Even though the story began on a tragic note, I kept reading since I wasn't sure where it was headed. I was hooked by the literary style of this author, which is intriguing, imaginative, insightful, and includes irresistible well timed humor.

The author examines life in the deep South during the 1970s in a profoundly moving and emotional way. Despite appearing to have nothing in common, our diverse cast of characters is connected by circumstance, trauma, and sorrow.

Nub Taylor meets a teenage girl named Minnie Bass. He offers to take care of her as she had no one else, and they form an unexpected friendship. For Nub, this is an opportunity to make up for the lost years he and his daughter Emily endured as a result of his alcohol abuse. The suicide of Minnie Bass’s mother and her father's life sentence were two of the many tragedies Minnie had to cope with. She finds solace in the lies of a high school student after losing both parents. She finds herself pregnant with a guy who has no plans to support her.

Sean is a master at creating characters that readers can identify with, enjoy, and easily sympathize with. How this story ended surprised me in a good way. I found myself cheering, my throat tightening with tears of joy for these characters and their situations. It will have you cheering. Makes for an incredible read and one your book club won’t soon forget.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I requested and received a copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have 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 Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog https://psalm516.blogspot.com/

Looking for a charming Southern book? "Kinfolks" by Sean Deitrich is one you won't forget. It is the story of two elderly male cousins, pretty much alone in their lives, hanging out at the Legion and doing maintenance work for their small town. Nub, the main character has had a drinking problem since age thirteen when he found his father's corpse after he had committed suicide. Enter Minnie, a fifteen-year-old cook with an angel's voice and as big as a linebacker. There is a plethora of other characters that turn the codger into family. This story is one of triumph of good over evil, and love over hate. It is well written, with an appealing plot and some of the coolest southern characters I have ever read about it. You won't go wrong reading this one. Thanks to #NetGalleyand #Kinfolks for the opportunity to read and review this excellent book.

I loved this book so much!! These characters felt so real, and even with their flaws, you will be rooting for them. There were parts that brought tears to my eyes.

Taking place in southern Alabama in the ‘70’s, 62 yr old “Nub” (Jeremiah Lewis Taylor) has always been known as the town drunk. He's definitely made some bad choices throughout his life, but I just loved him in this book. You gotta read it to know. He's given a “second chance” to redeem his character when he meets Minnie. A young teen that's working at the Waffle House. Minnie's mom has passed away, and her dad is serving his life sentence in prison. When Minnie becomes pregnant, Nub wants to take her in and help her, because she has no one. Such a heartwarming story about life's hard times, and how you can find love in the most unexpected places! There are also secondary characters that just add to the story too. These characters will pull you right in!

You will love these characters and story. I can almost guarantee it. Such a great book! Will definitely be one of my favorites this year!

What a great cast if characters! Nub, the town drunk....such an embarrassment to his semi-estranged daughter Emily. Then along comes Minnie, an orphaned, pregnant 15 year old girl. Nub understands Minnie's grief and takes her under his wing. But how in the world is the town drunk a good foster parent? Especially with a baby on the way! This is one of the most heartwarming stories I have ever read. I didn't want it to end. Sean of the South has created another masterpiece.

“Thanksgiving is not about being happy. The holiday is not about mirth and beauty and the warmth of gaiety. Thanksgiving is about fulfilling family obligations and being miserable the way the good Lord intended.”

When we meet our protagonist, Nub Taylor, it is Thanksgiving night, and he and his cousin and best friend Benny are three sheets to the wind, idling in a rusty old truck across the street from the dignified, stately home of Nub’s daughter, Emily. Nub has been invited to dine there, but knows better than to attend. Emily is a widow; she married up, and every mover and shaker in town has shown up. No, Nub won’t be joining them. Nothing good would come of it.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Our story is set in the 1970s in a tiny town in Alabama. Nub is long divorced from Emily’s mother, who keeps her distance these days. He takes his meals at the Waffle House, and that includes today:

“Waffle House did not close on Thanksgiving because Waffle House never closed. Waffle House was like the Vatican, only with better hash browns. Nobody on staff at the Waffle House had a key to the store, not even the manager. Because there were no keys. The doors were never locked. Waffle House just went on and on. Sort of like a disco.”

It is here that he meets Minnie. Minnie is fifteen years old and well over six feet tall. Why is this girl spending her holiday here, instead of with her kin? The answer is that she has none. Her father is in prison, and her mother has just recently killed herself.

