This is another rollicking adventure in Henry Adams, Kansas, with a literal truckload of new characters (the Oklahoma Julys) stirring up trouble in our favorite tiny town. Trent and Lily finally tie the knot, and the first of the cascade of soap-opera-like storylines start when the bombshell secrets start flying. Leo Brown's ulterior motives for being around and romancing one of Henry Adams's stalwarts become clear, and Riley Curry gets the hell beaten out of him by his soon-to-be ex-wife.

This is the first book where we start to see the downside of Bernadine's fairy godmother-sized checkbook. She tries to take over the wedding planning, wanting to throw a five-star celebration basically just because she can. She also learns that one of her development deals is going to involve razing an old church in Miami, so not only does she pull out of the project, she hires the departing minister to come set up shop in Henry Adams. This desperately displeases nine-year-old Devon Watkins, who's most ardent wish is to be the licensed preacher and run his own church.

Devon and Zoey are the focus of the child-centered storylines this time around. Devon is having an extremely hard time with change and acts out accordingly. Zoey is still mute after two years, communicating with sign language, but miraculously Reverend Paula (from Miami) knew her in her previous life and is the key to getting her talking again. Personally, I found this incredibly unlikely - Zoey starting chattering up a storm because Paula gave her permission to speak. The last thing Zoey's mother told her before dying was that she shouldn't speak - rules of the street - and little Zoey took her literally until this singular person told her it was okay. Really?? And of course she had no issues with verbal language, and turns out to be a sassy little thing, the opposite of her personality when she was selectively mute.

Devon's story is a little more heartrending - turns out he was never given a chance to say goodbye to his grandmother, so he, along with Lily and Trent, go back to Mississippi to learn more about his past, and to let him say goodbye. This was the tearjerker storyline, and it certainly did that!

I'm finding that I can't really glom these books the way I want to because they are starting to get sickly sweet, and there is no friction. Lily needs a wedding planner, and Sheila up and volunteers herself, because of course she has all this heretofore unknown event planning experience. Bernadine hires Paula on the spot the first time she meets her, and there's no issue moving two time zones away and setting up the plans for a new church. Trent and Lily bemoan the fact that they have to be celibate before their wedding, even though they are being celibate anyway, without even a hint that they've slept together in the last two years?? (That was quite bizarre - a sexless steamy romance where the sex was obviously missing.) And of course the fact that everyone's BFFs with everyone else, and everything always works out in the end. It's too unrealistic for me, and I need a break.

I'm definitely still interested in these characters, and the hints of storylines coming up (I wonder if there will be any discussion of the interracial issues facing Jack and Rocky as they get together), but I'm ready for some grit to wash away some of this ultrasweetness. ( )

Another great addition to the Blessings series. Another one of those books that you just can't put down. ( )

The stories themselves in this series are the Blessings that Beverly Jenkins shines upon us showing how a small town can take several foster children to their hearts and not only repair the children's spirits but their own as well.

Yes, there is an old saying that money can't buy happiness, but here in Henry Adams KS, it can relieve the stress and rebuild a town's self-respect. ( )

something old, something new by beverly jenkins
People in a southern town, their life, what worries they have and how others help.
A wedding where they don't want traditional so a suit rather than a wedding dress, and different flavored cakes vs a tier cake. Combining two families to live under one roof without a lot of change for the kids. A company is buying up rights to land to put their gas pipes in and it's not all on the up and up. ( )

4.5 stars! I love this series. The characters are great. I laughed and I cried. I do recommend reading the books in order to better understand the characters. ( )