Another Way Home by Deborah Raney

Deborah Raney has written a series that I have thoroughly enjoyed from book 1. I love how the Chicory Inn has remained a center piece through each book, although it changes roles throughout each book. For example, in this book it is mostly featured as the place where the family gets together for Tuesday meals. It is where announcements are made and tears are shed and joys are shared.

Danae and Dallas are the central characters in this book. Their situation is one that so many can relate to so easily. Danae desperately wants to have a child, but she isn't able to get pregnant month after month. It's all her heart wants and it's so hard for her to focus on much else. Add to that having a sister that can have baby after baby whether she wanted to have one or not. Those announcements just never get easier because Danae can't help but wonder when it'll be her turn to announce baby news, or if it'll even ever happen.

I loved how Danae chose to pour her heart into a new passion--volunteering at a women's shelter. My heart broke over the children, though. Just knowing that many of the kids in these situations have experienced what was written or even so much more is heartbreaking.

I felt like so many issues were incorporated into this book. Difficulty getting pregnant, marriage issues, abuse, adoption and that's just to name a few. Even with all of the heavier topics brought up, the book was an interesting one and it didn't feel so weighty that I didn't enjoy it. In fact, it was extremely hard for me to put this book down. I'm looking forward to the next book coming out soon!

Read more reviews on this book at http://litfusegroup.com/author/draney.

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About the Book

Another Way Home (Abingdon Press, October 2015)
Sometimes God’s ways are not at all what we expect . . . and exactly what we need.
Grant and Audrey are adding grandchildren to their family left and right, but middle daughter, Danae, and her husband, Dallas Brooks, have been trying for years with no baby in sight.
Though Danae is ready to consider adoption, Dallas will not even discuss it. Despairing of ever having a family of her own, Danae decides to pour her passion and energies into volunteer work with a newly opened women’s shelter in town. Looking for a good cause to fill her lonely days, she never expects to give her heart to the hurting women she meets there. She’s finally learning to live her life with gratitude, but then heart-wrenching events on Thanksgiving weekend threaten to pull the entire Whitman clan into turmoil—and leave them all forever changed.
Learn more and purchase a copy.

Deborah Raney

Deborah Raney’s books have won numerous awards, including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. She and her husband, Ken, recently traded small-town life in Kansas—the setting of many of Deborah’s novels—for life in the (relatively) big city of Wichita, where they enjoy gardening, antiquing, movies, and traveling to visit four children and a growing brood of grandchildren who all live much too far away.

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I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group and Abingdon Press in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Two Roads Home by Deborah Raney

I think some of my favorite series have to be the ones that focus on family. In fact, some of my favorite television shows focus on family. I'm not certain why I enjoy it so much, except maybe it's because I feel like I get to know the characters so well and can easily imagine them as I read the books or watch the shows. Families are imperfect, so I like reading about the imperfect families... the ones who have flaws but continuously seek to become better.

That's exactly the reason why I like the Chicory Inn series. There's so much honesty, which makes it extremely easy to relate to. It reminds me that none of us have perfect marriages or families, despite what pictures say.

I think readers can relate easily to the marriage of Jesse and Corinne. Marriage is hard work and that's exactly what Jesse and Corinne realize. It's so easy to get swept away by the pressures of work and life in general that you don't have much time left to work on your marriage. In fact, it became so imperative that they focus on their marriage after a few events left them hanging on. Nothing like a wake-up call to realize all you've taken for granted.

I really like the cover of this book. It is so relaxing to look at. In fact, it got moved up on my reading list because I was drawn to the cover.

I am looking forward to reading book 3 in this series!

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Two Roads Home (Abingdon Press, June 2015)
What if it’s too late for dreams to come true?
Minor-but-nagging setbacks continue to sour Grant and Audrey Whitman’s initiation into the world of innkeeping, but larger challenges brew when an innocent flirtation leads to big trouble for the Whitmans’ son-in-law, Jesse. Jesse Pennington’s friendly, outgoing personality has always served him well, especially in a career that has earned him and his wife Corinne a very comfortable lifestyle. But Corinne and Jesse are both restless—and for similar reasons, if only they could share those with each other. Instead, too many business trips and trumped-up charges of harassment from a disgruntled coworker threaten their marriage and possibly put their three precious daughters at risk.
With their life in disarray, God is tugging at their hearts to pursue other dreams. Can Corinne and Jesse pick up the pieces of what was once a wonderful life before it all crumbles beneath them?
Learn more and purchase a copy.

 

Deborah Raney’s books have won numerous awards, including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. She and her husband, Ken, recently traded small-town life in Kansas—the setting of many of Deborah’s novels—for life in the (relatively) big city of Wichita, where they enjoy gardening, antiquing, movies, and traveling to visit four children and a growing brood of grandchildren who all live much too far away. Visit Deborah on the web at DeborahRaney.com

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I received this book free from Abingdon Press and Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Home to Chicory Lane by Deborah Raney

I want to live in this house... well, inn. I love the picture of this house. It set a perfect stage in my mind for where so much of the story took place.

