Laugh-out-loud funny and unabashedly uplifting, with just the right amount of Southern sass, Sally Kilpatrick’s wonderful novel centers on one woman’s journey from an unhappy marriage to a surprising second chance . . . On the day Posey Love discovers that her born-again husband has been ministering to some of his flock a little too eagerly, she also learns that he’s left her broke and homeless. … broke and homeless. Posey married Chad ten years ago in hopes of finding the stability her hippie mother couldn’t provide. Instead she got all the trappings of security—house, car, seemingly respectable husband—at the price of her freedom.
Posey’s mother, Lark, accepts her daughter’s return home with grace, though her sister can’t resist pointing out that being a sweet Southern wife hasn’t worked out as planned. And so, with the Seven Deadly Sins as a guide, Posey decides to let loose for once. Envy is easy to check off the list—Posey only has to look at her best friend’s adorable baby for that. One very drunken night out takes care of gluttony. As for lust—her long-time friend, John, is suddenly becoming much more than a pal. One by one, Posey is bulldozing through her old beliefs about love, family—and what it really means to be good. And she’s finding that breaking a few rules might be the perfect way to heal a heart . . .
Praise for Sally Kilpatrick’s Novels
“Don’t miss this quirky, fun love story. I couldn’t put it down.”
–Haywood Smith, New York Times bestselling author on Better Get to Livin’
“Kilpatrick mixes loss and devastation with hope and a little bit of Southern charm. She will leave
the reader laughing through tears.” —RT Book Reviews on The Happy Hour Choir
“A pleasantly engaging take on Romeo and Juliet.”
—Library Journal on Bittersweet Creek
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A preacher’s wife walks into a strip bar…and the whole town finds out by sundown. Sally Kilpatrick does a wonderful job of giving readers what they came for—if what they came for is complete entertainment and a side-splitting tale of Southern angst. Posey Love is the perfect wife to Chad, the local upstart preacher. He believes she should be obedient. Obedience isn’t exactly Posey’s strong suit, but Lord, she tries. Until Chad gets busted with a favorite member of his flock. Posey has already had her heart blessed so many times she can’t count, being the town hippy’s daughter. But this throws her into a life spin that has the old biddies in town flapping their jaws beyond anything that’s happened in her past. Her coming to Jesus is one for the ages, but small towns are funny. They take care of their own, even if they whisper behind your back while doing so. Sally wrote a fantastic tale and her book shines bright.
Gosh, this book had so many themes going on in it. An awful marriage, a dysfunctional family, self doubt and tension in friendship/relationships. That is how the book begins, but as in life, nothing is static and through changes that occur as the story goes on, situations change and become clear that work needs to be done to move to a better future.
I went through so many emotions in this book. It was difficult to read some of the book when I wanted to slap a certain character. I was really happy as the story unfolded and the plot moved to bring the results I wanted.
I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading book 5 in the Ellery Series. I have been reading the series in order, although each book can be read and understood independently.
Posey Love hates three little words. Every time someone says, “Bless your heart,” Posey sees red.
But who could blame her? Her life hasn’t exactly turned out the way she pictured it would. After a decade of marriage, Posey hoped to be raising a child with her pastor husband. Still aching each month as she hopes for a positive instead of a negative indicator on a pregnancy test, Posey finds her world turned upside down when her husband absconds with another woman and leaves her with a repossessed car and a pile of outstanding debt.
Moving back in with her mom, Posey decides that she’ll “give up” going to church for the Lenten season and follow her younger sister’s advice to experience each of the seven Deadly sins during those forty days.
Delightful and authentic, Sally Kilpatrick’s Bless Her Heart is another winning novel from one of my favorite authors. Posey’s world and story is at times heartbreaking (finding out just how far her husband was going to ensure Posey never got a positive result on her pregnancy test when he knew it was breaking her heart each month), at times charming (Posey’s flirting with the piano tuning John who she’s had a crush on since high school) and at times completely uplifting (Posey’s continued reconnection and understanding of her mother). Like real-life, the answer to Posey’s problems isn’t straight-forward nor is it always the easiest way.
Told from Posey’s unique point of view, Bless Her Heart offers hope and redemption for Posey without necessarily wrapping things up in a pretty bow by the time the last page is turned. Kilpatrick wisely avoids the “and she lived happily ever after” ending, leaving the door open for a return visit with Posey or a cameo in future novels. And while Posey (and readers) may not get every answer they want, the story provides enough answers and a sense of closure to this portion of Posey’s journey to be completely satisfying.
I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record here when it comes to the praise for Kilpatrick and her stories. Each story has grown more assured and confident and each one has a satisfying reading experience. The only issue I keep having is that the books seem to fly by and I find myself wanting more after that final page is turned. And while Bless Her Heart doesn’t center around University of Tennessee football as her delightful Orange Blossom Special does, this book still hit home in all the right spots.
Bless Your Heart is another winner from Sally Kilpatrick. If you haven’t picked up a story from her yet, this is a great entry point.
Highly recommended.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I will also add that I knew Sally back in the day when we were students at the University of Tennessee together.
My first read of Sally Kilpatrick did not disappoint. Laugh out loud funny is just the beginning. I came for the man-bun wearing piano teacher and stayed for all the charm. Adored this heroine and didn’t want the story to end!
I loved this story but of course, I love most things from Sally Kilpatrick.
Not what I was expecting. A little more bitterness ithan whimsy, but not a bad read.
Sally Kilpatrick nails it yet again in this one. Few writers capture as precisely the mix of sweet perversity and righteous fervor that is small-town Southern life, where everybody not only knows your name, they know your secrets too (at least you hope they do, because otherwise they’ll have to make up something, and it will be worse than anything you ever did). Kilpatrick weaves a tapestry of characters, balancing them deftly; Posey is a smart and self-fulfilling narrator, our perfect guide in this particular Garden of Good and Evil—her scenes with her ardent Knight of Cups (I do love a good tarot reference) are especially appealing.
I’m still learning how to tag books on Bookbub, but let me assure you that I have read and reread and read again this book. I suppose, as the author who wrote it, the thing that I loved most about this book would have to be the characters. I have soft spots for John the Baptist and for Liza. I felt for Posey as she tried to navigate through her brave new world. There’s always one character who surprises you, and that character was Rain. Man, that kid is going places.