Tag: Small Town Fiction

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with “Springy” Covers

BonnieReadsAndWrites24 Comments

Thank you to That Artsy Reader Girl for hosting Top Ten Tuesday.

Hi everyone! I’m back from vacation and HOPEFULLY back to posting normally since my retirement. You would think I’d have more time than ever, but retirement has brought its own challenges to my schedule. I’ll provide more of an update after Top Ten Tuesday. The topic is: Top Ten book covers that remind me of Spring. See below.

I love the Spring flowers on the cover. I discovered Heather Webber WAY late in the game. She’s already written over 25 books, but when I read this one, and learned she writes small-town mysteries with a touch of magical realism, I was hooked! Now I seek out her books whenever I can. My review is here.

A really sweet “best friends” romance with a lovely Spring cover. My review is here.

The “Your Words” Poetry Collection by Louise Belanger includes beautiful photos of flowers along with wonderful inspirational poems and story poems that will draw you closer to God. The covers are so captivating! My most recent review is here.

This is historical fiction set in Switzerland during the time of discovery that adding iodine to salt will cure hypothyroidism. My review of the book is here.

A novel about starting over, and about women helping each other through tough times. My review is here.

This is an inspirational “married strangers” romance set in Appalachia in 1910. I love the Spring flowers and birds on the cover. Here is my review on The Historical Novel Society website.

The dress and flowers give this a “springy” feel to me. It’s a fascinating novel about a time when wealthy American families basically traded their daughters for titles and raised social standing. See my review here on The Historical Novel Society website.

Kim Vogel Sawyer is one of my favorite authors of Christian Historical Fiction. This novel is about a Mennonite Women’s organization in 1890s Kansas. The flowers on the cover give it a Spring feel. My review is here.

This Spring cover speaks for itself. It is set in 1930s Appalachia when many families had to relocate for the creation of the Smoky Mountain National Park. My review is here.

This could be a Spring night, and I love the Starling. This is another fantastic small-town book with a touch of magic by Heather Webber. It is set in Starlight, Alabama. My review is here.

UPDATE

I was on vacation in Florida last week visiting my friend Lyric, so I didn’t post at all. I am back in the swing, hopefully. The thing about retirement is I get up whenever I want, putter around, and I often look at the clock, surprised it’s almost dinnertime and wondering where the time has gone! I am working on that! I have missed blogging!

The week prior to my vacation we had a wildfire in the area (Alarka in Bryson City) that consumed around 2000 acres! It was between four and seven miles from my house, but thankfully our brave firefighters got it contained. We had planes coming in from as far away as Montana to help fight the blaze, and God helped too, with a huge rainstorm right before I left. I believe one house was lost, but it could have been a lot worse. No lives were lost. I am thankful.

Have a wonderful week!

Audiobook Review: A Certain Kind of Starlight by Heather Webber #MagicalRealism #SmallTowns #Alabama

BonnieReadsAndWrites11 Comments

AUDIOBOOK DESCRIPTION (FROM AMAZON)

In the face of hardship, two women learn how to rise up again under the bright side of the stars in A Certain Kind of Starlight, the next audiobook from USA Today bestselling author Heather Webber, “the queen of magical small-town charm” (Amy E. Reichert)

Everyone knows that Addie Fullbright can’t keep a secret. Yet, twelve years ago, as her best friend lay dying, she entrusted Addie with the biggest secret of all. One so shattering that Addie felt she had to leave her hometown of Starlight, Alabama, to keep from revealing a devastating truth to someone she cares for deeply. Now she’s living a lonely life, keeping everyone at a distance, not only to protect the secret but also her heart from the pain of losing someone else. But when her beloved aunt, the woman who helped raise her, gets a shocking diagnosis and asks her to come back to Starlight to help run the family bakery, Addie knows it’s finally time to go home again.

Tessa Jane Wingrove-Fullbright feels like she’s failing. She’s always been able to see the lighter side of life but lately darkness has descended. Her world is suddenly in shambles after a painful breakup, her favorite aunt’s unexpected health troubles, and because crushing expectations from the Wingrove side of her family are forcing her to keep secrets and make painful choices. When she’s called back to Starlight to help her aunt, she’s barely holding herself together and fears she’ll never find her way back to who she used to be.

Under the bright side of the stars, Addie and Tessa Jane come to see that magic can be found in trusting yourself, that falling apart is simply a chance to rise up again, stronger than ever, and that the heart usually knows the best path through the darkness.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

Addie and Tessa Jane are half-sisters, but they barely know each other. Kept apart by the manipulations of others, they are both called back to Starlight, Alabama, when their Aunt Bean’s health worsens. Connected by the amazing Starlight field, a field created by a fallen star that glows with its own special auroras in the evening, Tessa Jane and Addie begin to grow closer. But secrets and a manipulative relative who wants the field for himself threaten to drive both of them away from Starlight once again, and for good.

I just love Heather Webber’s books. I adore small-town fiction, and that little touch of magic she throws in just adds that special ingredient to make the story even more fascinating. This one was no exception. The entire cast of characters comes alive, and I felt like a part of this town. As an added treat, a flock of starlings becomes an important character of its own. There are sweet romances and lessons learned throughout the book. Each chapter is headed by baking tips from Aunt Bean, who owns the town bakery. This is a story filled with heartache and disappointment, but also love. It is a lesson about family, and what makes a real family. It is a lesson about people, and how some can surprise, and others disappoint and even harm, whether they are related to you or not. I loved every bit of this magical story, and I can’t wait to read her next one.

The audiobook narrators, Hallie Ricardo and Stephanie Willis, did a great job of conveying all the emotions and portraying the varied characters in this special town.

A Certain Kind of Starlight will be released on July 23, 2024.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Heather Webber (aka Heather Blake) is the author of more than twenty-five novels and has been twice nominated for an Agatha Award. She loves to read, drink too much coffee and tea, birdwatch, crochet, and bake. She currently lives near Cincinnati, Ohio, and is hard at work on her next book. She can be found online at www.heatherwebber.com and www.heatherblakebooks.com.

PURCHASE LINKS

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