Wednesday, October 17, 2018

The Mending of Lillian Cathleen review and giveaway!


It’s 1914. American women are demanding the vote. And the first flames of the Great War are igniting Europe. But a battle of a different sort rages in Oklahoma.
The thermometer registers one hundred six degrees, an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence even for the twenty-eighth day of July. But this is no ordinary day.
The jury has reached a verdict.
Lily fidgets in the old church pew. Her name has clotted into a by-word. Her blood is tainted. Can she right the wrongs? Or will her past forever define her?
She eyes the judge. And the courtroom holds its breath.


My thoughts: This is the first book I have read by Linda, though I look forward to reading more of her stories! Lillian's story was a fascinating one that dealt with some hard subjects, like abuse and standing up against it. The story also has a mystery and intrigue. This story drew me in from the very start! I enjoyed getting to know Lillian.
I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review and is in no way influenced by receiving a complimentary copy.

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About the Author:
Linda Brooks Davis was born and reared on a farm in Raymondville, a small Rio Grande Valley community in the southernmost tip of Texas. Linda earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Pathology from Abilene Christian University and a Master’s Degree from Houston Baptist University. She retired in 2008 after forty years as a special educator and administrator. Linda and her beloved husband Al worship and minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio and dote on six grandchildren, three of whom are triplets. Readers may contact Linda through her website, www.lindabrooksdavis.com.
Linda’s debut novel, The Calling of Ella McFarland, is set in 1905 Indian Territory prior to Oklahoma statehood. It won the 2014 Jerry Jenkins Operation First Novel Award. It was released in 2015 and won the 2016 American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award. The sequel novella, A Christmas to Remember, is set in 1908 Oklahoma and released in December, 2016. A second novella, A Christmas Measure of Love, released in 2017. It is set in 1910 and is a prequel to Linda’s second full-length novel, this one set in 1914, The Mending of Lily Cathleen, which releases in 2018.

Guest post from Linda:
Certain ancestors and their experiences appear in my stories. There’s bit of my grandmother and a strong dash of my mother in one character. My father’s sterling qualities appear in another. And there’s a low-down family reprobate in another. Don’t forget cotton planting, hoeing, and harvest time. The glorious aroma of fresh-picked cotton and the nothing-in-the-world-like-it odor from the pig pen. A sewing machine whirring. The clink of a milk pail. A cow hollering to be milked. Summer’s sun on my face, the hearty South Texas wind in my hair, and the comfort of backing up to a wall heater on a cold winter morning. All find their way into the plot lines.
In my family’s history, my own life, and the kaleidoscope of lives in my stories, Jesus appears as the golden thread linking the past to the present and beyond. He turns an ordinary morning into a hint of the “Sweet By & By.” He adds the delicate aroma of the Rose of Sharon to the sultry stillness before a summer storm. And He wraps the bitterness of grief and failure in the richness of His incomparable grace. The Mending of Lillian Cathleen is one of those tales that reach beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary because of Jesus.
Lily’s story captures some of the heartache of domestic abuse, but it packs a powerfully joyous punch at the end. I thought I’d add a strong dash of sweet to this post with a recipe that appears in The Calling of Ella McFarland (which is re-releasing in October 2018). Mama’s (or Papa’s) Nectar of Heaven was a treat my mother enjoyed as a child. She set the same yummy delicacy before her kids, and I, of course, have done the same. Here ’tis, ya’ll, from Texas with sweet, sweet love.

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Giveaway!
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9 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for bringing to our attention another great book out there to read. I appreciate hearing about them since I have so many readers in my family.

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    1. Wow! A single father of 5! What an incredible blessing for all. I hope you can read Lily's story, James. The print version is available on pre-order. The book has a link at the back for a free bonus--the prequel/companion Christmas novella, A Christmas Measure of Love.

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  2. My great aunt’s name was Lillian, so of course I’d love to read this book. Aunt Lillian was sweet but had some spunk in her, too!
    perrianne (DOT) askew (AT] me (DOT) com
    Perrianne Askew

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    1. Sweet women with spunk seem to run in "the family" of characters in my books. Lily appears first in Book One, The Calling of Ella McFarland. In The Mending of Lillian Cathleen, she's all grown up and tackling life. I hope you can read Lily's story. The print version is on pre-order status at present, but it'll be shipped before long (earlier than Dec 4, as it says). The print version has a link at the back for a free bonus--the prequel/companion Christmas novella, A Christmas Measure of Love.

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  3. Thank you for your review on "The Mending of Lillian Cathleen" by Linda Brooks Davis and for being part of the book tour.

    Lovely cover! Enjoy books of this time frame and can't wait for the opportunity to read this one.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    1. Hi, Kay. Thanks for appreciating Mending Lillian's cover. I knew that model was Lily when I first saw her. Lily appears first in Book One, The Calling of Ella McFarland. In The Mending of Lillian Cathleen, she's all grown up and tackling life. I hope you can read her story. The print version is on pre-order status at present, but it'll be shipped before long (earlier than Dec 4, as it says). The print version has a link at the back for a free bonus--the prequel/companion Christmas novella, A Christmas Measure of Love.

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  4. This sounds like a good story!

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    1. Hi, Emma. Thanks. It was born in The Calling of Ella McFarland. Lily just had to tell her story! By the way, the print novels include a free bonus—the prequel/companion novella, A Christmas Measure of Love, which is set in 1910. Hope you'll get a chance to read the series and can let me know what you think.

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    2. I hope you get the chance to read it!

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