Review: Sweet Carolina Morning by Susan Child

Finally, just shy of forty years old, Linny Taylor is living the life of her dreams in her charming hometown of Willow Hill, North Carolina. The past few years have been anything but a fairy tale: Left broke by her con man late-husband, Linny has struggled to rebuild her life from scratch. Then she met Jack Avery, the town’s much-adored veterinarian. And she’s marrying him.

Everything should be coming up roses for Linny. So why does she have such a serious case of pre-wedding jitters? It could be because Jack’s prosperous family doesn’t approve of her rough-and-tumble background. Or that his ex-wife is suddenly back on the scene. Or that Linny has yet to win over his son’s heart. All these obstacles—not to mention what she should wear when she walks down the aisle—are taking the joy out of planning her wedding. Linny better find a way to trust love again, or she might risk losing the one man she wants to be with—forever…

ebook, 288 pages

Expected publication: August 2nd 2016 by Lyrical Press

Terri's Thoughts

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  The expected publication data is August 2nd, 2016.

This story tells the difficulty of starting over in a new relationship when there are other people involved, in particular children.  It deals with the struggle of trying to gain acceptance and know you role when the children are not yours.  A very real challenge in today's society.

With that in mind, I should have really enjoyed this story however I only found it meh.  There are two main reasons why.

Linny and her sister were depicted as almost over the hill.  They were not even 40 years old.  While perhaps traditionally marriage and babies occurred at a younger age, that is not the norm these days.  In today's day, woman are getting married and having children at a much older age as they focus on their careers first.  This is the norm which made this story feel a little bit old fashioned.  Seriously, 38 or whatever age Linny was is not old.

My second issue was Linny herself.  While I get that she was insecure due to her previous marriages she really came off to me as a little annoying with her insecurities.  The way she blamed Jack for everything when it was clear the issue was hers bothered me.  Anyone ever heard of the phrase communication is key?

That being said, the story did have a good message and the writing was well done.  My issues with the story are more about my own personal views as opposed to the actual story and although I am usually able to set them aside when reading a story, I was unable to this time.  This impacted my enjoyment of the story.

About the Author

Susan Schild writes wholesome and sunny Southern fiction.

Susan is a wife, and a stepmother who enjoys weekend getaways with friends, reading fiction, and rummaging through thrift stores and antique stores for treasures like four dollar cashmere sweaters and amateur watercolor paintings. A dog lover, Susan is especially fond of Lab mix rescue dogs.

With a professional background as a psychotherapist and a management consultant, Susan has used her professional background to add authenticity to her characters.

Susan and her family live in North Carolina where she is busy finishing up the second and third novels in the Willow Hill series, SWEET CAROLINA MORNING and SWEET SOUTHERN HEARTS. Both novels are scheduled for release in 2016.