Sisters of the Heart Book 1
Book Blurb:
Six women. Four decades. One long, unexpected reunion.
Jewel Austin is a foster mother to dozens, but forms a special bond with five foster girls she welcomed under her roof long ago. Through handwritten letters, Jewel keeps in touch with these women she nurtured to adulthood.
Now in her eighties, Jewel’s time is short, and her last letter spells out an unusual request. The five women have never met but Jewel’s last wish is for them to return to Lavender Valley Farm together, back to the refuge where they once found the love and support they craved. Jewel has a keen sense of knowing their needs before they do and she knows they are going to need their sisters of the heart.
Life’s been hard, but facing the inevitable loss of the only parental figure you’ve known can be harder. Will the five women be able to overcome the obstacles that stand in their way of granting the beloved matriarch of their family her last wish?
My Review:
Not my first experience with the author as I’ve read offerings in a couple other series, the most recent being Welcome Aboard, a collaboration.
This short and sweet offering is actually a prequel to the Sisters of the Heart series and through a series of letters to her foster children introduces the five who stood out from the dozens. Of course, not all children were with her long term and these were those with whom she had extended experience from child to adult.
The setting is rustic, rural farm country in Oregon where Jewel and her husband Chuck took in dozens of foster children. It’s a look at not only those who sacrifice to take in children, some in the worst circumstances, but of the children themselves and the stake that is given them to continue.
Each of the letters introduces us to that special someone who stayed until aged out and moved on. Then she continued to follow them, through triumphs and tribulations, marriages, happiness and heartbreak. She wishes for a grand reunion in which each now adult acknowledges the sisterhood that was created in the home that became their shared sanctuary.
It’s an interesting concept, the letters, though I assume would not be everyone’s cup of tea, particularly as it’s a one-way communication, only getting ideas of what the response might have been to the previous letter by the next.
Still, the letter whets the interest in what the girls might be like now, the reunion, and how they might all relate to each other—and to their foster mom. Might very well be something of interest to you and worth checking out. Enjoy unusual domestic fiction? Uncommon concepts of family?
Many thanks to our local library for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.
Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Friendship Fiction, Women’s Sagas, Saga Fiction
Publisher: Lone Mountain Press
ISBN: 978-1945591419
ASIN: B0BQ4T1C39
Print Length: 119 pages
Publication Date: April 5, 2023
Source: Local Library
Title Link(s):
Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
The Author: Tammy L. Grace is a USA Today bestselling author of women’s fictions, family sagas, mysteries, and Christmas stories. She’s known for writing perfect escapes, unforgettable characters, and binge-worthy stories. Readers often say her characters feel like old friends and love the dogs she weaves into all her books. She brings readers entertaining stories that take them on an emotional journey, filled with complex relationships of friendship and family in her women’s fiction novels. Mystery readers delight in her fast-paced whodunits and fans of Christmas love her small town holiday stories filled with family, friendship, and furry characters.
Tammy also writes under the pen name Casey Wilson and has released two emotional and heartwarming stories about the bond we have with our beloved canine companions.
When Tammy isn’t working on ideas for a novel, she’s spending time with family and friends or supporting her addiction to books, tea, and chocolate. She and her husband make their home in Nevada and have one grown son and a spoiled golden retriever.
Tammy invites you to subscribe to her newsletter at http://www.tammylgrace.com/newsletter and she’ll send you a free interview with all the dogs in her Hometown Harbor Series as a thank you gift. Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tammylgrace.books
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