A homeless young woman finds an unexpected family in beloved New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown’s novel of healing hearts and new beginnings in a small Texas town.In the fading town of Rooster, Texas, all that’s really left is a service station, a church…and the Banty House, a long-ago Depression-era brothel. For more than seventy-five years, Betsy, Connie, and Kate Carson have … and Kate Carson have called their mama’s house a home. The three eccentric sisters get by just fine with their homemade jams and jellies, a little moonshine on the side, and big hearts always open to strangers. Like Ginger Andrews.
An abandoned teen with a baby on the way and nowhere to go, she’s given a room to call her own for as long as she wants. The kind invitation is made all the sweeter when Ginger meets the sisters’ young handyman, Sloan Baker. But with a past as broken as Ginger’s, he’s vowed never to get close to anyone again. As a season of change unfolds, Ginger and Sloan might discover a warm haven to heal in the Banty House, a place to finally belong, where hope and dreams never fade.
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Carolyn Brown knows how to pull on your heartstrings! I am always sad when these books are over and anticipating her next release! This book is full of romance and family ties. This book teaches you that “blood doesn’t make you family.”
Ginger and Sloan’s whirlwind romance will knock you off your feet and leave you wanting more!
The Banty House Sisters are a hoot and you will find yourself laughing out loud.
Nobody does characters like Carolyn Brown! Her characters are a little eccentric, unique and always filled with warmth and love.
In The Banty House there are three elderly sisters, a little moonshine, a little weed, a pregnant teenager aged out of the foster system and an ex-soldier filled with regrets and battling PTSD. Add a little romantic feelings, compassion, family love, wacky encounters and a colorful history and you have a story that won’t soon be forgotten.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author but I’m sure it won’t be my last. Amazing storytelling.
It was such a sweet story so refreshing and the best kind of humor, at times it was laugh out loud!!
Sloan Baker and Ginger Andrews were both brought into the fold by Betsy, Connie, and Kate Carson. One broken hero and one broken heroine that were healed by each other along with 3 feisty old women.
And I absolutely loved the epilogue!!
The Banty House is the latest offering by prolific author Carolyn Brown. This endearing and humorous story introduces the three Carson sisters, Kate, Betsy, and Connie. One likes and makes moonshine, one likes and grows marijuana, and one smokes and went to Woodstock. And the three of them were raised in the Banty House, a one time house of ill repute. They are all over 75 and they are very special characters.
Ginger Andrews is 19, alone, pregnant, and trying to make it to Los Angeles, but her money only took her as far as Hondo, Texas. As she rests on a bench in front of a hair salon trying to figure her next move, Ginger is joined by cigarette puffing Connie, and before the afternoon is over she has joined the three sisters at the Banty House as they invoke one of the primary Banty House rules, to help those in need.
Sloan Baker is 26, an Army veteran, and had been a bomb disposal expert until things went horribly wrong, his team was lost, and he was sent home with severe PTSD. Sloan isn’t pleased by the newcomer at the Banty House. He has made it his job to watch over the ladies that have watched over him most of his life and is wary of the stranger.
This is a very sweet story that had me captured from the very beginning. The lovable, interesting characters are soulful, insightful, and witty. The descriptions make you feel as though you are there watching it unfold before you. This is definitely a story I can envision as a movie! I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!
What a wonderful and heartwarming story of three elderly women, a young pregnant teen and a soldier suffering from PTSD! Ginger is pregnant and trying to get to the Pacific Ocean with her unborn child. She runs out of funds in the little Texas town of Rooster. There she is invited to stay with Kate, Betsy and Connie Carson at their homestead, the Banty House, for as long as she needs to stay. She is given chores to do and earns money doing them. Kate, Betsy and Connie are more than generous paying her, just as they are generous with their handyman and neighbor, Sloan Baker. Sloan shows up daily to help out doing whatever the sisters cannot do, like take care of the cornfield or clean the car weekly. Kate uses the corn to make her own moonshine in the basement. Betsy grows and smokes her own weed. Connie dusts everything in sight, so the house is sparkling clean. Into this home comes Ginger, a frightened and displaced pregnant teen. All of the characters have a history to share, and it is their sharing of their history that I was engaged and enthralled by the story. The eccentric Carson sisters are unbelievably unique but still believable. Sloan and Ginger are dealing with demons from their pasts and depending on the sisters and each other to come out on the other side. I really enjoyed learning about these characters and would look forward to seeing them again in another book. They were amusing and they taught a lesson about how each of us should treat others.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
My relationship with this author is all over the map. Sometimes she’s like a best friend that I’m so glad to catch up with, sometimes she’s that annoying coworker that I’m trying to sidle away from inconspicuously. This time she’s somewhere in between.
