Book Review: Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate

In her late 30’s and newly divorced, Andrea Henderson is put in a position where she has to rely on her parents assistance to get back on her feet while living in their vacation home in Moses Lake, Texas.  Attempting to rebuild a life for herself and her fourteen –year-old son, Dustin, Andrea is struggling in her new career as social worker/counselor while licking her wounds that could be deeper than she expects.

In Larkspur Cove, Lisa Wingate gradually unwinds a story about a little vacation cove where the full-time residents enjoy bantering in the local dockside café while poking their noses in everybody’s business via the Game Warden, Mart McLendon. The discussion of the town bachelor recluse and a mystery little girl in his care becomes a hot topic. A topic that pushes Mart and Andrea to move beyond their awkward initial meeting that involved an angry Game Warden, a frazzled working mom, and a lonely/delinquent teenage boy.

Wingate used first person style through the two main character’s POV in back to back chapters. (Mart/Andrea/Mart/Andrea…) In this reader’s opinion, Mart McLendon’s back story could be developed a little clearer, but overall I enjoyed the POV switch style.

I like how the author gradually unwinds the story about Mart and Andrea working together to solve the mystery around the little girl in the care of the bachelor older man living in the woods. She mixes it with the right amount of romance and healing of past love wounds, and sprinkles it all with believable secondary characters.  Larkspur Cove is book worth reading.

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Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce

Amy Inspired is the second published novel by the young author, Bethany Pierce. I haven’t read her first book, Feeling For Bones, but I did purchase it recently so I can get another taste of Bethany’s unique writing style.

Amy Inspired is written in first person form rather than the omniscient third person style many of us are accustomed to. I often felt I was sneaking a peek into someone’s personal journals.  An author generally writes about topics they know and live. This reader gets the feeling that Amy Inspired was written in that way and probably became somewhat therapeutic for the author. Bethany Pierce has a story to tell. What is that story? Real life. Not the wrapped up in a neat comfortable Christian bow life some readers might prefer to read about.

Bethany spins a complicated, yet simple story about a near-thirty single woman who no longer thinks maintaining her virginity at the cusp of becoming thirty is noble, yet holds tight to her Christian upbringing amidst temptation. Amy has quirky friends that appear to accidently land in her life, including the awkwardness of an unwanted male roommate. Explaining this modern day Christian version of Three’s Company to her firm-faith-founded mother becomes a challenge. Mother, of course, comes complete with the eye-rolling pat Christian answers to Amy’s complicated life situations.

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