Kinfolk

Thank you to Harper Muse Audiobooks and NetGalley.
The setting of the book is Southern Alabama in the 1970s. I loved the story of Nub, Emily, Minnie, Sug and cousin Benny. Heartwarming story of tragedy, heartbreak and triumph. A great reminder that sometimes people and friends are the family that you choose. Generational curses can be broken and lives can be changed with change, love and forgiveness.
Having grown up in a Baptist church I definitely got all of the Baptist jokes and loved them. Several made me laugh out loud.
“Baptist churches always fill up the same….back to front.”
“Exuded as much enthusiasm as a graveyard”
“You were either a Minnie admirer or you suffered from a case of fundamentalist hemorrhoids”
This book is different than what I usually read and it came as a welcome change! I loved the character development and overall themes. During the first couple minutes I thought it was going to be very dark, but it ended up being a story of hope and light.
The publication date for this book is November 14, 2023.

Oh, I’m glad I read this one. The book is populated with southerners down on their luck: an old alcoholic, a convict, someone with terminal cancer, old has-been musicians, an unwed teen mother, as well as other folks, both broke and broken. It’s heartwarming without being sappy, funny, and loving. It will rip your heart apart and then put it back together.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the free audio book in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by the author, whose timing, pacing and southern accent make this such a fantastic listening experience!

I absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED this!!! The setting is rural Alabama in the 1970's, about as southern as you can get. The story includes a cast of characters, all southerners living in Park, and all are "down on their luck" trying hard to turn things around. We have the alcoholic barely scraping by, the prisoner, a daughter with terminal cancer, and the unwed teen mother, all of whom are broke and broken.

This is such a funny, bittersweet tale of the misery that some people just cannot seem to shake but who are making the best of what they have. I loved Nub, Bennie, Mimi and Emily. Their lives are so heartwarming, rich, funny, and loving.

Be prepared to have your heart ripped apart and then put it back together.

6 stars!!!!!

Kinfolk... the people who are related to you by blood. But sometimes, it is so much more than that. Sean Dietrich has done it again. I adore his way with words. There is always a gift in them and I am so grateful that I got the chance to read/listen to this story, read by the author himself. It is the story of Nub Taylor, Minnie Bass, and the folks they call family. Nub is the town drunk. His child is in her forties and they are estranged. His ex-wife hates him and the town of Park, Alabama (population around 1000), hates him too. Minnie is a very tall young lady who is an outcast, as she is as poor as they come. And in the seventies, Nub and Minnie will find each other. In the process, they will find family, and, just maybe, bring some healing to themselves and their town. I laughed out loud so many times during the telling. I also dabbed my eyes and wished it wouldn't end. When I realized I was moments from finishing it, I wanted to rewind and listen some more. Dietrich has a gift, and I am so grateful he shares it with us. Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher. #Kinfolk

I adore Sean Dietrich’s writing. I was so excited to receive this audiobook and be able to put a voice to the words. This is not the type of book I typically read, but living in AL it just felt right. I loved it. Sean has a way of making you feel like you know each and every one of his characters. It feels as if they are your family… or your Kinfolk, as it may be. The snowstorm that he talks about in the first chapter took the life of my great-grandmother. My mama has told the story a million times. I could imagine each and every scene of this book after that like, I was there. The story of Nub and Minnie, an unlikely friendship, was sad and poignant, but hopeful. I highly recommend the audiobook so that you can hear this in Sean’s voice.

My honest review is freely provided in return for the kindness by NetGalley and the author/publisher in providing me with this book to review.

Kinfolk is about second chances and redemption. There’s a redeeming quality found in this story about a 62yo recovering alcoholic and a pregnant 15yo who has no one left in this world to depend on who find each other. Life has been far from kind to both Nub and Minnie, and there’s much surrounding their lives that they have no control over. What they have in common is a deeply rooted understanding about what each means to the other.

This is my first Sean Dietrich book and it won’t be my last. It easily makes it onto my 2023 favorites list.

With its heartbreak, dry humor, southern Alabama setting, laidback personalities, and a perfect match in narrator (the author), Kinfolk is a quintessential audiobook. This would be a great one to listen to while on a long road trip. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for my ARC copy.

