Review: Bless Your Heart Rae Sutton by Susannah B. Lewis

 

Bless Your Heart Rae Sutton

by Susannah B. Lewis

 

About the Book

 

Sometimes what your life needs is an eccentric group of older ladies to take you under their wing…

 

When Raeley Ann Sutton’s mama passes away and leaves her the house where she grew up, Rae can’t imagine how the little old place might restore her broken life. Mourning the recent loss of her marriage, she takes the house and settles back in tiny, “one-horse Whitten” with her fourteen-year-old daughter, Molly Margaret, and their overweight dog.

 

There she’s embraced by her mother’s close-knit circle of friends, the Third Thursday ladies: Mrs. Fannie, Mrs. Dora, and Aunt Maxine. Though almost half their age and far less confident of positive outcomes, Rae joins their ministry-slash-book-club-slash-gossip circle and allows the women to speak wry honesty and witty humor into her tired heart. As a new career and a new romance bring their own complications, Rae relies on the unlikely family she’s found and begins to wonder if her future holds more hope than she could have imagined.

 

Known for her heartwarming stories and genuine Southern voice, Susannah B. Lewis dazzles with her latest story of women strengthening women.

 

My Thoughts

 

Grief, hope, and heart intertwine in a novel that is Fried Green Tomatoes for the 21^st Century.

 

When I downloaded an ARC of Bless Your Heart Rae Sutton, I opened the copy fully expecting to read the first few pages to get a feel for the book before returning to the other books I needed to read for review. Yet once I had turned that first page, I was hooked and unable to put this book down.

 

Lewis has a way of writing about the South in way that is immersive, yet isn’t kitschy. Too many writers attempt to pen a Southern novel and lay the drawl on waaaay too thick and make its natives look ridiculous. Lewis handles the South with respect. Her writing takes you on a journey and makes you feel as if you are right there with the characters.

 

Rae Sutton is a heroine in whom every woman will see herself. She is strong yet flawed and practically leaps off the page and sits across from you with her ever present glass of sweet tea. She is a strong woman with a big heart. Her love for her mother is palpable as you read and the grief she feels in the wake of her mother’s passing and the loss of her marriage is just as strong. The pain she feels amidst such hard change is something so many can relate to, and readers will be inspired by the way Rae handles the tragedies that life has thrust upon her.

 

The supporting cast of characters sparkles, providing a wonderful backdrop for the book, as well as a great community for Rae. I was charmed by the Third Thursday group she joined in her mother’s stead. They provide heart and humor for Rae and feel like a real group of ladies one might come across. And reading as Rae finds the notes her mother hid for her before her passing will make your heart swell, and might bring a tear to your eye.

 

Tender and true, Bless Your Heart Rae Sutton is a shining example of Southern women’s fiction done right. I highly recommend this book.

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.