High Cotton (Bucklin Family Reunion, #1)

by Debby Mayne

Some families are filled with so much love they can't help but drive each other crazy.

Shay Henke has mixed feelings about going to her family's next reunion. On the one hand, she'll get to see everyone in her mama's family--folks she loves unconditionally. On the other hand, she knows there'll be more drama than you can shake a stick at.

The days leading up to the event bring one surprise after another. First Shay must deal with her sister-in-law's deep, dark secret. Then she has to contend with the childish ways of her business-mogul twin cousins. And when her high school crush wants to be her date to the reunions . . . well, it may have been a dream come true for Shay's teen self, but the woman she's become doesn't know what to make of this.

Shay's contentment is challenged, and she's determined to shake things up a bit. But will she find the excitement she's looking for, or will Shay realize she prefers her quiet predictable life? One thing is certain: Life in the Bucklin family is never boring.

• ISBN13: 9781432852962
• Publish Date: 2 August 2018 (first published 13 March 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Cengage Learning, Inc
• Imprint: Cengage Gale
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 543
• Language: English

Reviews

[phyllish]

My review is 4.5 Stars

I wasn’t sure what to expect from High Cotton or the author. I really liked the way the story was told from the perspectives of four different women in the Bucklin family of varying ages and life stages. The dynamics of this large Southern family made for an enjoyable reading experience. Each of the four women dealt with a crisis in her life.

Shay’s love for her family despite their eccentricities and the way they hounded her about the fact she was an old maid was quite admirable. She got to know Sally and Sara, her younger twin cousins and ended up sharing her condo and her knowledge about life and cooking and buying property with them. Her conflict was related to relationships and work.

Sally was one of Shay’s twin cousins. She had always done everything with her sister, Sara but change was on the horizon. Navigating this change and learning to develop her identity apart from Sarah was critical for her to accomplish.

Puddin’, Shay’s sister-in-law, had a secret she had kept from her husband out of fear that he wouldn’t approve. Despite their deep love for each other, she was afraid to trust that he would not get mad.

Missy felt that her husband just didn’t listen to her anymore. He didn’t seem to hear her or to care about the things that were important to her. It was so sad when she won the chili contest and none of her family was there to celebrate, and especially when her husband didn’t even seem to respond when she told him.

These four women needed to learn to trust the Lord through their conflicts and fears. Though the story didn’t speak much about their faith, there was a definite thread of it throughout the story.

The way the story was told was comfortable and friendly. The characters were enjoyable and the story was very well written.


This review was originally posted on AmongTheReads.net


I would like to thank Gilead Publishing for giving me this item. My opinion and review were not influenced by this gift.

[Molly J(Cover To Cover Cafe)]

It's been quite sometime since I read a Debby Mayne novel, and I must tell you that I so glad to be brought back to her talented work. When I read the blurb of High Cotton, I knew it was one that I needed to pull me out of my book funk, and that's just what it did! To me, that says a a lot about the book and the person writing it.

Being southern born and bred, and loving anything that has to do with drinking sweet tea from a mason jar( I mean, really? How perfect is that cover!?), I really related to Shay. Her character was quirky, loving and I really enjoyed walking beside her in this story, watching how she handled things. Life isn't always easy in a family of people that you love but drive you absolutely, utterly wonky, but Shay.......she really gave me a lot to think about with my own life.

This book is worthy of so much more than just 4.5 stars. It deserves to be sitting on a shelf, to be read again and again. If you are looking for a book that is at times laugh-out-loud, dysfunctional and altogether, down right inspirational. Friends, family and old memories come together to create a novel that is both emotionally moving, and utterly heartwarming. Praise goes to Debby Mayne for her trademark writing style and bringing me back to the love her books! Well done!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*