I first read something by Sean Dietrich on Facebook. A friend had shared it and I read it and I immediately started following his page. But I didn't know he had written a book, turns out he's written several and after reading this one, I'm going to find those others and read them too.

He is an amazing storyteller and boy was this an amazing story! I don't often cry when I read but this one had me crying, laughing out loud, and everything else in between. I don't even know how to write this review because of all the emotion I feel. For someone who didn't have her daddy around when she was younger but then later developed a close bond with him, I really related to this story on so many levels.

Each character has their own story to tell and the way they all come together is truly done in an extraordinary way. You want to not like Nub Taylor but I'm telling you that you're going to love him and a lot of the other characters too. It's told in a deep southern, down on your luck, country boy with smart-alecky responses tone and I loved every minute of it.

The release date is in November, perfect timing for Christmas and I've already made the list of who I'm going to buy it for.

Just a fun book! And I love that the audio version is narrated by the author. His Southern twang adds an extra bit of authenticity to this novel which takes place in Alabama in the 1970s. Well-developed individual characters who all are pulled together around a 15-year-old pregnant teen. The old town geezer who drinks too much discovers that he is offered a second chance in life, and helps the teen, reconnects with his own daughter, and discovers love and forgiveness. Most enjoyable!

Jeremiah Lewis Taylor, Nub to all who know him, has seen a lot of living. Not all of it good. Years of too much drinking have gotten him in too much trouble to list, but losing his wife and the respect of his daughter were the hardest. After an accident that should have killed him, Nub shares a hospital room with fifteen year old Minniford Hazel Bass. While her singing greatly annoys the grumpy old man, she somehow gets under his skin and soon he’s become her savior, but can a leopard change his spots. His daughter, Emily, is going through her own crisis at the moment and thinks he’s crazy! How can he be there for Minnie when he was never there for her? When Nub takes Minnie in he has no idea how much things are about to change or how much he’s bitten off, not to mention the danger he and Minnie are now in. Is it too late for Nub to change or does he finally have the chance to redeem himself after all these years? This was a heartwarming, beautiful story about change, redemption and unconditional love. Once again Dietrich takes us on an unforgettable journey. A journey that will make you laugh out loud, shed some tears, but most of all give you hope. A dual read/listen, this book was voiced perfectly by the author himself, this book is not one that will be forgotten anytime soon as he brings this powerful story to life showing us that love and forgiveness are the most important things of all! Thank you to Harper Muse and Netgalley for an ARC AND ALC of this book.

First of all - why did I not know about Sean of the South? That vooooiiiiiice! He has completely spoiled all future audiobooks, with his deep, gravelly narration. I could listen to him forever, and shall be seeking out his back catalogue. 'Kinfolk' is a cracking book. It's just a brilliant story, populated by wonderful characters. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. I'm hooked! found the Author's Note at the end very moving. Sean, I love you too, man. Bring us more (audio)books soon, please!

Narrated by the author and he does a great job!!! Absolutely loved the authors note at the end and the couple of scattered facts about The Ryman and Grand ol Opry that are incorporated into the story.

My second novel by this author and absolutely love his ability to tell a small town story that has every emotion present. You will gasp, cry, feel fear, mystery, joy and much more.

Love before her, Love behind her, Love above her, Love beneath her.

Love on the crown of her head, Love on the soles of her feet, Love way down in her heart.

These are the words/song that start the relationship between “Nub” Jeremiah Taylor and “Minnie” Minifred Bass and so it’s appropriate that these words close out their story as well. Story gives segments of several characters and weaves all these characters lives together beautifully. I loved the characters and that they each have flaws, and are so relatable.

Can’t recommend this book enough!! Please check it out!!

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Harper Muse for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Well, this started off heartbreaking and didn't really get any better as far as happiness is concerned. Full of tragedy but also hopeful and determined hearts woven together in a beautiful story.
This was my first Dietrich novel, but it's definitely not my last! I loved his storytelling so much and enjoyed the narration even better! Perfection! Thank you, NetGalley and publisher, for the chance to discover another great writer!

I loved this book more than words can say. I already pre ordered it and a couple other books by Sean of the South. I’m definitely a new fan!

