March 19, 2019

Glory Road by Lauren K. Denton

Genre/Categories: Women’s Fiction, Southern Fiction, Romance, Small Town Life, Mothers/Daughters

Thanks to #NetGalley #ThomasNelsonPublishers for my free copy of #GloryRoad by @LaurenKDentonBooks @laurenkdenton in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Summary:

Glory Road shares the story of three generations of women from the same family during one summer of their lives on Glory Road as they work toward building trusting and loving relationships with each other and also forging the path of their individual lives and future. While some characters are stereotypical, the main characters are well drawn and seem like friends. We are able to empathize with the grandmother’s fear and feelings of distress as she experiences episodes of dementia; we understand the pressure Jessie feels as a single, working, entrepreneurial mom; and we remember how it felt to be a teenager through the experiences of fourteen-year-old Evan.

My Thoughts:

Especially captivating in Glory Road is the atmospheric, southern, rural setting. We imagine swinging in the creaky porch swing, walking down the dusty country road (Glory Road), and we can hear the buzz of insects. Adding to the setting, the author inserts lovely, inspirational, and advice laden garden quotations at the beginning of each chapter (reminding me what we learned about the meaning of flowers in The Language of Flowers). Here’s an example:

“Zinnias are traditionally a happy flower, and you can’t go wrong offering a loved one a bouquet of brightly colored zinnias. In particular, the scarlet zinnia signifies constancy or steadfastness. Blue hyacinths have a similar meaning, and the two flowers together would make a striking pair.”
~Warren Elliot, The Secret Life of Flowers

These thoughtful quotes set the mood for the chapter and enhance the southern setting and are completely congruent with Jessie’s garden shop, The Twig. I appreciate the author’s effort in finding unique and thematic quotes.

Poignant themes include facing difficult transitions, being true to yourself, supporting family, coming home, and reconciliation.

Recommended for readers who appreciate romantic and inspirational family stories; for fans of southern settings, rural lifestyle, and gardening; and for those looking for a gentle read (no violence, offensive language, or steamy romance). It would be a good book club selection and a great choice for spring/summer porch reading. If you read and enjoyed Hurricane Season by Denton, I predict that you will also enjoy Glory Road.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars (rounded to 4 Stars on Goodreads)

Glory Road

Meet the Author, Lauren K. Denton

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren now lives with her husband and two daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, faith, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. On any given day, she’d rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books. Her debut novel, THE HIDEAWAY, was a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Charts bestseller. Her second novel, HURRICANE SEASON, released in spring of 2018, is a USA Today bestseller. GLORY ROAD will release in March, 2019.

Find her at LaurenKDenton.com or on Facebook (LaurenKDentonAuthor), Instagram (LaurenKDentonBooks), or Twitter (@laurenkdenton).

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Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.

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