Thursday, April 19, 2018

Review & Excerpt Tour: MORNINGS ON MAIN by Jodi Thomas

   

From the beloved and bestselling author of the Ransom Canyon and Harmony, Texas series comes a powerful, heartwarming story about generations of family and the ironclad bonds they forge. Order your copy of MORNINGS ON MAIN today!

   

When Jillian James lands in the small town Texas community of Laurel Springs, she’s definitely not planning to stay—except to find a few clues about the father who abandoned her and destroyed her faith in family.

Connor Larady is a single dad, and the only one caring for his grandmother, Eugenia, who has Alzheimer’s. And now he has to close Eugenia’s quilt shop. When Connor meets down-on-her-luck Jillian, he’s out of options. Can he trust the newcomer to do right by his grandmother’s legacy?

Jillian is done with relationships. But as she grows closer to Connor and Eugenia, she must consider giving up her nomadic life for a future with those who need her.

An inspiring family saga that asks us to consider what love and chosen family really mean.

 

Order MORNINGS ON MAIN here!

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“Compelling and beautifully written.” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author on Ransom Canyon

 

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EXCERPT:

“Wait.” He hadn’t had a single bite for the job at the quilt shop in weeks. Everyone in town knew what it was and no one wanted it. But this outsider just might be dumb enough to take it. “It’s only a short-term job. Three or four months at the most, but it pays fifteen dollars an hour if you have the right skills.”
“What skills?”
She wasn’t running at the thought of working in a quilt shop. That was a good sign. “My grandmother has owned the town’s quilt shop for over fifty years. She’s closing down, but what we need done has to be accomplished carefully. Every quilt in the place has to be cataloged for the county museum. She holds the history of this town in there.”
Connor had no idea how to say what he needed to say, but he had to be honest. “Gram’s slipping a little. Beginning to forget things. Over the years she’s collected and made quilts that mean a great deal to the people of Laurel Springs. They’ll have to be treated with care. The history of each one logged and photographed.”
“Museum-quality preservation. I understand. I worked at the Southwest Collection on the Texas Tech campus while I was in college. My salary will be twenty an hour for that detailed kind of work.”
She stood her ground and he had no doubt she knew what to do. Which was more than he knew about the process. The county curator had been excited about the collection but of­fered no time or advice.
Now Connor was sure he was the one afraid of her. “All right. I’ll walk you over and let you meet my grandmother. If you last an hour, you’re on the payroll. She’ll be the boss. Some days you’ll be working at her pace.”
Nodding, she passed through the front door he held open. When they started across the street, she hesitated. “Aren’t you going to lock your office door?”
“What, and hamper anyone trying to steal my copier? No way.”
The woman was giving him that look again. She’d obvi­ously decided he was missing critical brain cells.
“I’m Jillian James.” She held out her hand, palm up as if to say, your turn next.
“Connor Larady.” He grinned. “I’m the town mayor.”
She didn’t look impressed. She’d probably heard he’d run unopposed.
Without another word, they stepped inside the quilt shop. He didn’t miss her slight gasp as she looked up at the size of the place. It widened out from the small storefront windows in a pie-slice shape, with two stories opening to an antique tin ceiling. Massive fans turned slowly, so far above he couldn’t feel the air move.



Jodi Thomas’s MORNINGS ON MAIN Review & Excerpt Schedule:
April 2nd
April 3rd
Sofia Loves Books – Review
April 4th
Hearts & Scribbles – Excerpt
Melena's Reviews – Review & Excerpt
April 5th
Evermore Books – Excerpt
April 6th
Belle's Book Belfry – Review & Excerpt
April 7th
Red Hot + Blue Reads – Review & Excerpt
April 8th
The Butterfly Reads – Review & Excerpt
April 9th
Geronimo Reads – Review & Excerpt
April 10th
The Book Hammock – Review & Excerpt
April 11th
The Book Maven – Review & Excerpt
April 12th
Read more sleep less – Review & Excerpt
Totally Bex – Review & Excerpt
April 13th
KDRBCK – Review & Excerpt
Romantic Reads and Such – Review & Excerpt
April 14th
More Books Than Livros – Review & Excerpt
Ripe For Reader – Review & Excerpt
April 15th
Bookishly Yours – Review & Excerpt
April 16th
Renee Entress's Blog – Review & Excerpt
Shannon’s Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
April 17th
Aaly and The Books – Review & Excerpt
April 18th
Jax's Book Magic – Review & Excerpt
Maybe SS Riki – Review & Excerpt
April 19th
MI Bookshelf – Review
April 20th
Teatime and Books – Excerpt



This was a new author to me. Jillian James is looking for answers and clues to the father who abandoned her. When she arrives in Laurel Springs, Texas she knows it will be a temporary visit.
Connor Larady, the town mayor, is a man with a lot on his plate, not only is he a single father but he is looking after his grandmother, Eugenia who has Alzheimers; he also has to decide what to do with her quilt shop.   
When Connor hires Jillian to help out in the quilt shop he is uncertain as to whether she is trustworthy. Jillian has sworn off men,but there is something about Connor that makes her want to take a leap of faith. Can Jillian be happy in a small town? Or will her wanderlust be too much for her?
Whilst I liked Jillian, initially to me Connor was harder to engage with as I found him to be distant with those around him; thankfully he grew on me.
Mornings on Main is a story of family, community, of life in a small country town and one of love. I enjoyed the characters and  how Jodi Thomas brought them to life and I loved Eugenia's character.  





This is the first book I have read by Jodi Thomas and it won’t be the last because I loved the characters, I loved the small town romance and I really liked this authors style of writing.
This is a story about different generations of a family and in this book we meet three couples at different stages of their life’s, Sunnie and Reese are the youngest and they are teenagers trying to work out this dating thing that has just hit them, Jillian and Connor are adults trying to make their relationship work despite the problems life is throwing at them, and Joe and Jeannie are best friends who have known each other for most of their 80 odd years of life, every couple has a story to tell and this book is a powerful, heartwarming story about the bonds that families form and forge, it’s about a community in a small town and it’s a town I would love to visit. A sweet love story that left me wanting to read more from Jodi Thomas



    About Jodi Thomas: New York Times and USA Today's bestselling author Jodi Thomas has published over 30 books in both the historical romance and contemporary genres, the majority of which are set in her home state of Texas. Publishers Weekly calls her novels "Distinctive...Memorable," and that in her stories "[tension] rides high, mixed with humor and kisses more passionate than most full-on love scenes." In 2006, Romance Writers of America (RITA) inducted Thomas into the RWA Hall of Fame for winning her third RITA for THE TEXAN'S REWARD. She also received the National Readers' Choice Award in 2009 for TWISTED CREEK (2008) and TALL, DARK, AND TEXAN (2008). While continuing to work as a novelist, Thomas also functions as Writer in Residence at the West Texas A&M University campus, where she inspires students and alumni in their own writing pursuits.    

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