfully warm feeling and the belief
that Comfort was both a place and a state of mind.
One of my favorite secondary characters was Granny Hyatt.
She was something else, with her fierce independence and blunt speech. She also
showed the heart of Comfort and how everyone looks out for each other. It was
quite a surprise to see how she took to the rebellious Holly. It was fascinating
to see how two such different people connected. There was an interesting twist
involving Granny at the end of the book, which answered a few questions Lily
had from reading the journal.
No comments:
Post a Comment