This was a heartwarming, cute, full of drama funny story about love, family and friendship, complete with sassy, likeable characters and lots of doughnuts.

I mostly ended up listening to the audiobook which was narrated brilliantly by Brittany Pressley. I have listened to a couple of thriller audiobooks narrated by her and I was surprised by how different her voice sounded speaking with a Texan accent.

I received an e-Arc of the book from the publisher Montlake and the author via NetGalley.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
This book failed to reach my expectations so dramatically that I struggled to read 25% before abandoning it. I won't reveal any spoilers but suffice to say that these churchgoers are far from charitable or Christian, and the silliest women I've ever come across - Macy, about to get married, is so convinced she will only have sons that she has chosen names already - maybe someone should explain the birds and bees to her?! I do not recommend.

This was the first Carolyn Brown book that I read, I loved it. The characters were lovely and it was a really nice story. I think I have now read 10 of her books can’t believe I forgot to post my review

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me access to the ARC of The Devine Doughnut Shop.

I like books that has a food related theme. This one fell a bit flat for me.

Good book. I would Buy another book by this author. I connected with the characters and plot. Highly recommend.

This is a family drama centered around the family donut shop run by two sisters and their cousin. Grace is a single mother raising a headstrong teenage daughter, her sister Sarah has given up on love and relationships, and their cousin Macy is planning her wedding. Their great-grandmother's recipe has been a secret handed down through the generations but now a developer has come to town wanting to make the donut shop into a national chain.
Definitely more drama than romance as that's a very clean and slow burn party of the story. The debates between Grace and Audrey were very realistic and had me chuckling and glad that Grace had so much support and advice from her family. I felt that the story could have used more editing as some of the sayings and themes were repeated and the overly Christian vibe was a bit annoying. But overall it was a good story. 3.5 stars rounded up.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another good story told by this author. An easy, clean read that many would enjoy but if you are like me and do not enjoy stories with a lot of christian referencing then stay away from this story. I really wish I had known this before I selected this book on netgalley. I would not have chosen it. Other books I had read by Carolyn Brown had not been like this so I was surprised.

The story includes heartbreaks in different forms, new love, family and friends working together and watching out for each other, teenage bullying and mean girls. And of course the traditional happy ending is included, although somewhat rushed, I believe.

I was disappointed by this book even though I finished it. I did skip over a lot because of the below comments.
A few points I did not like, besides the over the top christian referencing, included the following: (1) the amount of people who had conversations with dead loved ones. One in a story is good but it seemed that all the main characters did this. I found it odd. (2) the over use of sayings (religious and otherwise). (3) how many donuts do people in Texas usually eat. Here one with your coffee is good but soooo many people had at least 2 a sitting or ordered a dozen at a time but visited the shop more then once a day! wow! (4) it seemed as if the 30-40 yr olds did not know how to use google. One actually drove to a restaurant to look at the menu. Again.. odd! (5) the repeating of information already given in previous parts of the book, Seems that some editing could have helped.


Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book. Sorry for the delay in posting my feedback.

This book was everything I didn't expect, in the best way.

I enjoyed the story, the characters, the setting, all of it!

The cover is just the cutest! I really enjoyed all the family drama and the characters felt so relatable! I loved the multigenerational aspect! I loved the small town feel and all the life lessons that were woven in. I am a tried and true Texan so I loved the "Texas Twang" that was incorporated! I could totally see this on Hallmark!

I dont like southern type books and not books with christian romance. Overall, this is a me issue and i think people who dont mind that should read it

This was a great, feel good romance book. I love all of Carolyn Brown’s books. This is a story of family, friends, and finding love and purpose.

This book is nice summer read. For fans of contemporary women’s fiction/ romance/ family saga. I loved the cover but found it hard to get into the story .

The Devine Doughnut Shop

by Carolyn Brown

Anyone who has traveled across Texas by car knows that most small towns in Texas have a doughnut shop. It’s a standard! Devine, Texas, an actual town near San Antonio, in this novel boasts the most divine doughnuts in the area. They are made in small batches from a secret recipe passed down through four generations of Devine women who are a “family of sisters.”

Grace and Sarah are biological sisters and their cousin Macy is like a third sister. The three women, who also live together in a house near the shop, are up at three o’clock six days a week making their delicious doughnuts.