Of course, Nub doesn’t know these things at first, but something about her calls to him. Perhaps all children of suicide victims wear something similar in their expressions; Nub had lost a parent the very same way, and he has never gotten over it. How does anyone? He knows “the cardinal rule about suicide. You don’t talk about it.”

Now, Minnie is orphaned and she is pregnant, courtesy of a thoughtless, spoiled local boy that told her he loved her, then laughed behind her back. And so it is that Nub realizes, as he learns more about Minnie Bass, that perhaps he may have a chance to redeem himself.

This is a wonderful story, full of warmth and a lot of heart. Dietrich is a master storyteller, able to create viscerally real characters that leap from the page and a narrative that billows with home truths. There is no question that Kinfolk is among the finest books to be published this year.

Highly recommended.

What a story this is. Set in Alabama, my home state. Filled with so much reality. Such depth. Such feelings. This author took some realities and brought them to light in a story that will take your breath away. The love between a group of strangers and a daughter and father. Kinfolk. The perfect title for this book. I literally didn't want to put this book down. I read it in one day...

This book is about a few people. Nub, Benny, Minnie, Emily, and Shug. Also Leigh Ann. And we can't forget Bun.. lol I loved that name. Nub and Minnie become friends after a horrible meeting in the hospital where Nub was basically horrible to Minnie. Benny is Nub's best friend and cousin. Emily is Nub's daughter. Shug is Minnie's biological father but Minnie doesn't know that. Leigh Ann is the bartender.

Each of these characters play a very pivotal role in this story. Each have their own problems. Some more stressful than others. Each of these people will become someone you will enjoy reading about. You will root for them all. For some to live.

There is a lot going on and then a big happening in the hospital of all places. A part that made me cry. Hold my breath. Cringe. And the big finish. It was great. I love how this author pulled everything together and even how he handled Shug. I found myself hoping that everything would work out for Minnie. Her ability to be who she was meant to be. They said she had the voice of an angel. Sounded like to me from what I read.

Thank you #NetGalley, #SeanDietrich, #HarperMuse for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this wonderful book.

FIVE huge stars and I highly recommend this book. I will be looking for more by this author. I can't wait to dive into Stars Of Alabama.

I always enjoy a good historical fiction, and this one did not disappoint. Living in the south, I was able to relate to it as it took place in Southern Alabama. You hear real stories that are somewhat similar to this. Great storytelling, definitely a worth while read!

Kinfolk is southern fiction rich in family life. In the first few chapters, there are a lot of characters introduced. But soon their stories start to collide and we see how their lives are all connected in this small town. Nub and his cousin Benny are at the heart of this delightful story that at times is humorous and at other times full of drama. Thanks to author Sean Dietrich, Harperm Muse, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

It’s 1970’s Southern Alabama. Sixty two year-old Jeremiah Lewis Taylor, or “Nub, has a good heart but he’s always courted trouble. People have always said he’s no good, the town drunk, earning a crust here and there with his cousin Benny, most of the money ending up in the local ale house, and at his age why change the habits of a lifetime - anyway it would be impossible wouldn’t it?

Enter 15 year old Waffle House waitress Minnie, her father is a convicted murderer serving a life sentence, her mother is dead, and she has a Grand Ole Opry–worthy singing voice with no place to perform. To add to Minnie’s woes she is pregnant by a narcissistic high school boy, who took advantage of her because he could, because nobody ever said no to him, and he reckoned she ought to be grateful that he gave her any attention. Minnie is the first person who ever made Nub believe he could be a better person, now’s his chance to change and make his own life and Minnie’s much happier by being a friend, being there in her time of need, something he should have done for his own daughter.

This author sure knows how to make his characters come to life, the minutiae of life that makes both the story, and his characters sing, makes them meaningful, makes them jump off the page. This novel is about life, its ups and its downs, and it demonstrates yet again how powerful human endurance can be, and what a heartwarming story it is, peppered throughout with humour, courtesy of our protagonist Nub. Recommended.

What a wonderful story. The characters were so brilliant. Just so well thought out, yet brilliant. This book was way more than I thought it would be. Thanks Sean of the South for an amazing book.

