Divas of Damascus Road & The Potluck Club

I've gotten a few more books in the mail over the last few days, and I'm so excited about them! I can't wait to read them! I recently finished reading Blogging for Dummies, so changes are coming to the site as soon as I can implement them. Links and pics of the books, even a picture for my profile, as soon as I can figure out how to make one less than 50kb.

Divas of Damascus Road by Michelle Stimpson is an outstanding piece of Christian fiction. Stimpson has a way of describing her female characters that makes you feel as if you know them. And her descriptions of scenes are almost stream of consciousness with their detail and down-home feel. Dianne has been called home to attend her Aunt Gloria’s wedding, but after avoiding Dentonville for over twenty years, she finds that while everything has changed, nothing has really changed, including her. Her two cousins Yolanda and Regina are struggling with their own issues, and to top it all off, Dianne’s mother Joyce Ann is back in town as well. Stimpson does a terrific job of juggling all of these women’s stories and bringing them back together as well as to God. I found a lot of powerful messages in this book including that when we don’t ask God for help, our plans our sure to fail. Stimpson’s broken-hearted honesty about the failings and growth of these women made me want them to be my friends, and I will miss reading about them.

The Potluck Club: Trouble’s Brewing by Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson is the second book in the Potluck Club series. This book picks up shortly after the first one left off. Evie and the sheriff are still dating (but not for long), Donna is trying to hide her deepest secret, Clay is still trying to get up the courage to ask Donna out (and starts a weight-loss plan), Lizzie’s married son has moved home, and everyone else’s lives are in equal chaos. Even the club itself seems to be falling apart. And that does seem to be the weak point of this book. While we get to see each woman’s struggles, there are few scenes of the women all together working as a team which was a real strength in the previous book. Maybe the author intended to create the sense of disconnection between the women. There are only two times in the book when all the women get together. The book was definitely an enjoyable read, and the teaser at the end of this book for the next one will make you tear out your hair until the third comes out.

Well, I have lots to get caught up on today, dishes and laundry wait for no mom!