All of the these women have suffered shattered romantic relationships ranging from a bad boy spouse who couldn’t stay around to parent his newborn, to a boyfriend who lied about his marriage, to a serial con man. In The Devine Doughnut Shop, the reader watches as some of these disasters unfold.

Grace’s teenage daughter Aubrey is beset with her own trust issues in her desire to be popular. She is used by a group of “mean girls” and foolishly casts off her old friends. One of those friends, Raelene, is herself abandoned by her own mother just a few months before her high school graduation. She finds herself without a home or food and in danger of losing the college scholarship she has worked for.

The mean girls have moms who spoil them and were obviously bullies themselves in high school. Now they are vicious gossipers who excel in and celebrate making others miserable.

All of the characters have trust issues to overcome. Grace finds herself oddly attracted to a successful businessman with a good heart. Married to his job, Travis is surprised by his attraction to this hard-working, no nonsense mother of a teenager who won’t sell either her business or the secret recipe. Is he really interested in Grace or does he just see her as a stepping stone to another business deal? What will it take for these characters to turn their lives around and begin to trust in love again?

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

Rating: 5/5

Category: General Fiction, Romance

Notes: Standalone

Publication: February 14, 2023—Mountlake

Memorable Lines:

She was wearing a five-dollar thrift store dress, but she was riding in a modern-day golden chariot, and she had to admit that the excitement bouncing around in the back of the limo was contagious.

“The way to a man’s heart might be through his stomach, but the way to a woman’s heart is through her family.”

“Honey, I’m swimming with the dolphins.” Beezy held up her tote bag. “I’ve got my bathing suit right here, and I don’t give a rip if my hair gets wet. At my age, we got to do what we can when we can, because tomorrow we might be too old and decrepit to even feed ourselves.”

Another winning book by Carolyn Brown. Small town, Three friends as extended family and delicious doughnuts. It is nice to have friends to help you out when you have a dilemma. A fast & enjoyable story.

Brown is my go to for feel good women's fiction. Even though her books always contain a level of sadness and drama, there is ALWAYS a theme of strong female bonds and friendship.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of The Devine Doughnut Shop by Carolyn Brown from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinions. Not gonna lie - The title and cover made me want to stop everything and read this as soon as possible! I found this book to be thoroughly entertaining and I loved it from the start. Fun read that will take your mind off anything stressful! :) Thanks for the early copy!

This is a good book. The main characters are Grace, Sarah, and Macy. Grace and Sarah are sisters and Macy is their cousin. They own the Devine Doughnut Shop. This story is about family, how you can always count on your family. They each have issues but together they work through them and find their true love.

This is just a fun book to read, entertaining and humorous with wit, charm and southern sass. Set in the small town of Devine, Texas, this novel has characters that jumped into my heart and flowed out in laughter. Grace, her sister Sarah and her cousin Macy own the popular doughnut shop in town and the secret recipe that came with it as their legacy. They are light-hearted and fun-loving, but they all notice that their lives are not totally fulfilling. When Macy and Sarah are both heartbroken after relationships with deceptive guys, the three turn to each other for advice, consolation, doughnuts and ice cream. Grace is a single parent of Audrey, a teen with attitude and a lot of sass herself. Raelene was my favorite character, an orphan who is taken in by Grace and her family, resented by Audrey and one of the wisest teens you would ever hope to meet. The characters are all engaging and thoroughly lovable. The plot moves at a good pace, with lots of twists in the plot and plenty of new relationships being established and old ones falling away. Each central character has significant life changes and choices to make and therein lies the theme and the wisdom that makes this book not just enjoyable but also memorable. The theme is one of having hope and releasing things of the past to stay in the past.

A great story and one that could be your dougnut shop around the corner.
Small town. Divine shop. 3 sisters with heartbreak and yearning for love. struggle with their love life and raising a stubborn teenager.
Great storyline and well written

Grace is a single mother struggling with a teenage daughter , who want nothing but attention from her peers. Sarah thought she found the love of her life finally and Macy is excited with her impending marriage. However, things doesnt always seem as perfect as they wish to. Sarah found out her man is not and Macy’s future husband is not what she thought he is.

This book is about family and inheritance of 3 women’s with their own struggles with focus on trust, hope and friendship. The story also touch on bullying in school. I love Grace and her daughter; Ashley relationship and between Grace , Sarah and Macy. It really heartwarming to see how the 3 of them support one another and the trust between them. Overall it is a heartwarming read to me.