Tag Archives: Rhonda McKnight

Holiday Reading List

24 Nov

Are you a Black Friday shopper? Me, not so much. I prefer to snuggle in with a holiday-themed book from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. My list this year is filled with the authors who will be attending the Turning A New Page Book Festival in Perry, Georgia. Most are novella-length and perfect for reading between shopping, baking, parties, school and church events — you know you need a break! The list covers a variety of genres — romance, historical, suspense, mystery — so there should be something for you! Note: many are available through Kindle Unlimited. Look for KU after the author’s name.

Holiday Reading List

Candy Canes, Canines, And Crimes by Kathy Manos Penn (KU)

Destination Christmas by Pam Hillman (KU)

Last to Know by Brandy Heineman (KU)

Magnolia Mistletoe by Lindsey Brackett (KU)

One Winter Kiss by Lindi Peterson (KU)

Prevail by Linda Rodante (KU)

Snowbound with The Rodeo Star by Tanya Agler

The Unbroken Song by Jennifer Q. Hunt (KU)

You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Toni Shiloh

Whiskers, Wreaths, and Murder by Kathy Manos Penn (KU)

The Winter Reunion by Rhonda McKnight

Book Review: The Thing About Home

9 Nov

A few weeks ago Rhonda McKnight was a new-to-me author. But with just one book, she is now a must-read writer. Her novel, The Thing About Home, is fantastic — full of heart and soul. I loved the Lowcountry setting with its rich cultural elements (the food in this book had my mouth watering, LOL!), the historical background that spoke of a rich legacy, and the family that embraced a hurting heroine. And did I mention a hunky hero? 😉 This book has it all. Get this book!

Home is not a place—it’s a feeling.

 Casey Black needs an escape. When her picture-perfect vow renewal ceremony ends in her being left at the altar, the former model turned social media influencer has new fame—the kind she never wanted. An embarrassing viral video has cost her millions of followers, and her seven-year marriage is over. With her personal and business lives in shambles, Casey runs from New York City to South Carolina’s Lowcountry hoping to find long-lost family. Family who can give her more answers about her past than her controlling mom-slash-manager has ever been willing to share.

What Casey doesn’t expect is a postcard-worthy property on a three-hundred-acre farm, history, culture, and a love of sweet tea. She spends her days caring for the land and her nights cooking much needed Southern comfort foods. She also meets Nigel, the handsome farm manager whose friendship has become everything she’s never had. And then there are the secrets her mother can no longer hide.

Through the pages of her great-grandmother’s journals, Casey discovers her roots run deeper than the Lowcountry soil. She learns that she has people. A home. A legacy to uphold. And a great new love story—if only she is brave enough to leave her old life behind. 

“. . . a beautifully written story about family, self-discovery, secrets, and forgiveness.” —Kimberla Lawson Roby, New York Times bestselling author.

Rhonda McKnight is the author of twenty-five traditional and indie-published award-winning bestsellers, including An Inconvenient FriendWhat Kind of Fool, and Unbreak My Heart. She is a two-time winner of the Emma award in the categories of Inspirational Romance of the Year (2015) and Debut Author (2010). She has been nominated thrice for the African American Literary Award. She writes inspirational book club fiction and Christian romance about complex characters in crisis. Her goal is to touch the heart of women through her stories using the themes of faith, forgiveness, and hope. Originally from a small coastal town in New Jersey, she writes from the comfort of her South Carolina home.

She can be reached at her website at http://www.RhondaMcKnight.com and on social media at http://www.facebook.com/booksbyrhondahttp://www.instagram.com/AuthorRhondaMcKnighthttp://www.twitter.com/rhondamcknight and http://www.SistersofFaithBooks.comwhere she has joined with sixteen other authors to introduce her stories to the world.

My Impressions:

Casey B is a woman scorned at the beginning of The Thing About Home. While I sympathized with her situation and even her response to it, I didn’t much like her. Maybe because the model-turned-influencer seemed really shallow. But as the novel progressed I saw behind the mask this main character presented to the world. Talk about character development! Rhonda McKnight puts Casey through the ringer and brings her out stronger and more grounded in faith, family, and future. The Thing About Home explores identity and family legacy. The dual timeline of Odessa’s story adds a wonderful depth to the Black family journey to the present. And the long life lived by Granna, Casey’s grandmother, added a layer of poignancy and wisdom. Both women gave Casey and this reader a perspective on struggles we were unaware of. I really liked that about the book. I learned a thing or two about history and myself. While these things would certainly be enough, the romance that develops between Casey and her very hunky host is certainly swoony! So basically you have a novel with a strong message, brilliant descriptions of culture and history of the Lowcountry, a beautifully crafted style, and a romance to beat all romances. Yes, its got it all. And it gets a highly recommended rating from me!