Video review here:
https://youtu.be/FKMUaALX8cY

I feel I must start this review with a disclaimer. Sean Dietrich is my favorite present day author. With that being said, I do try to be objective when I am reading a book for review purposes. If I hadn't been reading this for review, however, my reaction and review would be the same.

Sean Dietrich, also known as Sean of the South, writes from the heart. Whoever said that writers write what they live would reinforce this idea after reading Sean Dietrich's latest book - "Kinfolk". Full of emotion and characters who are so real the reader feels that they are best friends by the end of the book, this book is one that is easily read in one sitting. Once I started it, I just could not stop.

The book starts with a very difficult scene - a suicide and the grief that follows in a small Alabama town in the 1970's. If you are familiar with Mr. Dietrich's back story you can understand that that is a real and personal subject matter to him and one that he writes about often. But just like the author, the main character, Nub, is able to overcome the sadness and the life situation that he found himself in and is eventually able to live a life with love and happiness.

This is not an easy book to read at times due to the themes of alcoholism, suicide, loss, racism, and crime but the overall theme is love and that is indeed the message that the reader comes away with in the end. Redemption prevails as a strong theme and what a joy it is to read this book to see how the story unfolds.

The author has a unique way of telling a story. His true Southern charm bleeds through every page and his witty descriptions had me laughing out loud several times. He definitely knows how to evoke an image in your mind as you read with his descriptions.

The main characters, Nub, Emily and Minnie are so well defined and described that it was easy to fall in love (and sometimes dislike) at their antics and actions. They are just plain folk who are the type of folks that we run into every single day in our lives. Thankfully these were ones that were not ignored and it reminded me that each and every person has worth and value in this world despite their circumstances. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that.

If you have the chance to read this book I would highly recommend that you pick up a copy. Better yet, get an audiobook so you can hear the author read it to you in his own voice. This was one that I listened to at regular speed and did not speed up because I wanted to enjoy every drawn out word and hear every inflection of Mr. Dietrich's voice.

Huge thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy for review. This is my honest review of Kinfolk.

This book was wonderful- honest, redemptive, and occasionally laugh out loud funny. There are many times that the author is not the right choice for the reader, but this time it was spot on. The narrator's voice was everything in building the characters and overall setting.

Although I don't think I can use it in my classroom, it will definitely be on the shelf and a recommendation for my kids.

I have a massive book hangover from this, in the very best way possible. It has taken me a few days of processing my emotions to be able to write this review.

I'm a bit flabbergasted at how good this was. I'm a reader of about 90% romance, so this was a bit of a step outside of my "normal", but my gosh am I glad I took that step. I was immediately enraptured by Sean's writing style, which is equal parts lyrical, descriptive, profound, and hysterical.

This novel takes a deeply poignant and emotional look at life in the deep South in the 1970's. Our motley crew of characters seem to have nothing in common, yet are bound together by trauma, grief, and circumstance.

Nub Taylor has disappointed so many people in his life that he's unsure he can ever change, until he meets down-on-her-luck teenager Minnie Bass. They strike up an unlikely friendship, and he ends up taking her in when she needs someone the most. Nub sees this as a chance to make good on the childhood that his own daughter, Emily, missed out on due to his drinking problem. Minnie has endured much trauma in her short life, including her mother committing suicide and her father serving life in prison. She is alone, and pregnant by a deadbeat high school boy.

Sean has a deep understanding of how to write characters that are relatable, lovable, and easy to empathize with. He describes settings in a way that make them easy to conjure up in your imagination. His use of simile and metaphor is unparalleled and often had me laughing out loud.

Some of my favorite quotes:
"His mind was filled with 100 gallons of regret, his heart was filled with several thousand watts of pain. He had missed her life because he'd refused to fight for her, because he was too drunk to be present."

"The old Baptist woman was about as warm and fuzzy as a frozen banana."

"Sweetie, one cold morning a long time ago, a girl not much younger than you came into town riding a donkey, and she had a baby. That boy went on to change the entire world." "You mean...Jesus?" "No, Jimmy Rogers."

"The congregation exuded about as much enthusiasm as a graveyard."

"Soon the rest of the congregation was up on its feet, applauding one pregnant child, one stroke victim, and one drunk."