I do prefer Sean Dietrich's column but this was a sweet book and I adored the characters. Nub is an old drunk who has made a name for himself in a small town with his drunken antics. (PS I love Nub).

He meets a 15 year old girl who has the worst luck. He gets attached to her and ends up with her living with him.
It was just a sweet read good to lift your soul. Dietrich has made me cry buckets with his column and I could see if I was not a heifer that this book could do the same.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

Let me start with…I absolutely love when an author narrates their own book. It just makes it so real! And this book could not have been better! Kudos to Sean Dietrich!

Now on to the good stuff! This story is wonderful! The characters are fantastic. Nub is an old drunk but he has decided to mend his ways and take in Minnie, a young, 16 year old who has lost her family. Needless to say, it is not smooth sailing for the two of them. Minnie is pregnant and Nub realizes he has been given a second chance.

This is a story full of love, heartbreak and forgiveness and you do not want to miss it!

Need an emotional tale you will think about for days to come…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

This was my first book by Sean Dietrich and he did not disappoint! I’ve read a lot of books this year, but Kinfolk is definitely my favorite so far!

It’s the 1970s in Southern Alabama, the story follows Nub an alcoholic that is always with his cousin Benny. Nub changes his ways after he meets Minnie, a fifteen year old orphan. Not only does this story follow Nub, but it also follows Emily, nubs daughter, that always felt like she was last in her dad’s life.

This book has drama, crime, love, and family. It is one that should be on everyone's shelf. If I could give it 10 stars, I would.

I really loved this story! The story was just incredible, and the characters were fantastic. I loved the ending--it brought me to tears! Highly recommend!


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

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Muse for access to this arc.

This book is a country and western song in the making. Most of the plot can probably already be found in various country and western songs. Well maybe not the C-4 but most of the rest. Love, drinking, regret, heartache, exes, anger, love, regret, drinking, singing, family, lost love, drinking, second chances, regret, drinking, family, prison, parole, drinking, love, and second chances. Yep, that about covers it.

If you are a Southerner, you will probably know, be related to or have someone like one of these people in your life. Said person has probably Been Discussed at family gatherings with a smile, a sigh, and/or some heavy eye rolling. “Lord, what is soandso up to now??” You might even be one of these characters. If you are not a Southerner, you will probably be horrified at these people. You might sneer, curl a lip in disgust, sniff disparagingly, and thank whatever power you believe in that you are not from here or related to anyone like them thankyouverymuch.

Though the book is laced with wry, deadpan humor – and I laughed Out Loud a whole bunch of times – there are some painful things as well. The book starts off with a load of them including a two suicides and a drunken rampage by Nub as he attempts to escape the long arm of the law. It doesn’t go well for him but frankly, he lives in a small town, works for the county government, and everyone knows where he lives so it wasn’t like he was going to evade anything. Sigh … sometimes the liquor drives Nub to do things he shouldn’t.

Nub knows he’s been a disappointment to his friends and family. But, in his defense, he has an Incident from his youth which was followed by a year in a youth asylum (because his mama couldn’t cope with the first Incident) that would leave lifelong wounds on most people much less an eleven year old boy. Nub knows he shouldn’t have done a lot that he’s done – heck the whole town knows it – but alcohol is a powerful mistress and Nub doesn’t seem to have an off-switch once he starts.

Minnie and Nub first meet in the hospital. It’s a small town with a small hospital so I didn’t bat an eye that an older man and teen girl would be recovering in the same room. Later when Nub sees Minnie being bullied by a teen snot – heck the whole town knows Philip is a little pissant – and his minions it lights a fire in Nub. He might have messed up being there for his own daughter but he’s going to help Minnie even if that requires filling out “thirty miles of documents” and attending a parenting class so he can foster this young teen who has no one. Everyone – including his daughter (who is a little jealous) and his ex – tells him he’s insane but Nub is a man on a mission.

Minnie is a sweet teen who has always been teased because of her height and who believed a pissant when he said he would love her if she just agreed to sex. Now she’s pregnant, an orphan and due to Nub’s sense of mission, finally in a home where she can relax, take hot showers, and wear clothes that fit and aren’t falling apart. She can’t believe her luck. Nub’s cat Wyatt likes her, too.

