I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. The author did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would highly recommend it!

Like the story, like the characters. Did not realize it was Christian fiction. I don't usually mind except this was pretty heavy on the preaching.

A Southern style, sweet read with unique characters and a good story line. I look forward to reading more by Susannah B. Lewis!

Bless Your Heart, Rae Sutton is the sort of heartwarming story I really enjoy. It doesn't have any icky bits, so you can hand it to your mama, your grandma, your mother-in-law, or the church ladies without embarrassment.

Rae's marriage has exploded; however, her mother has recently passed, leaving Rae hee childhood home. Rae, along with her daughter and their portly dog, Molly, have returned to Rae's home town to try to build a new life.

Initially reluctant, Rae attends a meeting of her mother's beloved ladies, the Third Thursday Ladies. As she moves forward with life, Rae becomes immèrsed in small town life and all that it has to offer.

I loved this book, and look forward to reading more from this author. I would highly recommend this title to all.

BlessYourHeartRaeSutton#SusannahBLewis#NetGalley

Good. Sweet. Pleasant.

Read over the course of parts of two days, so it makes a great beach read!

Rae Sutton in a single mother who is reeling from her divorce and the expected, but not welcome, death of her mother. Her mother’s wish is for Rae to move into the childhood home and restore it, while restoring herself in the process. Rae’s business is in upcycling and restoring old furniture. It is so perfect how that fits into her personal story of reinventing the old.
Rae and her ex have a high school aged daughter who is pretty flexible with all of the changes.
I enjoyed this story of a woman finding herself and figuring out some, but not all, of her next steps.

I was attracted to this book, because of the title, as I like reading southern books. I found the characters interesting and the plot more or less engaging. However, the prose was sort of boring, no lively banter here and I was not interesting in reading a Christian book, so about half way through I just starting skimming through it. Not a Romance, because no HEA, so I guess this was what is classified at Women's Fiction.

I read an ARC provided by NetGalley.com and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

Have to say I did not finish this one. It was a nice story, but a little too much religion in it for me.

Full of Southern charm, this book resonates with every woman who has grown up in the South. It’s as enjoyable and easy reading as cornbread and sweet are symbols of the South. Fun read.

I enjoy reading multi-generational stories with good advice and friendship. Rae is moving home with her teen daughter into her family home. Her mother has died suddenly of cancer and Rae and Molly are adopted by her mom's friends, the Third Thursday ladies. They are self appointed visitors of the sick, flower senders and advice givers. A Southern story that makes you smile. Enjoy the great characters and unpredictable views.

Bless Your Heart, Rae Sutton is a Christian Fiction story set in Whitten, Alabama. Rae Sutton is at a crossroads in her life. Her mother recently died from cancer and she is grieving, especially after also losing her father a few years earlier. She has also separated from her husband, who is involved with a younger woman. She and her fourteen year old daughter, Molly, have come home, to decide what to do next. She finds out that her mother has left her the house, but can she stay in this small town. While battling her emotions and trying to figure out who she can confide in, she is invited to attend a meeting of the "Third Thursday Ladies", a group her mother was a proud member of. These women would meet once a month to drink coffee and eat dessert as well as discuss who to send flowers to in the hospital, write cards (Get Well, Congratulations) or who to take a meal. They also prayed for their family and friends. When she is given letters that her mother wrote to her to be read after her death, they give her hope. Can this group help her sort out her life? When she meets her daughter’s basketball coach, they develop a friendship that develops into more, but can it work out?

I enjoyed this story and loved Rae's character. She is realistic and relatable, with problems faced by many on a regular basis. Rae's journey was complicated by her husband showing up to try and reconcile. The Thursday Ladies were wonderful. They were a bit eccentric and quirky, but full of life's lessons, advice and most of all love and good intentions. They helped her to put her trust in the Lord to lead her on the best path. I liked the growth in her character as the story progressed. I enjoy stories about the south, with all the quaint sayings, sweet tea, canning, Tupperware (I used to sell it at one time), southern living magazine and of course, the "Bless Your Hearts". The faith content in this story was beautiful. Rae feels angry at God for everything going on but there is a beautiful redemption for her with the Lord as she realized that there is peace in his arms. This beautiful story focuses around grief, healing, redemption, and finding your path. It is a beautifully written story with a small town setting that I love. It made me laugh, made me angry at times and had me smiling as well. I recommend this story to those who enjoy Christian Fiction, and stories of growth, new beginnings, multi-generational friendship and romance.

