“Compelling and beautifully written.” –Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author on Ransom Canyon From the beloved and bestselling author of the Ransom Canyon and Harmony, Texas series comes a powerful, heartwarming story about generations of family and the ironclad bonds they forge When Jillian James lands in the small town Texas community of Laurel Springs, she’s definitely not … she’s definitely not planning to stay–except to find a few clues about the father who abandoned her and destroyed her faith in family.
Connor Larady is a single dad, and the only one caring for his grandmother, Eugenia, who has Alzheimer’s. And now he has to close Eugenia’s quilt shop. When Connor meets down-on-her-luck Jillian, he’s out of options. Can he trust the newcomer to do right by his grandmother’s legacy?
Jillian is done with relationships. But as she grows closer to Connor and Eugenia, she must consider giving up her nomadic life for a future with those who need her.
An inspiring family saga that asks us to consider what love and chosen family really mean.
more
Compelling and beautifully written.
One of those sweet, small town romances that is just as much women’s fiction as it is romance, Mornings on Main is the kind of story that you have to cherish. It isn’t fast paced and you definitely can’t speed through it. Instead you need to settle back and get ready to enjoy every page, every encounter, every brush of the hand, every secret that slips out, every glimpse into what makes people tick, every chance to get to know them just that tiny bit better. It’s a slow, gentle process and all the better for it.
Neither Jillian nor Connor are looking for someone. They live their lives a certain way and figure that’s what they are built for … until they meet each other. While the connection is immediate, they go through a lot of fits and starts because both of them are wary. Jillian’s upbringing (and continued nomadic lifestyle) and Connor’s romantic history mean that getting close to others isn’t easy for them. But what the heart wants can be hard to resist.
As much as I loved seeing Jillian and Connor slowly fall in love, I think the women in his life are just as awesome. The friendship between Connor’s grandmother, Eugenia, and her lifelong friend, Joe, is oh-so-touching. And her battle with her wandering memories is enough to bring you to tears. But it’s Connor’s daughter, Sunnie, and her romantic woes that grabbed hold of my heart. She’s at a difficult age but she’s got a good amount of spunk to help see her thru it 🙂
Yes, there is a beautiful love story here with two people finding something they didn’t know they were missing, but there is so much more. The search for home and family. The need for a connection to the past and future, as well as to someone else. There are bonds that tie us together, some we are born with and some we make, but they are all important in making us who we are.
*** I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. ***
Mornings On Main is a story of generations of loving, living, and surviving. It is filled with an intriguing history of the people in town, reflecting the times they have lived, and bringing a warm, comforting gust of past into the current, contemporary world.
Jodi Thomas is a master of a storyteller. Her words are so well put together, the poetic-kind of strings of tales entwined between the covers of the book, binding the lives of generations together with a gentle yet in a real, and at times emotionally raw, strands. The vivid images pulled me into this small town Texas, where the people are kind, curious, and generous while trying to survive with the new challenges the times are throwing at them.
It was so easy to relate to the people of the town, especially the newcomer, Jillian James. Her search for her father and for her roots, trying to find a place where she belongs to, her wondering ways to live and exist, x1bher realistic way to see life, and the deep hidden need to belong and to be loved, made her a truly likable character. In her many layers, she has something each and everyone can relate to, pull from their own life and mirror it against her emotions, experiences, and characteristics.
Jillian’s sweetly romantic connection to the mayor Connor Larady was tangible. The chemistry was there and their minds seemed to come into the same wavelength from very different experiences in life. Connor has the patience of a saint, he is kind, he is a caretaker of everyone in town, he is smart, he is generous, and a bit of a visionary.
The Connor’s teenage daughter, Sunnie, and her adventures in the age-related drama, her friend Reese, and Gram and Joe with their 80 years of life and memories together brought new patches to the tale like the pieces of a quilt, altogether making a beautiful and unique piece of art.
Personally, I found so many connections to the story with the quilting, loving a person with a memory illness, and living in several places and even in different continents. At times it was like reading my own story in some parallel universe with a bit different twists and turns in the plot, and I absolutely treasured every moment I got to spend in Laurel Springs, Texas.