What no one knows is that Minnie’s father isn’t dead and is out on parole. Right, the man who worked for organized crime, ripped them off, and then accidentally killed a man leading to fifteen years in the slammer where his height and size made him a target. The men dressed all in black and driving a white caddy who follow Sugar make no attempt to evade Shug’s notice. That’s part of the intimidation. They also begin harassing Minnie – and by extension Nub – to mess with Shug and get their money back. But no one is messing with his daughter and if he has to camp out in the woods near Nub’s house and keep watch – and also get his hands on some C-4, as Shug was a demolition man in the Army – he will.

Emily Ives initially thinks her father is nuts to take on a foster teen. Emily is also a bit pissed that, through Minnie, Nub appears to want to make up for all he missed in Emily’s life. Emily is also hiding a secret that she discovered after dealing with yet another Thanksgiving from hell. Yet as she watches her father actually seem to reform himself – except for the smoking as you can only give up so much at a time as AA knows – Emily does what Southern women do, she brings food and tries to help including a wild ride to the hospital with a teen in labor in the backseat of her car.

Somehow all of the plot threads come together in the end. It’s wild but what else should I have expected from this book? As I mentioned earlier, I laughed my ass off at times and blinked back a tear at others. Some things cut close while many, many others brought me good memories as I know the South and I lived through 1972. Boomers and Gen Xers will know a lot of these things first hand. The book has sass, heart, and people triumphing over the odds against them. It will not be for everyone but I inhaled the 400 pages in two days and loved it. It will break your heart and then put it back together. A-

What a wonderful book!! This book is about second chances, love, found family, music and so much more. One would not think that a sixty year old drunk (Nub) could be the center of such a delightful story. Dietrich gives us characters we can relate to and we can cheer on. The grittiness of the characters and the setting help this book stand out.

Nub begins to take interest in a girl whose path he keeps crossing in not the best circumstances. Someone this teenage girl upsets what was once his balance of work, the American Legion bar and caring only about himself. Minnie brings out the best in Nub and he helps her find the best in herself. As the book says "miracles never happen the way you expect them to.....a miracle is millions and millions of small things working together"....that is what this book is....

I have to note that I loved the ode played to the Ryman tabenacle and the country music legends that played there. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful book. I plan on getting my own copy.

This book is stunning. Southern fiction at its finest. Found family, second chances, redemption, and the messiest characters come together to make a beautiful story.

Nub is his small town’s drunk. He’s failed at marriage, failed at parenthood, and is failing at caring for himself. An unlikely friendship leads him to turn his life around. I fell in love with him and every character around him. The story is both tragic and hopeful and entirely heartfelt. It will break your heart but will put it back together in the most tender way. You will laugh and cry and cheer for Nub.

The heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship and love between Nub and Minnie. This book as a roller coaster of emotions to read. It showed how people change and grow. I recommend giving this emotional story a read.

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

Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich is very highly recommended Southern literary fiction that can be heartwarming, heartbreaking, and humorous. Kinfold is an excellent novel; one of the best of the year.

It is the 1970s in Park, Alabama, where Jeremiah Lewis Taylor, or “Nub,” 62, is a known town drunk and best friend of cousin Benny. An incident sends him to the hospital, where he first meets fifteen-year-old and six-foot-five Minnie, whose self-comforting singing wakes him up. He later discovers more about Minnie and decides to sober-up to foster her. At the same time Nub's daughter, Emily, learns some bad news that she is dealing with on her own and the man who is Minnie's father, Sugar Bass, has just been released from prison.

This whole cast of diverse, fully realized main characters come together with a supporting cast to create a complete picture of a specific time, place, and family. At the beginning, as the various characters are introduced, the narrative may seem a bit scattered, but everything will quickly begin to come together. The humor along with insight into the broken characters will grab your attention until the plot takes off, securely holding your rapt attention to the end.

At its heart Kinfolk is a masterful story of the family you have and the one you create. There is also a good dose of drama, threats, second chances, country music, redemption, forgiveness, love, and humor. The hilarious lines that show up throughout the story are appealing and help set the tone of the novel. Even when something bad is happening, humor can help with the pain. One of the earlier lines about the name for the special kind of person who signs up for a job at Waffle House is laugh-out-loud funny. That remark is followed rather quickly by another perfect quote, "Thanksgiving is about fulfilling family obligations and being miserable the way the good Lord intended."