Thanks #netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. Listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration. I loved this book and cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this. Loved the characters and storyline. Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars

It's the 1970s in southern Alabama and Nub Taylor is the town drunk always getting into trouble. He's always disappointing his ex-wife, daughter and grandson. Nub meets 15 year old Minnie who's recently orphaned, pregnant and 6 ft 5, and he tries to help her out. Nub is one of the best characters I've read about in a long time. He's flawed, funny, and kind, but has been awful to his family and himself for decades. Fantastic redemption story--I kept rooting for him and Minnie.

This was such an incredible story. I would suggest if you have the option to listen to it over reading as the author narrates the book and it just felt so right.

Amazing narration by the author.

Open up your arms Gus and Call because there is a new favorite literary character in town, Nub. Before Kinfolk I could not imagine that there could ever be characters as loveable as those two. But Nub. Squirrely, crass, loveable Nub.

The storyline, the storytelling, the setting, the characters were near perfection. The one liners that came out of nowhere and caused delayed laughs were a joy. I can't think of a single thing that I did not love about this book which earns it five stars and a rank on my top shelf of very favorite books.

And now for the narrator. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced listen. The narrator thrilled me to no end. How could he have been as perfect as the book? That revealed itself later when I looked it up and learned that the narrator is the author. I have no doubt I would have loved this book as much in hard copy but it was a real treat to listen.

This story does not have a far-fetched plot, nor is there a dose of creativity that leaves your mouth open. What it has is a depth that touched me deep down in my soul. I liked this story so much.
This is the story of a lost soul who met someone so unlikely and everything changed. A drunk who saw his life pass before his eyes, and shamed everyone he loved most, and when he met Mini, a 15-year-old teenager, everything changed. Nub has an extraordinary sense of humor. I liked it, I liked it, I really liked it. I recommend. Thank you Netgalley for offering this opportunity.

#kinfolk,, # SeanDietrich, #Drama, #Netgalley

Such a great book! My husband and I were on the last leg of a road trip when we started this book. We quickly got caught up in the stories of Nub, Benny, Emily, Shug, and Minnie. We finished the trip before we finished listening to the book. I didn't know when we'd be able to finish it. That night, my husband suggested we turn off the TV and listen to the book for an hour. We listened like our great-grandparents must have listened to radio shows. We were both happy and sad when we finished. I'd like to know more about the characters.

It is never too late to become a better person.

Nub is the town drunk. He started drinking at thirteen after a series of horrible events. His father committed suicide when he was eleven and his mom sent him off to an asylum. He was a terrible husband and father. He has no relationship with his daughter, despite living in the same town. At sixty, he basically drives around with his cousin, Benny, and drinks all day. Then fifteen year old Minnie, high school dropout and cook at the local Waffle House, comes into his life. They have a few run ins, including when he came upon a group of boys throwing large rocks at her head, and he can't help but feel protective of her. Then, her mother commits suicide and she is sent to an orphanage. Something inside of Nub changes. He applies to foster her, and works on getting his life together.

I had a lot of words when I finished this at 1am. Now, the next morning, I can't seem to think of them. I do know this story had me hooked. The characters were all very well developed and you can't help but hope they all end up happy and together as a make-shift family.

The audiobook is read by the author.

I received an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

This extraordinary novel gave me so much joy, happiness, sadness, trepidation, and every other emotion one can feel when reading the perfect book. I don’t know what genre you can place this book in, but this is my favorite genre. I compare this author to William Kent Krueger. Krueger is one of my favorite authors, but now Sean Dietrich is at the top of my list.

Minnie is a 15-year-old orphan working at a waffle house who encounters sixty-two-year-old “Nubb”, the small-town troublemaker. Both down on their luck, their chance meeting changes both of their lives forever. When their friendship begins affecting those around them, tragedy, danger, and family heartaches begin to be confronted. This book was not only a novel about family and friendship but was full of danger, adventure, and unlikely heroes. This was an emotional roller coaster that had me gripping my seat, tearing up and loving every moment.