Highly Recommended!

Audience: Adults.

(I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

Top 10 Tuesday — Reading Goals

3 Oct

Happy Tuesday! I used to be hard core about reading goals. I had an overall target to reach every year, as well as several (many) reading challenges I joined. But I am a bit compulsive and the goals/challenges became more important than actual reading. That’s when I adjusted downward the number of books I planned to read per year and began to limit the reviews/launches I agreed to participate in. I want to read what I want to read! That being said I still overestimate the time I have available for reading.

I used this week’s topic to look back at the past year’s TBR plans. I am currently on track to meet my Goodreads goal of 75 books. In fact I have read 69 books so far this year; they just aren’t all recorded on Goodreads yet.

My TBR goals are all over the place though:

90% read for Winter 22/23,

100% for Spring 23,

0% for Summer 23 (although in my defense, that list was more for highlighting the books that were being released during the summer, rather than a personal reading goal)

20% for Fall 23 (which is pretty good, since I published that list just 2 weeks ago)

My NetGalley shelf is out of control with unread books. I am not going to embarrass myself by publishing that big fail. I will say that I read 8 books over the summer that had been on the shelf far too long.

So basically, I am doing what I proposed to do — reading what I want to read when I want to read it! 😉 And I am unapologetic, because at my age I certainly don’t need to squander any reading time.

Because I hate not mentioning specific books, here are more I have added to my Fall 23 list. Read 2, added 4 — sounds about right. I might post an update on my progress.

First Line Friday — The Thing About Home

18 Aug

Happy Friday! A group of friends and I have embarked on an exciting and admittedly scary journey to bring a book festival focusing on Christian fiction/nonfiction and “clean reads” to the middle Georgia area in Janruay 2024. We have over 30 authors committed to be part of all the fun. Many of the writers I have featured on the blog will be attendance. If you live anywhere near (or far) from us you need to attend. We can be found in a number of places, but all the latest news is found on our FB page — Perry Page Turners.

We are so pleased that Rhonda McKnight, author of The Thing About Home, will be joining us for a panel discussion. Find out all about Rhonda and her book below.

Now for the first line:

I stepped into my limousine and pressed the bottom of my wedding dress flat.

Home is not a place—it’s a feeling.

 Casey Black needs an escape. When her picture-perfect vow renewal ceremony ends in her being left at the altar, the former model turned social media influencer has new fame—the kind she never wanted. An embarrassing viral video has cost her millions of followers, and her seven-year marriage is over. With her personal and business lives in shambles, Casey runs from New York City to South Carolina’s Lowcountry hoping to find long-lost family. Family who can give her more answers about her past than her controlling mom-slash-manager has ever been willing to share.

What Casey doesn’t expect is a postcard-worthy property on a three-hundred-acre farm, history, culture, and a love of sweet tea. She spends her days caring for the land and her nights cooking much needed Southern comfort foods. She also meets Nigel, the handsome farm manager whose friendship has become everything she’s never had. And then there are the secrets her mother can no longer hide.

Through the pages of her great-grandmother’s journals, Casey discovers her roots run deeper than the Lowcountry soil. She learns that she has people. A home. A legacy to uphold. And a great new love story—if only she is brave enough to leave her old life behind. 

“. . . a beautifully written story about family, self-discovery, secrets, and forgiveness.” —Kimberla Lawson Roby, New York Times bestselling author

Rhonda McKnight is the author of twenty-five traditional and indie-published award-winning bestsellers, including An Inconvenient Friend, What Kind of Fool, and Unbreak My Heart. She is a two-time winner of the Emma award in the categories of Inspirational Romance of the Year (2015) and Debut Author (2010). She has been nominated thrice for the African American Literary Award. She writes inspirational book club fiction and Christian romance about complex characters in crisis. Her goal is to touch the heart of women through her stories using the themes of faith, forgiveness, and hope. Originally from a small coastal town in New Jersey, she writes from the comfort of her South Carolina home.

She can be reached at her website at http://www.RhondaMcKnight.com and on social media at http://www.facebook.com/booksbyrhonda, http://www.instagram.com/AuthorRhondaMcKnight, http://www.twitter.com/rhondamcknight and http://www.SistersofFaithBooks.com where she has joined with sixteen other authors to introduce her stories to the world.