April 10, 2018

Mornings on Main. Jodi Thomas

book cover
Today it is my pleasure to welcome Jodi Thomas who is here to introduce us to her new book Mornings on Main - and so straight from her pen ....


I’ve always loved wandering the main streets in small towns.  Stepping into the shops.  Talking to the people.  Sometimes all you have to say is, “How are things going?” and an hour later you’re still listening. In MORNINGS ON MAIN, I wrote about the people of Laurel Springs.

Like most people in small towns, my daily life is woven between generations.  I never remember a time when I said, “I’m not sure what to do or which way to turn.”  I’ve always had relatives around, not only giving me advice, but pushing me in what they think is the right direction. So when I began MORNINGS ON MAIN I knew I wanted to show those threads.

My main character, steps into a town and a world foreign to her.  She’s a drifter who doesn’t pack even her memories as she moved from place to place. When Jillian takes a job in Laurel Springs, she finds far more than what she planned.  Eugenia Larady, Gram to her family, has owned a quilt shop for fifty years.  The quilts lining her walls hold the history of the town and its people.  As Gram’s mind slips, Jillian rushes to log all the stories and quilts with the help of Eugenia’s great-granddaughter, Sunny,who is hell bent to make her own wild memories as fast as possible. As the stories of lives in the town come to light, so do secrets and loves that have lasted a lifetime.  Jillian is drawn in and forced to question her lifestyle.

So step into my world of Laurel Springs,

                       


My thoughts banner
In Mornings on Main there is another delightful story by Jodi Thomas, set in a small town in Texas that has perhaps seen better days. But what counts are the warm hearted characters that populate the town and with the touches of humor that Jodi Thomas does so well, this book was all I had hoped for.

But wait... there's more! I hadn't realised that one of the shops on Main is a quilting shop and that Gram, the darling old lady is a wealth of knowledge and has such a love for the many quilts that have found their way into her shop. I just loved finding out about the various quilts - their history and the way in which they told  the stories of people from the town.

Wandering into this small town is Jillian - a wanderer since birth really. She now has nobody - totally alone, her father ditched her when she started college, and she has kept up the wandering ways she learned as a child with him. Right from the beginning she has made it clear, she isn't stopping, just spending a few months and then moving on.

Connor is the mayor, and owner of a lot of property in the town. But that doesn't make him rich as a lot of it is now land with old disused factories that knew better times. He is a part time unpublished writer, father of teen Sunnie and carer of his ageing Gram. It sure keeps a man busy. When he meets Jillian though, his heart begins to pine for something he has been assured he can't have.

So the mix of the quilting, the interaction of the characters, the small mysteries, the humor and warmth of the story kept me happily reading along. Yes and some romance too of course, sweet and gentle - perfect. For more than one set of characters too!

And of course it all ended too soon, I so hate leaving these small towns where I feel like I could just fit in so well.

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Published: Harlequin
Date: 10th April 2018
Pages: 384
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
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16 comments:

  1. It sounds wonderful. :)

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    1. You will just love the characters from Laurel Springs!

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  2. I really need to try something by her one day

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    1. Try this book and I promise you'll be hooked!

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  3. I loved the author's introduction. It's true there is something special about walking along a town's main street and getting to know the people.

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    1. I really am one of the best people watchers and just love small towns!

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  4. I love it, I just finished Beneath a Texas Sky-which was my first read of hers, and I see this is going to be a must get book!! I liked her writing so much I did get another of hers-Welcome to Harmony! So I am going to be reading her more. Thanks for the review!!
    https://justmeandmyblogreviews.blogspot.com/search/label/Beneath%20the%20Texas%20Sky

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    1. I am so glad to have you as a new reader. I published Beneath the Texas Sky 30 years ago as my first book. Welcome to Harmony will get you loving Harmony, Texas. Then I hope you will want to read my Ransom Canyon series. I can keep you reading late at night for a long time!

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  5. Replies
    1. You will just love my latest characters in Laurel Springs!

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  6. Oh this sounds absolutely lovely and just the kind of book I'd enjoy. I love the idea of a drifter finding her place and I can imagine your joy when you discovered the quilt shop!

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    1. Even though I don't quilt, I do love quilt shops. I am on my book tour now with the quilt my mother made for me. I just loved when she told me that I quilt with words.

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  7. I love the sound of this one! Not only did I grow up in a small town, my mother and other ladies had a monthly quilting bee which I loved to watch...and listen to their stories as they worked.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  8. You will definitely love this book if you grew up around quilting bees. I don't quilt but remember that I used to lie underneath my grandmother's quilt that drifted down from the ceiling.

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  9. Thanks for the great review and I loved reading the note from Jodi!

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  10. This sounds very good.

    Very nice review as always.

    Thanks for sharing.

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