CindyJean's Full Review: Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson - The P...
It’s About Time!
I’m sure that is what the people at Glass Roads PR will be thinking when I finally give them the link to this review. It’s been a long time since I got my copy of “The Potluck Club: Trouble’s Brewing” for review. Actually, the promotional material was dated from June of 2006. I guess the old saying is true, better late than never.
In these last few weeks before my classes resume I’m going on a mad dash to try to get through my review pile, so hopefully those of you who frequent the ‘just in’ lists won’t get tired of me.
The Potluck Club: Trouble’s Brewing by Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson
Brief Synopsis
The Potluck Club is a pretty interesting group of ladies—six to be exact. They come from a variety of ages and histories, but they are a prayer group that seems to want to look out for one another.
There’s Donna, the deputy sheriff and daughter of the local sheriff. She came back home to Summit View after a tragic incident involving the death of a child she’d risked her own life to save, but the death still haunts her in her dreams. A child’s innocent death haunts her, but will she ever be able to move forward?
Another of the Potluck Club ladies is Vonnie. The Club knows about her very brief marriage in college, and the fact that the son this marriage produced had not died at birth as Vonnie had always been told. Now Vonnie has to face moving forward with her husband and trying to work past the hurt that years of secrecy have caused. When he finds the letters between Vonnie and her late husband, which Vonnie had kept hidden all these years, can the damage be repaired?
Lizzie’s life seems to be pretty much okay, but then her son moves back into her home. Her married son--not accompanied by his wife and children. She loves her son, but she also loves her daughter-in-law and grandkids. Will she ever see her son’s family become whole again? As stubborn as her son is acting it just doesn’t seem possible.
Goldie’s got her own troubles. She is separated from her husband and living with her married daughter. Why? Her husband of many years has been having affairs for almost as many and she finally decided to make the break. She’s got a new job, a new look, and the potential for a new romance. The trouble is, she’s still married and her friends seem to insist on reminding her of that fact. When her husband starts trying to initiate reconciliation she’s hesitant. Why would she want to trade this new life she’s built for the old life that caused so much heartache?
Lisa Leann is yet another of the potluck ladies. She’s got a very serious problem of her own, but she just doesn’t realize it yet. Lisa tends to gossip, only she doesn’t realize she’s doing it. She shares information that makes Vonnie’s marriage more troublesome, brings would-be suitors out in droves to ask out Donna and even humiliates her own daughter.
Last, but certainly now least, is Evangeline. It’s Evie to most of her friends, and Evie-Girl to Vernon Vesey—the love of Evie’s life and the father of her nemesis Donna. She’s loved Vernon since she was a girl of 12 and he gave Evangeline her first kiss. Things went sour when a new girl moved in, and moved in on her man, in the 7th grade. Things are just now starting to work themselves around to what Evie had always hoped for, but Donna just doesn’t seem to like her dad being with Evie. When a blast from the past walks back into Summit View, will Evangeline’s newly constructed life fall apart?
First off, I must state that “Trouble’s Brewing” is actually the second installment in ‘The Potluck Club’ series. That makes a difference going into it, as things won’t make quite as much sense if you haven’t read the first book, “The Potluck Club.” I haven’t read the first book, so there are a few things in “Trouble’s Brewing” that didn’t make sense right off that I had to figure out from myself from various clues left about the prior novel. I think that if I’d read the first book it would have made more sense to me.
Second, “Trouble’s Brewing” is told from multiple perspectives. I would assume the same is true of the first novel, but I can’t state so certainly. The novel is told from the perspectives of all six of the Potluck Club ladies by turn, in addition to some shorter chapters in between which are told from the perspective of Clay Whitefield—the local newspaper reporter. It’s not confusing, as each chapter is labeled with the name of the person who is telling that portion. However, it does seem to break up the flow of the novel and dampen the pace.
The general plot of “Trouble’s Brewing” is quite entertaining. The stories of each lady; their joys, sorrows and struggles; make a compelling tale and will keep the reader turning pages. I really enjoyed meeting these ladies and taking this journey with them.
Conclusion
Quite honestly, the writing of “Trouble’s Brewing” was what I would consider to be above par, but not by too much. It is great at times, mediocre at times, and at times even sub-par. It all works out in the end and averages out to be pretty good.
I think that most fans of Christian fiction will enjoy the escapades of the Potluck Club ladies. It’s a fun read that will keep you turning pages, but it won’t really “wow” you.
In the second book of the Potluck Club series, The Potluck ladies are back with more adventures and more food to share. Once again each character has ...More at Christianbook.com
Six women. More problems. New secrets. The Potluck Club is back with a yummy casserole of characters, hilarity, and adventure in Summit View, Colorado...More at HotBookSale
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