This story started off nicely for me. I enjoyed getting to know the sisters and had no problem picturing their small town and house. After a bit it settled into a relaxing pace. I wasn’t getting anything spectacular from the story, but it was enjoyable and relaxing. Sorry for using so many metaphors today, but I felt like I was kicking back on a breezy porch with a glass of lemonade. Slow and steady. I was engaged but not invested. The story was, at that point, getting a solid 3 stars from me. Comfortable.
And then it went off the rails. Not for a huge portion of the book, just a few pages. But it was enough to tick me off and feel as if the writer was being lazy. Let me be clear, the character I adore the most in this story is Sloan. He’s been through the wringer but is still one of the most kind and patient characters ever. He’s sexy and strong and smart and just an all-around good guy. Because of all of these traits, the way he handles a particular situation irked me. He is way to protective for things to play out as they did and he would NEVER let Ginger stay in a place she may be in danger. It just didn’t make sense. Plus, the transition to this scene was very odd. I actually thought Sloan was dreaming for a bit because it went from one thing to another with no real sense of urgency or realism to the story.
Thankfully, things went back to normal (for this story) after that brief transgression, but it left a sour taste in my mouth. I was no longer trusting the author to finish strong and that made the last bit of this story a little less enjoyable.
I will continue reading this author. Like I said before, I have my ups and downs with her. A adore her Lucky Penny Ranch series and have thoroughly enjoyed the books in her Longhorn Canyon series I’ve read so far. But I cannot, in good conscious give this one a 3-star rating.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
I’ve become a fan of Carolyn Brown’s small town romances and The Banty House is no exception. If, during these troubled times of self-isolation, you’re looking for a feel-good read, look no further, because this novel is it, and it gets 5 stars from this reader.
As the novel opens we meet 3 of the most charming, funny, quirky, octagenarian, never-been married sisters, Kate, Betsy and Connie Carson, as they’re driving their vintage 1958 Lincoln the 3 miles from their hometown of Rooster, Texas to the next town, Hondo, for their standing Thursday hair appointment at the Cut and Curl. In a scene oddly reminiscent of Steel Magnolias, not long after the sisters arrive in Hondo, 19-year-old and 8 months’ pregnant, Ginger Andrews, steps off the bus and parks herself on a bench just outside the salon. Hondo was as far as all the money she had in the world would take her.
When Connie steps outside the salon for a cigarette, she sits down next to Ginger and starts a conversation. In a town as small as Rooster, Texas, population 95, strangers are a welcome diversion, and when she learns Ginger’s situation–the fact that her baby’s abusive father is dead and Ginger is penniless, Connie brings her inside the salon to meet Kate and Betsy, who are firm believers in and followers of their mother’s many rules. Rule number one was quite familiar to me in a slightly different form–I’ve even done it in counted cross-stitch, “Be ever careful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.”
Naturally, the 3 sisters offer Ginger a room for a night or two, which turns into a week, then a month, as they can’t possibly turn away someone in such dire need of a roof over her head, especially since their mother’s favorite holiday, Easter, is just around the corner, and a special day for the sisters, who have no problem pretty much adopting Ginger, who they learn had no one else. Since the sisters were never married and never had children of their own, they treat Ginger like the granddaughter they never had.
Ginger’s mother was in prison when she gave birth to Ginger, and her father was both a drug addict and dealer, so Ginger spent her life in the foster care system, being moved from foster home to foster home, never staying in any one of them for more than a year. She likes the quirky sisters and the way they treat her, and learns that she’s not the only person they’ve “sort of” added to their family.
Sloan Baker has only been back in Rooster for two years, having been medically but honorably discharged from the military after his entire unit of bomb experts was blown to pieces when he wasn’t with them on a particular mission, and his guilt over their untimely deaths and the resulting PTSD are what got him discharged and have left him with horrific nightmares. He had wanted the military to be his life, but when that became impossible, he moved back to his hometown in Rooster, and the 3 Carson sisters, kept him occupied with chores they could no longer do, like maintaining and keeping that vintage Lincoln spotless and in good repair, mowing their lawn, caring for their flower beds and more. Since I’m a huge fan of novels featuring wounded warriors, it was hard not to fall in l0ve with Sloan, and he was certainly attracted to Ginger as soon as he met her.