The story doesn't take long to develop at all. Within the first few chapters, the stage is set and the reader is introduced to the conflict that makes up much of the book. Audrey and Grant are finally opening their inn. They have poured themselves into it and have completely remodeled. Even the kids don't recognize their own home!

Landyn and Chase are the ones that most of the conflict lies around. Landon wants to protect Chase's name and reputation with her parents and is willing to take more blame than she probably should as to why she has come home. Chase has bought into a dream that may or may not become a reality. However, it was a decision that he neglected to consider his new wife's feelings that led to huge problems.

So in the middle of opening and running their new inn, Audrey and Grant are now trying to figure out what happened to Landyn and how they may be of help.

I liked seeing the conflict between newlyweds and how they dealt with it. So many people think newlywed life is bliss. It can be, but there is so much you learn in your first year of marriage. I liked the honest look into this stage of their life. I look forward to more things that will be discussed in her future books.

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About the Book

                       Home to Chicory Lane || Book 1, A Chicory Inn Novel
Landyn longs for home, but her mother may have other plans.
Audrey Whitman’s dreams are coming true. Now that their five kids are grown, she and her husband, Grant, are turning their beloved family home into a cozy bed and breakfast just a mile outside of Langhorne, Missouri.
Opening weekend makes Audrey anxious, with family and friends coming from all over to help celebrate the occasion. But when Audrey’s daughter, Landyn, arrives, the U-Haul she’s pulling makes it clear she’s not just here for a few days. Audrey immediately has questions. What happened in New York that sent Landyn running home? Where was Landyn’s husband, Chase? And what else was her daughter not telling her? One thing was for sure, the Chicory Inn was off to a rocky start. Can Audrey still realize her dream and at the same time provide the comfort of home her daughter so desperately needs?
Learn more and purchase a copy on Deborah’s website.

Deborah Raney

Deborah Raney’s books have won numerous awards, including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. She and her husband, Ken, recently traded small-town life in Kansas—the setting of many of Deborah’s novels—for life in the (relatively) big city of Wichita, where they enjoy gardening, antiquing, movies, and traveling to visit four children and a growing brood of grandchildren who all live much too far away. Visit Deborah on the web at DeborahRaney.com.

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I received this book free from Abingdon Press and Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

After All by Deborah Raney

This was a different kind of book for me.  It was very good and I had a hard time putting this book down.  It's hard to describe why the book felt different and was so enjoyable.  Maybe it was because the plot was more complex or perhaps it was the layout of the book.

Starting with the front cover, it made me want to pick it up.  As I was reading it, I loved the layout!  It was different than most books because it had quotes on one side at the beginning of each chapter.  Then it had a cute decoration on top of the chapter page.  It was very appealing to me as I was reading and it was something I had never stopped to really think about until I picked up this book.  The chapters were short, so it was easy to stop and start without losing my place or feeling like I needed to go back a few pages to remind myself of what had happened.

The story focuses on three people.  The first is Susan Marlowe.  Her husband was a firefighter and died fighting a fire at a homeless shelter that she had started.  It wasn't her fault but her husband and several other men and one woman never made it out of the fire.  They had problems in their marriage like the typical marriage, and had hardly seen each other, but Susan was convinced they still loved each other.  That changes when she receives some news about a secret that David, her husband, never told her.  Just as she was moving forward, the news makes her go back to the beginning of the grieving process again.

Andrea Morley is the second character.  She also lost someone in the fire, but she can't really express her sorrow about him.  After all, she's not really supposed to talk about him to anyone else.  Why is that?  Apparently she's attracted to people that she can't have...people like missionaries and military people or pretty much anyone who can't give her what she wants.  Oh, and married men should have been included on that list.  She wants to be married and have children, but she doubts that will ever happen now.  Will she come clean about her affairs or will she continue pursuing men that need to be left alone?

Peter Brennan is the last main character.  He is the fire chief who works almost all of the time.  He was responsible for the firefighters who died the night of the big fire.  He was also friends with Susan Marlowe and had heard of the rumor that Susan has just been informed of.  He has befriended Susan since her husband had died and is constantly trying to get over his guilt that something else could have been done to save the men.  He also just might fall in love with a woman who is passionate about something he is not.

This book is third book in the series.  I have never heard of or read any of the other books, but I plan to download the other two now.  I wasn't lost at all when it came to the characters but I'm curious to know who was carried over from previous books.  Deborah Raney is definitely an author that I'm adding to my favorites list.

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I received this book free from Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster in exchange for my honest opinion.