311 Pelican Court by Debbie Macomber

Have you ever been through a divorce? If you had children, how was custody handled?

This was book 3 in the famous Cedar Cove series. This novel focused on Zach and Rosie Cox. They get  a divorce and Judge Olivia makes an interesting custody agreement – instead of uprooting their children from their home, Zach and Rosie will need to share the house. Each parent must spend half of their week in the home, the other half in an apartment. This proves a weird arrangement and forces Zach and Rosie to re-think their marriage.

Zach and Rosie also have to deal with behavioral problems with their children.

Grace Sherman has a new love interest – Olivia’s brother (Will). She corresponds with Olivia’s brother over the internet, anxiously awaiting to meet him. She hears that he’s getting a divorce, so, possibly, she can begin dating him. A long-distance relationship, Grace finds herself anxious, addicted to her correspondence with Will. She also continues to sporadically date Cliff, an acquaintance who lives outside of town.

Mary Ellen struggles with single motherhood, locking Jon Bowman, the father of her baby, out of her life.

This series reminds me of a soap opera – a chaste soap opera. I enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to reading more novels in the Cedar Cove Series. I love the small town – the scenery and the characters are so realistic and they’re facing problems that many of us have suffered in our own lives.

Have you ever been through a divorce? If you had children, how was custody handled?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

204 Rosewood Lane PODCAST

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you enjoy sweet chaste novels such as 204 Rosewood Lane then you must read Rocky Road Dreams by Cecelia Dowdy. Rocky Road Dreams is about Kyle, a lawyer who is an alcoholic who recently fell off the wagon. He’s now back on the wagon, wanting to straighten out his messed up life. He rents a beach house for Christmas – right across the street from Melanie, a woman he’s known since he was a child. When he and Melanie were kids, he had a big crush on her – but Melanie was always smitten with Kyle’s identical twin brother Keith.

Can a Christmas road trip, some homemade candy, and some soul searching bring these two young lovebirds together? Rocky Road Dreams has a hint of mystery, too. This story will become a Christmas favorite that you’ll want to read each year for the holidays. Tell your friends by sharing this blog post or my clicking on the link at the end. Now, let’s discuss 204 Rosewood Lane.

204 Rosewood Lane – This is book #2 in Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove Series.

Have you ever had a friend or loved one to be missing? What happened? Was he/she ever found?

This was a quick, fun read with an interesting cast of characters. The story of Grace Sherman is continued in this novel. Grace’s husband, Dan, has gone missing, after 35 years of marriage. Grace is convinced that Dan is having an affair – all of the evidence points to that fact. She wants to divorce him. However, she’s still legally married, and still emotionally attached to her husband. When Cliff, Grace’s new love interest, wants to date Grace, she hesitates, not sure if she’s ready to date.

To top it all off, her daughter Kelly is a new mom and her daughter Mary Ellen has been secretly dating. Mary Ellen’s quiet, single life is soon shattered when she meets a man to whom she’s attracted – Jon Bowman. Jon is a master chef and a great photographer.

You’ll also see Olivia, the judge from book one, and her love-interest, Jack. You’ll also get a glimpse of the lives of Olivia’s children. Plus, Olivia’s ex-husband is in the picture, too.

I enjoyed this book, but, it reads more like a script instead of a novel. There are a lot of characters, but, I had no problem keeping them straight in my mind.

Have you ever had a friend or loved one to be missing? What happened? Was he/she ever found?

The events in 204 Rosewood Lane are featured on The Hallmark Series Cedar Cove.

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you enjoy sweet chaste novels such as 204 Rosewood Lane then you must read Rocky Road Dreams by Cecelia Dowdy. Rocky Road Dreams is about Kyle, a lawyer who is an alcoholic who recently fell off the wagon. He’s now back on the wagon, wanting to straighten out his messed up life. He rents a beach house for Christmas – right across the street from Melanie, a woman he’s known since he was a child. When he and Melanie were kids, he had a big crush on her – but Melanie was always smitten with Kyle’s identical twin brother Keith.

Can a Christmas road trip, some homemade candy, and some soul searching bring these two young lovebirds together? Rocky Road Dreams has a hint of mystery, too. This story will become a Christmas favorite that you’ll want to read each year for the holidays. Tell your friends by sharing this blog post or my clicking on the link at the end.

16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber

Do you/have you had a loved one in the military? How has the military affected your life?

16 Lighthouse Road is book #1 in the famous Cedar Cove series. Cedar Cove series is a secular series, and I chose to read these books because so many people have been gushing about how wonderful the Cedar Cove series is on the Hallmark Channel. I have not seen the TV series, though.

Cecilia and Ian Randall have not even been married for a year. During that time, they’ve been mostly separated because of Ian’s Navy duties. Cecilia gave birth their baby daughter, who died, and Ian was not there to help her through her grief. Due to no fault of his own, Ian didn’t know about the premature birth and death of their baby, but Cecilia blames him for not supporting her. Now, Cecilia wants to divorce him.

Judge Olivia Lockhart has been divorced for fifteen years, and she’s falling for Jack, the new newspaper editor. He’s funny and thoughtful, but, she finds that Jack is somewhat secretive. Olivia has a son who drowned several years ago and she still thinks about his all the time. She’s also worried about her 28-year-old daughter, Justine, who is dating a rich man who is ten years her senior.

There’s also Charlotte, Olivia’s mother. Charlotte is active in the senior citizen’s group and she befriends a kind, mysterious man named Tom. Tom has some shocking secrets about his past.

There’s Grace, Olivia’s best friend. Grace and her husband, Dan, are having marital problems. Why is Dan so distant? Does he no longer love her?

This was an interesting book with a large cast of characters. I noticed the military played a big role in the story. Military duties greatly affected Cecilia and Ian’s lives, making you wonder if the commanders in the military are fit to make familial decisions for their subordinates.

I enjoyed reading about all of the characters and I can understand why this was made into a series. The story was told by at least six points of view, which made it interesting. The few times I’ve read novels with this many POVs, I usually had a hard time keeping the people straight. But, I didn’t have that problem with this novel.

I enjoyed the Cedar Cove setting because it was refreshing. Cedar Cove is a small waterfront town and many of the inhabitants know one another. I enjoy reading small town stories where people care about one another.

Do you/have you had a loved one in the military? How has the military affected your life?