Mornings On Main is not one of those books you inhale on one sitting. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it is doable and a temptation because of the well-written, alluring story. But to me, it was a book to be enjoyed slowly, taken on bites, relishing the moments and each relationship in the tale. Each twist and turn in the plot, the new emotions arising, revelations, tidbits of history and lives from the past was something I wanted to savor and ponder as I was reading. It is a story that you want to come back to, re-read, and visit the friends of Laurel Springs. It is a keepsake book that you want to escape into again and again, and get lost in the enticing lives of the people in Laurel Springs. They make you smile and sigh, even laugh. They pull you into their lives and make you feel like one them like you were right there in the middle of Main, living and observing your friends lives to happen to them.
Absolutely a delight to read and experience!
~ Five Spoons
This book has everything I love about small towns and heartwarming people. It’s about one woman’s struggle to preserve another’s memories before they’re lost forever.
4 Stars for this this new author to me.
This is the first book I have read by Jodi Thomas and it won’t be the last because I loved the characters, I loved the small town romance and I really liked this authors style of writing.
This is a story about different generations of a family and in this book we meet three couples at different stages of their life’s, Sunnie and Reese are the youngest and they are teenagers trying to work out this dating thing that has just hit them, Jillian and Connor are adults trying to make their relationship work despite the problems life is throwing at them, and Joe and Jeannie are best friends who have known each other for most of their 80 odd years of life, every couple has a story to tell and this book is a powerful, heartwarming story about the bonds that families form and forge, it’s about a community in a small town and it’s a town I would love to visit. A sweet love story that left me wanting to read more from Jodi Thomas
4 Star Review Mornings on Main by Jodi Thomas
This was a new author to me. Jillian James is looking for answers and clues to the father who abandoned her. When she arrives in Laurel Springs, Texas she knows it will be a temporary visit.
Connor Larady, the town mayor, is a man with a lot on his plate, not only is he a single father but he is looking after his grandmother, Eugenia who has Alzheimers; he also has to decide what to do with her quilt shop.
When Connor hires Jillian to help out in the quilt shop he is uncertain as to whether she is trustworthy. Jillian has sworn off men,but there is something about Connor that makes her want to take a leap of faith. Can Jillian be happy in a small town? Or will her wanderlust be too much for her?
Whilst I liked Jillian, initially to me Connor was harder to engage with as I found him to be distant with those around him; thankfully he grew on me.
Mornings on Main is a story of family, community, of life in a small country town and one of love. I enjoyed the characters and how Jodi Thomas brought them to life and I loved Eugenia’s character.
Mornings on Main by Jodi Thomas
Jillian James is a drifter who wanders the world staying in places a short time without putting down roots or carrying more than she needs from one place to another. She is living the life shown to her by her father – a man who disappeared from her life a decade before the story begins. In some ways she is strong but the strength is also one that keeps her isolated rather than part of those around her.
When Jillian arrives in Laurel, Texas she is hoping to learn more about her parents, spend some time working while adding to her nest egg and regroup before traveling on. She is a bit of a Chamaeleon able to do many different jobs so when she goes in to get a job and finds out it will be cataloguing quilts rather than working at the newspaper that is fine with her. Her new boss is the mayor of town but Connor Larady is much more than just the mayor. Connor is a single father of a teenager, widow, guardian of his grandmother, owner of much in and out of town, writer and a man with more depth than Jillian first expected.
This is a story of generations in one town. It is the story of community and family and also a love story. I enjoyed the slow unfolding of the romance between Jillian and Connor and hoped that the two would find a way to be together. I found Sunnie, Connor’s daughter, to be intriguing and was happy to see her growth through the book. I loved Gram and the stories she was caretaker of in her person and through the quilts she saved and cared for.
