Book Review: Bless Her Heart

As Priscilla Slater’s 15-year class reunion approaches, she decides to attend out of curiosity… and to flaunt her latest achievement—taking her business to a national level with the possibility of a TV show. As if getting ready for the event and putting up with the pranks of her former classmates isn’t enough, Pricilla’s hometown visit is further complicated by her parents’ separation. With the once-solid sanctuary of her home broken at the foundation, there’s only one thing Priscilla’s parents can agree on: no matter what sort of accolades their daughter receives as a hair stylist, she’s not living up to her potential. Eager to escape the painful reality of her childhood home, Priscilla bolts as soon as a call from New York brings good news: her offer to purchase one of the best salons in the country is likely to come through. But returning to New York means returning to Tim, Priscilla’s best friend and business pal who has been impatiently suggesting their relationship should be more than a friendship. Despite her recent achievements, will Priscilla learn that success doesn’t always result in popularity—or love?

Before The Class Reunion: A Prequel to The Class Reunion Series

Debby Mayne has published more than 30 books and novellas, 400 print short stories and articles, more than 1,000 web articles, and a slew of devotions for women. She has also worked as managing editor of a national health magazine, product information writer for HSN, a creative writing instructor for Long Ridge Writers Group, and a copy editor and proofreader for several book publishers. For the past eight years, she has judged the Writers Digest Annual Competition, Short-Short Contest, and Self-Published Book Competition. Three of Debby’s books have been top ten favorites by the Heartsong Presents book club. Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida received 4-1/2 stars fromRomantic Times Magazine, and was named a Top Pick for the month of July 2009.

You can visit Debby Mayne’s website at www.debbymayne.com.

My Impressions:

Priscilla Slater and her former classmates of Piney Point High School are 5 years older, but perhaps not wiser, in the second book in Debby Mayne’s Class Reunion series, Bless Her Heart. The first person novel featuring the voices of Priscilla, Celeste, Laura and Tim is a humorous and sometimes poignant look at lives that don’t always turn out as planned. A good second installment, Bless Her Heart will appeal to those who like light-hearted, yet meaningful chick lit.

Priscilla and her classmates are set to meet for their 15th class reunion. It seems that a lot of things have changed, but others have stayed woefully the same. This reunion year has the characters facing the realities of life — marriages under fire, rebellious children, romantic setbacks and career steps and dreams. The first person voices let the reader in on the heart of each character and the perceptions of others. Some of the characters have grown from the first novel, while others seem stuck in old routines. I liked the style of the narrative. My only complaint is the deliberate grammatical errors among some of the characters which proved a bit distracting to me. My husband and his family are from Mississippi (where the book is set), and they just don’t speak that poorly! But I did enjoy the southern setting, especially the emphasis on Big Hair!

All in all, I enjoyed Bless Her Heart and look forward to book 3, Tickled Pink, which will revisit the class of 1993 at their 20 year reunion.

Recommended.

(Thanks to Abingdon for a copy of this book. All opinions are mine alone.)

A Taste of Bless Her Heart

Laura is still making her chicken/cheese/veggies casseroles her husband terms fancy. But any Mississippi reunion or tailgate worth its salt would include Mississippi Sin. Enjoy the origin of this dip and the recipe from Deep South Dish.

To purchase a copy of Bless Her Heart, click on the image below.