When We Last Spoke – Flyby book review

Charming. Down-home. Small-town. Close-knit.

This is Fireside, Texas. Nestled in the hill country of central Texas, this little town is full of all the quirky, fun-loving, interesting friends and neighbors that make life just a tad bit more fun.

 

Living in Fireside, we find Walt and Ruby, Juliet and Evangeline. Walt and Ruby are raising their granddaughters Juliet and Evangeline when their father is called to war and their mother decides her calling is on the stage. While Juliet and Evangeline find love, care, and warmth with their grandparents, there is an ever-nagging feeling of something missing.

Walt and Ruby are the perfect example of long-lasting love and marriage and the girls realize just how blessed they are to have such a family. Busy days on the farm are followed by cozy nights in the farmhouse. Both are full of family and love. Each week the girls do many things that help them learn to be a part of the community and to help those that can’t help themselves, even when it is hard. One example is helping an older lady by taking her meals each week. The girls find out that Ruby has been doing this since she graduated high school. This, the girls discover, is what neighbors do for each other.

Most of the book takes place when the girls are young, though it opens and closes in the present. This flashback setup does leave bits of the story that you have to be patient for. For example, we find out right away in the opening of the book that Juliet and Evangeline are estranged. The reason for that does not come out until the book is almost over and the setting is once again in the present. The closing of the book brings some answers and encouragement for families to live and love and forgive, though it wasn’t as smooth flowing and comfortable to read as the majority of the story.

This was an easy read, with plenty to make you smile and laugh and wish for those carefree days, sitting in the shade of a tree in a small town sipping lemonade and wondering what your neighbor is doing. Marci Henna wrote a winner with this one.

Henna was born in Austin, Texas, but spent many years growing up in Kenya where her family worked at a medical research station. She moved back to the Texas Hill Country as an adult, living on a ranch that has been in the family since the 1800s. She currently lives in Austin.

 

If you enjoy easy to read stories that remind you of a simpler time, then this is a story for you.

At Home.

Find out more about the book and author Marci Henna on these social media platforms:

Facebook        Twitter        GoodReads

        FiresideTexas.com (http://bit.ly/FiresideTexas_URL)

You can purchase a copy of the book:

Softcover or in Kindle format

From February 20-24, Henna will be giving away a FREE Kindle version on Amazon.

Please enter the giveaway for a single copy of this book by Marci Henna by filling out the Rafflecopter giveaway. Just click the link to be taken to the form. This is open to US residents.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days on the same blog, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Tagged: books, Flyby, giveaway, reviews