Book Review - Arkansas Weddings

Romance, Arkansas sounds like a lovely, romantic place to meet and fall in love.    It is for three couples in Arkansas Weddings.    The road to “happily ever after” is not smooth, but the journey is worth it.  Did you know that Romance, Arkansas is a real place?   It is a town located near the center of Arkansas. 

According to Wikipedia, the Romance post office is popular for postmarks that people want for Valentine’s Day and wedding invitations.  This fact was included in the second story.

In a small town, everyone seems to know everybody and that holds true in the town of Romance. The three stories are all connected based on past and current relationships.  Those connections make the book more interesting because you are able to catch up the life of the couple from the previous story.

The first story is about Adrea, a florist and Grayson, a grieving pastor.   Adrea was betrayed by a former boyfriend.  Somehow, she still manages to make beautiful floral creations for happy couples.  Grayson has a church to take care of, but his heart is still broken over the loss of his wife.   Valentine’s Day ties Adrea and Grayson together in ways that they cannot imagine when they first meet.   Grayson has been ordering flowers for his wife every Valentine’s Day.  Adrea has been arranging the flowers, but never met Grayson because she always worked in the back of the shop.  Adrea’s brother, Mark takes a job at Grayson’s church which puts them in regular contact.

Can you really move on when you lose someone so precious to you?  Can you trust anyone when your dreams have been crushed by betrayal?  Adrea and Grayson find out that they both can heal and move forward with God’s help.

The second story is centered around a man taking caring of his nephew and a woman who was reluctant to come back to her hometown.  The relationship starts as an employer and employee. Then it gets complicated as their feelings start to grow for each other.

In the third story, you can read about a woman with a bad reputation who thinks too much has happened to change other people’s opinions about her.  Her latest renovation project has her working again with a former boyfriend.   He recently found out that he was adopted and is trying to figure out if wants to reveal his true identity to his family.

All the stories are tied together well.  God is part of each story line.  I like that you get to visit Romance, Arkansas three times through all of these romances.  

Rating: 3 stars

This eBook was provided to me from NetGalley.

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Book Review - The Critter Club: Liz Learns A Lesson

 

The Critter Club is a series about elementary school children who run an animal rescue shelter.   I don't remember if an age was mentioned, but I guess these kids are in 3rd or 4th grade.   Book #3 is Liz Learns a Lesson.   Liz was so excited that summer vacation was about to start.  She would be able to do her favorite things - take an art class and take care of pets at the Critter Club.

Unfortunately, summer school was not a part of plans.   Math was not her best subject. The principal and her mom thought summer school would help her improve in math.  Liz was very disappointed especially since summer school was at the same time as art class.   She thought that this would be the worst summer ever.

In summer school, she found friends, a cool teacher and even a turtle for their class pet.  Her days were filled with summer school in the morning and the Critter Club in the afternoon.  The best part is that she did improve in math.  She even got an A on her last math test.

I started reading this book while I was in the library.  I thought this was just right book for my nine year old daughter who struggles with math and she has a love for animals.   It is a chapter book that is just right for children in grades 2nd to 4th grade.   You should also consider reading this book to your younger children.   A chapter a night at bedtime would be great.   Liz learns that a change in her plans is not the worst thing ever and taking the time to get help with a difficult subject will help in the long run.

Rating: 4 stars

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