I wanted to belong to this group of ladies and be inspired by their wit and wisdom.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I've followed Susannah Lewis for years on social media, loving her humor and outlook on life. So when her new book showed up for request on Netgalley, I knew I wanted to give it a try. I knew to expect humor, a Southern point of view, and some Christian underpinning. It didn't disappoint. It's the story of Rae, a woman who's left reeling after she loses her beloved mother to cancer shortly after losing her husband to another woman. When she finds her mother has left her the house she'd grew up in, Rae and her adolescent daughter move back to her hometown and the fixer-upper of a house, hoping familiar surroundings and the work of updating the house to make it her home will ground them and help refocus her life. When her mother's friends start to pull her in to their circle she begins to see what their new life and career could look like. Much like real life, there's no straight line to forgiveness or happy endings, and it gets a little messy at times. But it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

This story wasn’t my cup of tea. Divorce women and daughter, Mom dies and time to pick up pieces with the help of neighbors and GOD.

A sweet clean multigenerational story of love, loss and new beginnings. Great characters. A little bit too preachy at times for my taste, but otherwise lovely.

The group of eccentric women in Rae Sutton’s life gave me major #SteelMagnolias vibes. I loved listening to the women argue, plot and pray together and they are exactly what Rae needed after her mother died.
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Rae has lost her beloved mother and her marriage fell apart leaving her untethered. She returns back to her home town and her old house and takes her mom’s spot in her book club/ministry/gossip circle. These women know how to pull each other up and Rae finds strength among them to put the pieces of her life back together.
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This was a heartwarming book with a southern voice. Huge thank you to #thomasnelson and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A humorous and honest Southern story of starting over, friendship, family, and faith.

Rae Sutton moves back to her hometown after the death of her mother and end of her marriage, finding hope with the friendship of the Third Thursday ladies.

A witty Southern read, that flashes between the present day and snap shots of the past as Rae dissects her life and plans for the future. The plot of this story meanders by like a Southern afternoon, keeping me on my toes while also delivering a dollop of heart along the way. I liked that Rae felt like an honest character, at a crossroads for the first real time in her life. I loved how her mother's friends welcomed her with open arms, sharing their own stories along the way.

Overall, this was a enjoyable read, sweet, yet in other ways unexpected. My favorite thing about Rae's story was how others encouraged her in her faith when her tank was low. An engaging read filled with faith and friendship, hoe and forgiveness!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am a sucker for Southern fiction, especially humorous, small-town stories. There is a wealth of colorful characters, with funny sayings. So when I saw this one, I knew I had to request it. And am I glad I did!

This book hit hard because Rae is dealing with the loss of her mother and feels lost. Luckily her mother's group of friends are there to help. They gossip, they pray, they read books, and they laugh and cry together. Thry help Rae pick up the pieces and move forward.

The author nailed it. She captured all the charm and zaniness and emotions of my other favorite Southern authors' characters. I cannot wait to read more of her books.

Get your hands on this book, readers! You'll love it!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All the opinions are mine and freely expressed.

While this book had it’s moments, overall this wasn’t my cup of tea. I enjoy Christian fiction but this one got a little over the top. And I’m all for forgiveness, but the ending didn’t sit well with me at all.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson & NetGalley for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

If you like southern fiction with Christian values, sweet tea, and themes of family and restoration, this is the book for you. Recently divorced and grieving her newly deceased mother, Rae Sutton brings her teenage daughter Molly Margaret back to live in the house where Rae grew up, in the small town of Whitten, Alabama.

Rae’s passion is finding and restoring old furniture, as well as renovating and redecorating houses, and her mother’s house is ripe for change. Before she passed, Rae’s mom Margie wrote several encouraging letters for Rae, placed strategically throughout the house and shed. She knew Rae would need support as she grieved not only her mama, but also mourned the loss of her marriage.

Rae is continuously reminded by many of the book’s characters that we are never too old for restoration. “Mama had talked about this in the letter she left for me in the shed. She talked about restoration and making old things new. It sounded cliché, but my heart was like that old armoire or the furniture I found at the junk store or on the side of the road. Beaten and battered. Bruised and dented. Worse for the wear. I was mourning the loss of my dear mother, and my husband. And some days I didn’t know how I’d get out of the bed. I didn’t know if my heart, my mind, would ever be restored.”

In an additional plot point, fifteen-year-old Molly soon joins her new high school’s basketball team, and when the coach meets Rae, there is mutual attraction. Is Rae ready for a new romance?

She finds herself joining in her mama’s “ministry,” a group of older women who meet monthly for lunch, prayer, and gossip. Mrs. Fannie, Mrs. Dora, and Aunt Maxine provide Rae with love and affirmation. They are mother figures who counsel her and pour their wisdom into her, the same way her own mother had done.

Christian faith and supportive encouragement help Rae to learn throughout the novel. As she heals from her broken marriage as well as the loss of her mama, she is continually reminded by friends and family: “You have a gift of making old things new. You have the gift of restoration. That fit was evident after your divorce, too. You restored your life when it was so broken and made things new for you and Molly.”