Kate, Betsy and Connie are some of the quirkiest old gals I’ve ever come across–Connie is the sworn enemy of dust, and is constantly cleaning everything. Betsy is the cook in the family, and likes a little bit of the marijuana she grows in her flower bed out back before bedtime. She even bakes it into some of her brownies. She earns a bit of extra money from the jams and jellies she makes and either sells or barters for, and Kate has a still in the basement, making moonshine in interesting flavors like Apple Pie, which she also barters with among the residents in their small town, and even in nearby Hondo. To add more quirkiness and charm to this already charming story, we also learn that the Banty house was once a brothel, that the sisters were of mixed race, and they don’t shy away from a fistfight when some of the snooty town ladies make disparaging remarks about their house, their mama, and their upbringing.
There was so much to love about this novel and its characters that I could ramble on about it endlessly, but I’d hate to spoil it for you. If stories like Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes are among your favorites, I can practically guarantee that you’ll fall in love with the town of Rooster, Texas, Ginger, Sloan, and the Carson sisters, the way I did. At its heart, The Banty House is a novel about friendship, love, honesty, caring, the value of family–blood relations or not, kindness and generosity of spirit. Personally, I wouldn’t change a word of it if I could, and I think you’ll feel the same way I did–that even when it’s hard to see goodness in our crazy world, it still exists in a small town in Rooster, Texas. I so hope that Ms. Brown returns to Rooster sometime in the future. I’ll be first in line to grab a copy.
I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.
You all have heard of comfort food I’m sure. This here story is comfort words to make your heart happy.
Ginger Andrews didn’t realize that stopping after getting off the bus and sitting on the bench in front of a beauty shop in Honcho, Texas would change her whole life. Here she is only nineteen years old, eight months pregnant with no money and no place to live. Until Connie Carson stepped outside the beauty shop for a smoke. Connie sat down beside her and got her talking and Ginger admitted she was just resting a minute before heading to the highway to hitch a ride. Ginger could tell that didn’t sit well with Connie. But Ginger had to do what Ginger had to do. Connie wasn’t having any of that. She called a Rule Number One and told Ginger she was going home with her and her two sisters, Betsy and Kate to The Banty House. Connie knew Betsy and Kate would agree with her because they all abided by Mama’s Rules. Ginger felt safe enough with going along with this. She was wise beyond her years. It felt real good to have a place to go, to have a roof over her head. She would stay for a couple of days, rest up and then move on. Even after learning the history of Banty House Ginger wasn’t fazed a bit. Meeting handsome, kind and considerate Banty House handyman Sloane Andrews made this stop quite interesting. No man for her though. She had enough with the dead father of her baby. Hmm… We shall see.
Sloan Andrews mostly keeps to himself except for the time spent doing handyman work for the elderly Carson sisters at Banty House. He had been shipped home from the Army with an honorable discharge. But the guilt he felt after the deaths of his teammates after the bomb explosion hung with him. He didn’t know if he could ever forgive himself. He was doing just fine with his deceased grandmother’s dog Tinker and the handyman jobs. But then Ginger Andrews arrived at Banty House. There’s just something about her. They quickly become friends and find themselves sharing things they never could with anyone else. Yes, Ginger is really special. He and the Carson sisters became quite attached to Ginger very quickly. He hoped she decided to stay in Rooster.
The Banty House by Carolyn Brown is the author’s latest gift to readers who love Women’s Fiction. One can never go wrong picking up one of Carolyn Brown’s books. She always manages to take her readers to wonderful towns with caring characters who usually are good for a few laughs and this book is an excellent example of this. The Carson sisters are elderly but quite feisty. Kate makes moonshine in the basement which she barters for goods and services for herself and her sisters. Betsy grows marijuana in her garden and partakes each night before bed and will even make you some special brownies. Connie is a cleaning whirling dervish. Ginger comes to love these ladies and Sloan too, of course. It ends up being an easy decision to stay in Rooster. I loved this story. I got a calming, feel-good high on this story.
Mama’s Rules Rule!
Very good book about love, family, healing, and acceptance. Three eccentric sisters live in the tiny (population 95) town of Rooster, Texas. They’ve never married and still live in the house they grew up in. Betsy, Connie, and Kate live their lives according to their mama’s rules, the first of which was “Never turn away a stranger.”
Nineteen-year-old Ginger arrived in Rooster with no money left and nowhere to go. She’s eight months pregnant and trying to escape the bad memories she left behind in Kentucky. A chance encounter with Connie gives her a roof over her head and a chance to get back on her feet.
