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Friday, September 12, 2014

Blog Tour: Home to Chicory Lane by Deborah Raney

Author: Deborah Raney
Publisher: Abington Press
Date of publication: August 2014


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?
I have mixed feelings about Home to Chicory Lane.  I did find it to be well a written and heart-warming story about a family trying to navigate changing dynamics in their family.  Audrey and Grant finally have all of their kids out of the house and now their dreams of a bed and breakfast are finally a reality.  The problem is that their youngest has come home to possibly stay.

I liked Audrey and Grant.  I felt for their struggle in trying to make a business work and all of the stress that goes along with it.  And at the same time, they are trying to find a balance in when to give their children the room to spread their wings and when to step in and help.  I think this is something all parents of adult children go through.  I tthought they did a pretty good job and were able to find that balance.  So, that part of the story I enjoyed.

What frustrated me was Landyn and Chase. I found both of them incredibly immature and selfish.  The lack of communication between the two was annoying.  Everyone knows you don't quit a job with GOOD money until you have a new job to replace it. Landyn's excuse of not wanting to commute just made me roll my eyes.  Tons of people commute an hour or more every day for work.  It's what to you do!.  I felt like their solution in the end was a little too easy for them and I'm not sure they really would have learned a lesson.

So, I do recommend the book.  It looks to be a good series and I look forward to reading the next one.

About the author:
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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