Some families are filled with so much love they can’t help but drive each other crazy Shay Henke has mixed feelings about going to her family’s next reunion. On the one hand, she’ll get to see everyone in her mama’s family–folks she loves unconditionally. On the other hand, she knows there’ll be more drama than you can shake a stick at. The days leading up to the event bring one surprise … event bring one surprise after another. First Shay must deal with her sister-in-law’s deep, dark secret. Then she has to contend with the childish ways of her business-mogul twin cousins. And when her high school crush wants to be her date to the reunion . . . well, it may have been a dream come true for Shay’s teen self, but the woman she’s become doesn’t know what to make of this.
Shay’s contentment is challenged, and she’s determined to shake things up a bit. But will she find the excitement she’s looking for, or will Shay realize she prefers her quiet and predictable life? One thing is certain: Life in the Bucklin family is never boring.
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High Cotton (2018) by Debby Mayne is the first book in her Bucklin Family Reunion series. High Cotton recently released on March 13, 2018 through Gilead Publishing. This book comes in all forms including eBook, and is 304 pages in length. With a full-time job and a busy, busy five-year old at home, this story took me three days to read. I received a review copy of this novel in paperback form from Gilead Publishing. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. I give High Cotton 4.5 STARS. This novel is a Contemporary Christian Romance.
High Cotton is a well-written, lighthearted, quick and easy read that follows four women as they prepare for a family reunion. This is my first read of Debby Mayne’s work, but it definitely won’t be my last. I very much enjoyed the way the four main characters interacted with one another, with their respective immediate families, and with their VERY large extended family.
I dislike family reunions. I know this is not cool to admit, but they make me SO uncomfortable. Part of it is because I’m one of the biggest introverts God has ever created. The idea of living as a hermit sometimes sounds like a great idea to me. But another part is that I’ve always been the black sheep of my family, and I’m definitely the odd one out in my husband’s family. Being the black sheep combined with my introverted personality means gatherings — family or other — cause me severe struggle. BUT, you do for family. And, that is the main point of this book. Family is messy. Family is judgmental. Family is hard. But, family is also there for you when you need them most. Family is a support system that you should be able to lean on in times of struggle. In this day and age where the notion of family seems to be changing at alarming rates, it is exceptionally refreshing to read a story that shows family as it should be: loud, messy, frustrating, nosy, caring, and loving!
The four main characters include Shay, Puddin, Sally, and Missy. Each woman is unique in her own right, but I love Shay the best as she is the character I can relate to the most. Shay has an insecurity that keeps her from living life to its fullest. Somewhere along the way, probably at one of her many family reunions where someone said an unkind and/or judgmental thing to her, she got it into her head that she is less than everyone else, which is exactly the opposite of reality. In reality, she is responsible and dependable. She is the person everyone turns to when they need help. Shay has a well-paying, stable job and she owns her own home. But, none of this matters because running on loop in her brain is this message that she isn’t what she should be. This leads to major doubt when Elliot enters her life. Elliot is a handsome man who sees Shay’s value as a woman, but Shay struggles to believe him when he says things like, “You are an amazing woman,” or “You are so beautiful.” She just can’t believe Elliot because his words go against the message she’s believed about herself for so long. Shay’s character is a good reminder to us women. It is so easy for the devil to whisper into our ears all the ways we are unworthy or less than. Once those words are in, we start to think they are our truth. I can’t fathom how many things I may have missed out on because of the lies I felt about myself. We need to, instead, remember that God made us exactly as He deemed perfect. We need to kick the devil’s silver-tongued words out of our heads and replace them with the loving Words of our Father. His opinion of us is the only opinion that truly matters!
High Cotton is an engaging novel that I definitely recommend. If you are looking for a fast-paced, fun, sweet story that has some really timely themes for today, then this book is for you!
Family reunion season is almost upon us so I suggest you read this book. You’ll shake your head. You’ll laugh. You’ll be thankful for your family. High Cotton shows us the quirkiness of families but more importantly shows us that family is forever. They’ll have your back and challenge you, all at the same time.
Author Debby Maye conveys the Bucklin family story from four different viewpoints. The top of each chapter tells you who is speaking. Make sure to read those so you don’t get confused. Beyond that, it’s an engaging way to tell this story and I enjoyed it. Her characters were larger than life, at times, which added to the enjoyment of the tale.
Not being a southern girl, I found the habits of these women quite entertaining. You’ll never hear a northerner talking about being in high cotton or determining to bring the best (several) dishes to a reunion. But it was all fun and made for an amusing read. I highly recommend it!
I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.
The first word that comes to mind about this book is delightful, yes and the pages flew, a real fast read.
We with the author’s help are invited to a family reunion, the Bucklin Family, to be exact, and before we go we get to meet some of this expansive kinfolk up close and personal.
You will find yourself really liking some, others will grow on you, and by the end of the book some are still questionable.
There is a bit of clean romance here, and so very enjoyable, whether it is among the young single cousins, or the old married folks.
Generations are going on here from preschool to grandparents, and these people do reunions up right, everyone brings their best food, as true southerners, and we are deep in the southern Mississippi!
I loved being with most of this family, and really can’t wait for the next book, I want to spend more time here!
I received this book through Lit Fuse Publicity Book Tours, and was not required to give a positive review
I really enjoyed it.
Good read for poolside.
I was very excited to read this book by a wonderful author. The thought of going to a family reunion when I was younger made me ill to think about. My family was not close and family reunions usually meant fights and overall chaos. This book is nothing like that. I loved how everyone in the book talked about the reunion and seemed to be happy to go. Of course there are always the relatives that feel the need to brag. To me its like being at a class reunion. Everyone trying to out do the other. It does make for some laughs and good times.
The characters were fun to get to know and if I had to pick a favorite it would be Puddin. I love her name and my heart went out to her. She has some self esteem issues and I wanted to hug her and tell her she is perfect just the way she is. I love the twists in the book and secrets that slowly come out . The southern theme in the book is perfect. I’m from the south and we sure love our sweet tea and get together’s. It’s true we love to celebrate and have a good time. There are a few surprises in the book which were fun to find out. I loved the foods mentioned in the story and best of all this is a new series, so we will get to know this family really well. It’s time to grab a glass of sweet tea and settle in for a charming story.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. The review is my own opinion.
This book keeps you on your toes! With five main characters, I was at first wary of keeping them straight. Typically I have a hard time of keeping track of any more than one… But Debby Mayne’s expert characterization and unique tone of voice brings to life her characters in a way that makes this book quite a treat!
Characters are a range of ages from 20’s to 50’s, and in differing states of singleness, marriage, and parenthood, making this book quite relatable to anyone who already understands the culture of Southern women’s fiction. The book doesn’t shy away from different cultural situations, such as life after divorce or choosing a career over relationships. The book is dialogue rich and keeps moving at a comfortable pace to keep you reading. On a side note, I want Debby Mayne to plan the food for all my future family events—the description of her meals is scrumptious!
There were a few times I want to jump inside the book and knock the characters upside the head and say “Just love each other, you idiots!” to more than one character; but overall, I really enjoyed the characterization and depth. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys small town or southern women’s fiction.