Sloan is the sisters’ handyman. Twenty-four years old, Sloan returned home from the army, discharged with PTSD, and wracked with guilt over the death of his team. He’s protective of the sisters, but they are the only ones he’s allowed himself to get close to.
I loved the three sisters. They are feisty, independent, loving, and loyal. Each of them has a fascinating past that has made them who they are today. I certainly did not expect to find that Kate makes her own moonshine, bartering it for goods and services the sisters wanted. Betsy does the cooking for the family and grows a little weed on the side, also trading it with friends and neighbors. Connie is in charge of the house, a cleaning whirlwind. They bicker like sisters do, but their support of each other is as solid as the foundation of their home. I laughed out loud as they told Ginger of the house’s history as a brothel and their interactions with some of the more judgmental townspeople. The scene with Edith when she disrespected the sisters’ mother was a riot. Something about Ginger spoke to their hearts, and it wasn’t long before they made her part of the family. It was also fun to see their machinations as they pushed Ginger and Sloan together whenever they could.
Ginger made my heart ache for her. Raised from birth in the foster care system, she had little experience with what family really meant. Her search for love and belonging ended up with her being pregnant and alone. She didn’t know quite what to make of the Carson sisters and their open-hearted acceptance of her. She didn’t intend to stay in Rooster, but the longer she waited, the harder it became to think about leaving. She was afraid to believe it would last, but couldn’t deny the hope that grew daily as she worked with the sisters.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Ginger and Sloan. It got off to a bit of a rocky start, as Sloan was suspicious of Ginger. He feared that she was running some sort of scam that would hurt the sisters. Ginger sensed his distrust and tried not to let it bother her. With the sisters’ help, it didn’t take long for the distrust to evaporate. I liked seeing the friendship between them develop first. Ginger’s resilience and ability to overcome her painful past impressed Sloan. He quickly found himself feeling as protective of her as he was of the sisters. He also discovered that she was easy to talk to and shared the events that haunt him with her. Ginger’s past made it easy for her to connect with Sloan. I loved seeing her help him face his past. In doing so, he learned some things that completely changed his outlook. Ginger had no experience with a man as good as Sloan, and it took some time for her to believe that he meant the things he said. The love between them grew slowly, and it took a while for them to recognize their feelings, even though others saw it clearly. I loved how they came together at the end. The epilogue was fantastic.
** spoiler alert ** Carolyn Brown knows how to write a narrative that is “laugh out loud” hilarious. I want to be a Carson sister when I grow up.
Ginger Andrews used what little monies she had and bought a bus ticket that would take her as far away from Kentucky as she could get. She landed in Rooster, TX with no job prospects, a few dollars to her name, and a very pregnant belly. As she sat on the park bench in front of the hair salon she was considering if she had enough funds for a cheap hotel or if she’d be sleeping on this very bench.
As luck would have it for Ginger, the Carson sisters were having their hair done that morning. Connie, Kate, and Betsy were complete strangers to her, but insisted that she come to the Banty House at least for the night for a good meal, comfortable bed, and a nice hot bath for free. After all, it rule number one to be kind to strangers.
Seeing as they were nearing their eighties, the ladies had a Banty House meeting and decided to offer Ginger a job, at least for a few days to help get on her feet and on her way, if that’s what she wanted. It seemed too good to be true, but Ginger didn’t see any other job prospects as good on the horizon.
Trouble was…Ginger was determined to move to CA and give her baby a good life with good memories, something she never had…until she met the ladies of the Banty House and their neighbor Sloan Baker in Rooster, TX, maybe staying wasn’t such a bad idea.
The Banty House is a heartwarming, entertaining, enchanting story about three elderly sisters who take in a homeless, pregnant teenager and show her that family doesn’t have to share blood to love one and other. They have also sort of adopted the young man that lives down the lane who is suffering from guilt and PTSD. Ginger grew up in foster care, never knowing family or love but now she is experiencing the overwhelming emotions that the sisters and Sloan bring out in her. Sloan is afraid to get close to anyone again because he blames himself for the deaths of his platoon but the sisters and Ginger are breaking through the walls he has erected. The antics of the sisters truly brings about laugh out loud moments and this story will have you so entertained that you will not want to put it down. The development and growth of Sloan and Ginger’s relationship is realistic, natural and truly a beautiful love story. This is fantastically written story with wonderfully enjoyable characters that will make you feel as if you are a part of the story.
I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher but all thoughts and feelings are my own.