I chose to read this book on audiobook, and it was fantastic. It was read by the author and his voice put you completely in the setting of the story. Be sure to listen to the author’s note at the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for this incredible Advanced Reader Copy. I will be looking to see what other books Sean Dietrich has written. #NetGalley #Kinfolk

I loved Kinfolk, an audio book narrated by the author Sean Dietrich himself. What a treat. His slow southern drawl was the perfect vehicle for this amazing story. The characters are all so flawed and yet so lovable. It’s the story of Nub, a washed up alcoholic who has had troubled relationships with his daughter, his ex wife, the law and anybody else who happens to piss him off at the time. His life has just hit a new low after an alcohol infused car crash running from the local police. But Nubs life journey is about to change after he winds up sharing a hospital room with a young girl who has just lost her mother to suicide. Nub feels a connection with this girl, Minnie as he lost his father to suicide at a young age as well. He sets out to help her and in the act of caring more for someone else than for himself he begins to heal his heart. Some of the inspiration for Kinfolk is autobiographical, but there is a lot more to this book than the authors narrative. It is action packed, very funny, very harrowing and just a whole lot of good stuff for a reader to enjoy. I could not stop listening, I loved it. Kinfolk is a triumph of the human spirit, family and extended family, also known as ‘Kinfolk'. Very Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Net Galley for a chance to listen to and review this wonderful book.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for permitting access to this audiobook.
Sean Dietrich, who calls himself “Sean of the South,” is a consummate storyteller of the kind for whom the audiobook genre is made. The story lends itself expressly to this “way in,” from which it is very difficult to pull oneself out no matter what other pressing life tasks may be calling. He also reads the story of Jeremiah (Nub) Taylor and his various relatives and friends, whom he eventually comes to see as “kinfolk,” and his even more numerous enemies. He has the perfect, gravelly, at times gentle at times gruff, too-many-cigarettes voice to do it in a captivating manner. In my view, “captivating” best sums up this work.
Nub Taylor, so-called because of his diminutive size (5 foot 2 or 3, depending), is an irascible, seemingly irredeemable lifelong alcoholic, forever damaged by his father’s suicide and his mother’s inability to cope in the aftermath. This happened when he was 13, in 1930, when the Depression’s price collapse and unprecedented drought devastated the farmers of the American south. The elder Taylor shot himself in the head, leaving a note asking his family to forgive him for not being able to go on. The boy was so traumatized at finding him that he could not speak “for 300 days” afterward; unable to continue taking care of him, Nub’s mother placed him in a mental asylum, bringing about a lifelong sense of abandonment and insecurity that he could escape only by heavy drinking. He joined the Navy during the Second World War, emerging with undiagnosed PTSD, but married his childhood sweetheart with whom he produced a daughter, Emily. Increasingly drunk as well as disorderly—his size never held him back from any fight--unable to do more than hold transient jobs, having increasingly less in common with his wife and less to do with his daughter, he ends up divorced and estranged from the family he had so wanted to fill the abyss that his father’s death and mother’s abandonment had opened in his heart.
This is Nub’s story, and everything that happens in the novel—and plenty happens, most of it during the 1970s when Nub is in his late fifties—stems from this childhood twist of fate. A bad accident “under the influence” that nearly kills him, only the first in a series, precipitates a number of events that only seem random. Each of them, for good and bad, connects. How they do so, as Nub inches closer to forming a true network of kin, both among relatives like his stalwart sidekick cousin Benny but especially among those he chooses for himself, confirms that even the seemingly forever lost can be found, and the pathway is the unselfish love that nourishes the soul.
In his wonderful epilogue, Dietrich tells his own life story; it is not Nub’s story, but such things as his father’s suicide when he was 11 are definite keys. Like Nub as well, Dietrich was a stage performer whose lifelong dream, after multiple rejections of novels and performances, finally, through love, persistence, and blind faith, came true. I hope he writes his memoirs soon. In the meantime, I loved Kinfolk and highly recommend it.

There are some books that just unexpectedly tug on your heartstrings and this is one of them. The characters, the story telling, and the love was just the story I needed, but didn’t know that I needed.

The author narrated the book and did a fantastic job!

Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich is a wonderful book of compelling tales from the deep south. I have been a fan of the author for a long time and I was happy to be able to read this book. Sean has a folksy honesty that draws you in and makes you feel right at home. It was great to hear his book in his voice with the narration. I enjoy the characters and stories that made of the book and as always the author has the perfect balance of love, loss, triumph, and tragedy intertwined in the simple stories that make up a life worth living.

