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STEPPING TO A NEW DAY by Beverly Jenkins

STEPPING TO A NEW DAY

A Blessings Novel

by Beverly Jenkins

Pub Date: June 28th, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-241263-8
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Every generation in a small town has its own drama, and everyone has his or her own way of getting through it.

It’s time to catch up with the good people of Henry Adams, Kansas. In the seventh Blessings installment, Jenkins (Forbidden, 2016, etc.) focuses on TC and Genevieve, who are reinventing themselves in their 60s. Our romantic leads both strive toward new goals: TC to start fresh in a new town and to improve his reading, and Genevieve to become a stronger, truer person, to herself and to others. Their determination is fortified by their adorable day-to-day interactions, whether it is shared silence on a drive or one building up the courage to ask the other to lunch. This little Utopia isn’t without its problems, of course, including lifelong grudges and con artists. And while there is a romance at the center, there are all kinds of relationships here. Nineteen-year-old Eli, having expressed the loss of his mother in the worst ways, works to reconcile with his father. Pastor and child psychologist Paula has to face her own demons after learning that her grandfather, who raised her, has died. And Genevieve's best friend, Marie, has to figure out how to fix their relationship after a self-inflicted isolation. Other names and faces pop in and out, giving us glimpses of past and future stories. Some are deliberately left open, but we know Jenkins will return to tell new ones about the people of Henry Adams. Her style is familiar and cozy, and Jenkins knows how to distinguish her characters’ voices so as not to confuse readers by the whirlwind changes in perspective. She's also good at weaving in back story so new readers will find themselves at home. It's easy to lose hours at a time caught up in this book.

An achingly sweet feel-good story of love and redemption of all kinds.