The Banty House by Carolyn Brown is a book where you can definitely fall in love with the characters and identify with each one of them. Three elderly sisters, a pregant single mom, and a former military man suffering from PTSD. For me to give a book 5 stars it has to be able to pull all my emotions to the surface. There were tears, laughter, heartache and joy. I think we all would love to have aunts like the three sisters. I received an Advanced Readers Copy from NetGalley, the publisher and author and this is my fair and honest review.
Author Carolyn Brown has written a novel that will bring laughter and joy to even the hardest of hearts! The three elderly sisters that reside at The Banty House are full of fire and sass. From making moonshine to growing weed in the flower bed, you will grow to love them all. When they take in a young, pregnant, homeless girl Ginger, they find what they have always wanted, an adopted granddaughter but will Ginger choose to stay or will she leave before she loses her heart to the elderly Carson sisters? Will the Carson’s handyman, Sloan, be able to put his past behind him and open his heart up to Ginger and her baby? This novel has had me in tears laughing at the antics of the Carson sisters! I would highly recommend this novel! I cannot wait to see what my favorite author will think of next!
Wow! Just wow. This book was just lovely and I can’t wait to read more of Carolyn’s work.
This book made me laugh and it made me cry, but most of all it made me fall in love with the characters. Ginger, the homeless pregnant teenager. Kate, Connie and Betsy, the three elderly sisters. Sloan, the wounded warrior. And everyone else in between.
This book book as it all and will make you want to keep reading about the folks at the Banty House.
Loved it from page one!!!!
And the sassy sisters..lol you will have to read it to find out!!!
The Banty House by Carolyn Brown is one of those wonderful, heartwarming novels you
can’t put down. Without giving away any spoilers, it is the story of three elderly, quirky, kindhearted sisters, a pregnant young woman who needs help and a soldier suffering from PTSD. Carolyn Brown is an award winning author and she definitely didn’t disappoint with this book. She is to be commended for her creation of the delightful, quirky, sometimes humorous, likable characters in this story and has included all the elements of a wonderfully well written, relatable story that includes tragedy, hope and romance. Readers will come away with the feeling that this is how we should all treat one another in this crazy world we live in. I received an Advanced Reader Copy and these are my opinions only.
Ginger, a pregnant homeless teenager. Three elderly eccentric spinsters – Kate, Connie, Betsy – living together in the family home, a former brothel. Sloan, their handsome, single but troubled neighbor / friend / handyman. Rooster, Texas, a town of 95 inhabitants, with all the scandals and frictions of a much larger town.
Doesn’t sound like a fun story, but it is one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time. I kept finding myself smiling at the antics of the sisters and their friends. The interaction among the sisters and of each sister with Ginger was engaging and true to life. And, then there’s Sloan – PTSD, guilt, loneliness. His ability to overcome his challenges as he faces his past is authentic and gratifying. Proof positive that a family does not necessarily have to be related by blood.
I would recommend this book to any anyone looking for a good read. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. The opinion is my own – read this book so you can smile too!
What a wonderful and heartwarming story of three elderly women, a young pregnant teen and a soldier suffering from PTSD! Ginger is pregnant and trying to get to the Pacific Ocean with her unborn child. She runs out of funds in the little Texas town of Rooster. There she is invited to stay with Kate, Betsy and Connie Carson at their homestead, the Banty House, for as long as she needs to stay. She is given chores to do and earns money doing them. Kate, Betsy and Connie are more than generous paying her, just as they are generous with their handyman and neighbor, Sloan Baker. Sloan shows up daily to help out doing whatever the sisters cannot do, like take care of the cornfield or clean the car weekly. Kate uses the corn to make her own moonshine in the basement. Betsy grows and smokes her own weed. Connie dusts everything in sight, so the house is sparkling clean. Into this home comes Ginger, a frightened and displaced pregnant teen. All of the characters have a history to share, and it is their sharing of their history that I was engaged and enthralled by the story. The eccentric Carson sisters are unbelievably unique but still believable. Sloan and Ginger are dealing with demons from their pasts and depending on the sisters and each other to come out on the other side. I really enjoyed learning about these characters and would look forward to seeing them again in another book. They were amusing and they taught a lesson about how each of us should treat others.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Once again, Carolyn Brown does not disappoint in delivering a fast, feel-good read this is for you. The sisters were a trip and, in my opinion, the best characters in the book. Light-hearted and fun, this is a great book to add to your TBR list.
Thank you #netgalley and #montlakeromance for the eARC.