This book was completely beyond any of my expectations. I absolutely loved it, and it's now probably one of my favorite books ever. It was such an interesting story and was full of richly drawn and intriguing characters. I'm not sure why, but I've always had a soft spot for old southern men characters with quick wit, sarcasm and self-deprecating humor. Nub was the epitome of just that.

This book made me feel things. From tearing up, to smiling, to laughing out loud then to openly sobbing from sadness then to joy - it was everything. I think I felt more deeply for this story due to my own complicated relationship with my dad - and coming up on a year since his death. But still, it was well written and emotionally evoking.

To top it all off, the audiobook was narrated by the author himself and he did a phenomenal job. Delivery and vocal inflections were just perfect.

In my opinion, this book was a masterpiece, and I highly recommend it! Beyond 5 ⭐️'s.

Sean Dietrich (Sean of the South), a columnist, novelist, musician, and stand-up storyteller known for his commentary on life in the American South, returns with his latest novel, KINFOLK — a heartwarming lyrical song-turned-story about family (not always blood-related), second chances, country music, humor, and the power of love and forgiveness.

"Sometimes it's the most unlikely meetings that give us life's greatest gifts."

Set in a small rural town in Alabama in the 1970s, we meet protagonist Jeremiah Lewis Taylor (Nub).

As the book begins, it is dark. A father's suicide (much like the actual story of the author and his childhood). Triumph over tragedy.

Nub is an alcoholic, the town drunk. His ex-wife has disowned him and his grown daughter. The entire town is against him.

His life changes when he meets Minne, a tall fifteen-year-old teen, down on her luck and works at the Waffle House diner.

She is pregnant by a high school guy who does not care. She just lost her mother. Nub cares for her and her circumstances. An unlikely pair may turn into something called a family.

And Minnie can sing! Could a dream of the Grand Ole Opry come true? Life has pleasant surprises on the way to redemption when all looks dim and bleak.

Minnie's father is a convicted murderer serving a life sentence, her mother is dead and buried, and she has a Grand Ole Opry-worthy singing voice with no place to perform.

Has Nub been given a second chance to redeem himself?

KINFOLK is a heartwarming story of trials, tribulations, disappointment, and sadness to joy, love, acceptance, belonging, and second chances. When life is full of overlooked miracles—they never happen the way you expect them to.

The entire book is much like a country music song. Great characterization with Nub, Emily, and Minnie!

KINFOLK is a thought-provoking and uplifting story of forgiveness mixed with humor and the power of music, reminding us that every person has worth and value despite their circumstances. Be mindful of that in your everyday life. You never know whom you may come in contact with that could change your life.

"People who understand you. People who make your life richer. Your people. Your kinfolk."

The author is a wonderful Southern storyteller. I enjoyed KINFOLK in the audiobook format, narrated by the author with his authentic Southern voice, which will capture you with vivid settings, humor, song, and skillful storytelling.

My first book by the author. KINFOLK would make an emotional and entertaining movie.

Thanks to HarperMuse and NetGalley for a gifted ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

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@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Nov 14, 2023
My Review: 4.5 Stars
Nov 2023 Must-Read Books

Kinfolk is the fifth novel written and narrated by American author Sean Dietrich. The first time that Jeremiah (Nub) Taylor encounters Minnie Bass, it’s just after Thanksgiving 1972 and, from the hospital bed opposite his, she’s disturbing his sleep as she comforts herself with a song her mama used to sing to her. Nub is there recovering from his drunken crash into the town’s water tower.

Not long after, he learns that Minnie, 6’5” but only fifteen, is a middle school dropout who works as a cook at the Waffle House. How, then, does a sixty-two-year-old divorced alcoholic whom many in the town of Park, in the tiny county of Ash, Alabama, see as white trash, decide to apply to foster this unfortunate teen?

Before she sank into alcoholism and took her own life on that fateful Thanksgiving, Celia Bass always told Minnie that the father she never knew died a hero in the Korean war when, in fact, Clarence (Sugar) Bass is just then being released after serving a fifteen-year sentence for manslaughter at the Draper Correctional Facility some miles to the south.

