- Kathryn Magendie’s writing is so soft, homey, and perfect and I wanted to finish this beautiful trilogy.
I also recommend:
- Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
- The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Summary from GoodReads:
In this second book of Kathryn Magendie’s much-praised series about the journey of a woman dealing with the ghosts of a dysfunctional family, Virginia Kate Carey seeks the loving commitment that eluded her in Tender Graces.
“Vee” is idealistic and naive despite the witness she has served to the fractured heritage of her parents’ and grandmother’s dreams. Vee continues her journey toward wisdom, building small bridges over the chasms of hurt and longing. The inspiration of hope lingers in her. Tender Graces, and now, Secret Graces, explores three women’s lives: Daughter, Mother, Grandmother, and passes through the fulcrum of Virginia Kate’s emerging life as a lover and mother and storyteller, chronicling the heart ache and hope of her family and herself.
My Review:
Kathryn Magendie has a way of taking the most quiet, unassuming story, and driving it home, bit by bit, until I feel like sobbing and hugging Virginia Kate to pieces. One of my favorite things about “southern” writing is how down-to-earth it is, and nothing is more down-to-earth than Virginia Kate and her brothers.
Then there’s Rebekha – a woman who embodies everything that is a mother. She’s warm, welcoming, thoughtful, insightful, supportive, loving, and selfless. With this character, Kathryn Magendie has created something that reminds me so very much of my own grandmother who passed away so many years ago now. I connected with Virginia Kate as she washed and dried dishes with Rebekha, as she woke quietly to make breakfast, to make things easier, and as she sought for the wisdom of her stepmother, a woman I wanted her to so very much dislike in the first book of this trilogy.
It’s funny how characters win you over like that – in spite of everything against them they just creep inside, somewhat like this quiet story, and dig deep, finding all those old emotions and rekindling them and reminding their readers of memories long forgotten.
So when I think about southern books, I feel a warm glow and I open them with anticipation and hope and nostalgia, and I know when I open a book by Kathryn Magendie I won’t be reading something that will preach at me or talk over me in an attempt to tell a story that I may or may not get. Instead, I’ll be introduced to characters that I feel like I’ve known my whole life, and instead of losing myself in a strange world, I’ll feel like I just came home.
Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!
Booklove | Story Circle Book Reviews