This was a wonderful read and one that made me want to hear more about Laurel Springs, I am hopeful that if this is a series there will be more about each of the characters mentioned and perhaps that Jillian will find out more about her ancestors, too. This was the first book I have read by this author but doubt it will be my last.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
MORNINGS ON MAIN is filled with wonderful small town characters and charm. Jillian James needs Conor as much as he needs her, but it’s going to take some doing to get these to trust, and love.
Mornings on Main is one of Jodi Thomas’s masterpieces. (I say “one” because, I’ve ready many but not all of her enjoyable books. She probably has more. )
Unusual (yet likable) characters, a storyline about how the warmth of a small town and the personalities therein can heal lonely hearts. Romance, mystery, and sweetness. I loved how the story evolved in a way that I wasn’t sure how it would end. I got a little teary at the end and wanted more.
Love Ms. Thomas’ voice and the way she pulls you into the small town scenario and lives of the characters.
Jodi Thomas gives us another memorable Western Romance. Her small-town Texas setting provides just the right atmosphere. I love the characters that she creates, and the way that she illustrates them. I tire of reading descriptions where every man being described as a handsome hunk. A definite Must Read for Romance fans everywhere.
Jodi Thomas formulates characters that are believable and true. She has a good insight to people. I liked the story about the quilts.
I love stories that take me on a winding road. Mornings on Main by Jodi Thomas is one of the really good ones. It’s about a small town with real characters who live real lives. It might seem like a slow read, but I can’t recommend it enough.
It didn’t have that “can’t put it down” feeling to it. And the answer the main character searched for was never answered. Not my favorite.
Jillian is a wanderer and Connor is the exact opposite, but yet they somehow come together and find love. The role of quilts in the story is actual and symbolic. As Jillian preserves the stories of all the quilts she forms friendships with Eugenia who is battling Alzheimer’s disease and Connor’s daughter, Sunnie, who is battling adolescence. Jillian’s own lack of roots and family stands in stark contrast to the other characters in the tight-knit Laurel Springs community.
One of my favorite authors, Jodi Thomas, has a special way of telling a story: She layers characterizations, builds her settings and story lines, and then adds moments that you don’t see coming. With “Mornings on Main”, she has written a sweetly poignant contemporary romance that once again reminds us to expect that life will never be exactly what is expected. It’s either less than we hoped, or more than we imagined. Jillian James finds herself in small town Laurel Springs, Texas with little more than a whisper of hope to discover information about her complicated family history. Helping single dad Connor Larady close out his grandmother Eugenia’s quilt shop in a proper manner becomes more complex with each passing day. Connor is dealing with the onset of Eugenia’s Alzheimer’s Disease and the troubles of his teen-aged daughter, Sunnie. He is also the mayor and runs the local newspaper. He takes care of others more than he takes care of himself, but something about Jillian makes him want more of everything for himself. Jillian hadn’t planned on staying, but day-by-day, she is becoming more a part of three generations of the Larady family. Family is what she has always wanted, but is this a dream she can grasp–or will it stay just out of her reach? “Mornings on Main” is a lovely, touching romantic tale from wonderful writer Jodi Thomas.
Book Copy Gratis HQN
Loved it
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Will be looking for more by this author.
I’m a Jodi Thomas fan and this book hopefully will be a start to anther wonderful series!
Mornings on Main by Jodi Thomas is so eloquently written. A journey that transforms us back in time to a near forgotten ritual that tells so many stories.
A Stitch In Time not only embraces the quilting circle women have set around for decade’s enjoying, while solving all life’s dilemmas, but a place where bonds are created, one stitch at a time.
It’s often been said that you can read a person’s soul by the mark they leave behind. Some are created through adventure, some through their daily lives, but some are left forever in a memory to be explored through blocks.
Lost, nomadic, and roaming, Jillian is searching for her past with no direction to actually follow. “Maybe all she was looking for was some link to the past. One place to say she came from. Not a person at all.”
As if time forgot him, Conner is just surviving, not even living for the past or the present.. just living, as a never ending day of order.
Mornings On Main truly is an exceptional book of lost souls trying to find their way, without being noticed or remembered, but just found and loved. Truly an inspiring book, as only Jodi Thomas can pen.