I really loved Kinfolk. Filled with memorable characters in a captivating plot, it is one of the best books I've read this year.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Harper Muse via NetGalley.
The review will be published on BookBub, Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Kinfolk is Sean Dietrich‘s newest heartwarming and heartbreaking Southern fiction novel set in a fictional Alabama city and county. The author is primarily known for his daily uplifting column written under Sean of the South. Kinfolk is told in third person POV featuring four main characters using authentic Southern dialect. The chapters are short, similar to James Patterson’s story-telling.

Kinfolk begins in 1921 with a desperate tobacco farmer deciding to take his own life, leaving behind his beloved wife and 11-year-old. Then the story picks up in 1970s south Alabama with the 11-year-old boy grown into a 62-year-old alcoholic ne’er-do-well, Jeremiah Lewis “Nub” Taylor. Nub’s wife, Loretta, divorced him when their daughter, Emily, was small due to his drinking, and Emily has had very little contact with him. Part of Nub’s problems stem from his mother sending him to an insane asylum after his father’s suicide because she couldn’t deal with her own grief, and partly because he had difficulty adjusting to the freedom of civilian life after a stint in the Navy. Nub’s cousin, Benny, is his best friend and co-worker at the Ash County Maintenance Department. One of Nub and Benny’s escapades was to not complete the “R” on the city’s water tower so that it reads “PAPK” instead of “PARK”.

Nub lives alone in the house that he grew up in, surrounded by land that formerly grew tobacco. There are abandoned outbuildings and overgrown woods. Nub and Benny hang out in the evenings at the local American Legion, where they drink and talk to a sweet bartender, Lee Ann. Then one night Nub is pursued by a local Sheriff’s deputy during a snowstorm and crashes his truck into a tree, and winds up in the local hospital. Due to a power outage, the patients are crammed into one area of the hospital that is powered by generators. There he wakes up to hear his 15-year-old female roommate singing. Nub is unfriendly to her but her crying moves him so he asks her to sing some more.

15-year-old Minnie Bass is working at the Park Waffle House as a cook since her mother died of a drug overdose. Minnie believes that her father is dead, but actually Clarence “Sugar” Bass is in prison for manslaughter and is at the end of his 15-year sentence. Minnie is 6’ 5” so she was bullied by her classmates until she dropped out. A mean boy, Philip Beaner, tricked her into having sex with him and now she’s pregnant.
Nub has wrecked 17 vehicles over his lifetime so he’s now driving Benny’s dilapidated pick-up truck. Benny is unable to drive due to stroke. When Nub sees his former roommate, Minnie, walking down the road with her toes visible through her tennis shoes, he goes to K-Mart and buys the largest pair of Converse sneakers they have. Then he gives her his coat. Over time he spends more time with her and makes arrangements to become her foster parent.

Nub’s daughter, 44-year-old Emily Taylor Ives, is regretting past choices she made in her life. She hates that she gave up her beloved career and freedom to be the girlfriend of Charlie Ives. She hates that she continues his family tradition of hosting parties for the community all the time; she is really an introvert. She feels bad for letting her mom, Loretta, poison her against her dad. As her son, Charlie Jr., grows older, she regrets that they aren’t closer. Lastly she regrets giving up smoking cigarettes because Charlie Sr. thought it looked cheap; his last mistress was a smoker.

While Nub takes an interest in making sweet Minnie’s life better, Emily tries to reconcile with him. Then Emily has a health scare. Meanwhile Sugar Bass is released from prison and tries to keep an eye on his daughter, but really draws the mobsters after him straight to her.

Kinfolk is a great story filled with unforgettable characters. The reader sees that seemingly bad people have backstories and may be redeemable, and “good” people can be cruel. While Minnie’s circumstances are heartbreaking, there are many good things that happen to her. Minnie has an amazing singing voice and Nub tries to get her talent recognized. Benny is the hapless and witless sidekick to Nub’s take-charge character, and their dynamic adds a lot of humor to the story.

Anyone who is a fan of traditional country music or is a native Southerner will absolutely enjoy Kinfolk. There is no sex or profanity in the story so it can be enjoyed by people of all ages. There is a lot of cigarette smoking in the story and talk about drinking and alcoholism, but this story takes place in the 1970s when people were less health conscious. The language/phrasing used are all authentic to Alabama. Additionally the story contains many musical references. My absolute favorite parts of the book were the true history lessons sprinkled throughout the story.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Harper Muse for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.