An accidental shooting during a robbery gone wrong isn’t going to help “the Organization” forget that Sugar Bass has $813,000 of their money, so he has a tail the moment he hits town. And the Organization’s wrath might be directed at family members if Sugar remains reticent about the location of the money.

High school biology teacher, widow and mother of teenaged Charlie Jr, Emily Ives has just been given an adverse diagnosis by her inept GP, and is trying to come to terms with her own mortality before she shares the news. But she is distracted, and a little chagrined, by the news that the father who abandoned her as a girl for his love affair with alcohol is planning to foster a fifteen-year-old girl.

It’s true that he is a good man: “He was whip-smart, for starters. And he was heart-stoppingly sincere. His greatest quality, however, was that he had the audacity to be himself, for better or worse”, but what qualifies her alcoholic parent to do this?

Nub understands he will have to be sober “He knew it meant that he would have to face the jaggedness of life without alcohol to round its edges” and he realises, after some weeks that way “It had been a long time since he’d felt the hotness of his own anger without alcohol to dull its spiked edges.”

Dietrich really does have a talent for creating a wonderful cast of characters who easily find their way into readers’ hearts. They are a flawed bunch but he gives them wise words and insightful observations: when Nub eventually shares with Minnie the one thing they have in common, a parent ending their own life, she tells him “When someone shoots themself, they kill a lot more than just them.”

Dietrich has a marvellous turn of phrase: “Benny crept down the hall toward the cabinet. He opened the door so slowly that Nub celebrated four birthdays.” Childbirth, concerts, a housefire, an exploding mobile home, a hospital shooter and at least three near-death moments all feature and, even though the plot is at times heart-breaking, there’s plenty of humour, especially in the dialogue: “Benny,” said Nub. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re kind of embarrassing me.”
“Thanks. That means a lot coming from a professional.”

A feel-good ending is always welcome: “Minnie had come to believe that life was not about finding miracles, or happiness, or success, or purpose, or about avoiding disappointment. It was about finding people. People are what make life worth it. People are the buried treasure. People who understand you. People who will bleed with you. People who make your life richer. Your people. Your kinfolk.”
This unbiased review is from an audio copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Muse.

This book sets a great tone from the beginning. The characters are setup in a way that is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy; tragic, gripping and overcome with tragedy (self imposed or otherwise). The author does a great job of depicting small town southern life and it really helps to paint the scene, which helps to really transport you.

The story itself is fairly straightforward and I think it’s well done, but to me the magic of this book lies in the characters and the setting. The love comes across with every word.

I came across this book at an excellent time, living in a small southern town. It really stops and makes you consider the lives of each passersby and barfly. What got them to that point? What’s their story? This book was a home-run for me. It really helped to drive me to a contemplative state, which I wasn’t expecting after first reading the description of this book, but was pleasantly surprised.

The audio version was very well done, I thought the performance was spot on and really helped to set the tone of the story.

This one is a hidden gem. Thank you for the ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book! Read (and sung in small parts) by the author, Sean Dietrich, whose great skill and talent delivers a wonderful story of the "redemption" of nearly lost causes. With quirky tales of mistakes made and good intentions, it is delivered with a great amount of humor that can only come from the South. Entertaining with endearing, believable characters, I highly recommend this audio book if you want to be inspired, feel good, laugh out loud and sink your teeth into a Great Yarn. Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Muse for this ARC Audio Book. And a special thanks to the author, Sean - I hope I get to see you perform in person some day!

At 63% … audio is narrated by the author. He does an amazing … and I’m loving the book as well.

Finished … OMG … I love this book so much! Longer review to follow. I would encourage anyone with extra audible credits to order this one. Listening via audio is the only way! (Narrated by the author who has an amazing singing voice.)*

* This is the longer review ...
I absolutely loved loved Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich.

Nub ... the town drunk and Minnie a 15 year old who drops out of school and is working as a chef at the local Waffle House end up crossing paths. Both down on their luck; both with musical talent; both lost a parent to suicide (as did the author) at a young age.

Sean Dietrich (the author) does an amazing job narrating (and singing) this audio. The Audie Awards are in March, I sure hope he is in the running. In my opinion, this audiobook is that good.

Nub's sidekick is his cousin. OMG ... the number of times I burst out laughing with this book!

Kinfolk was my second book by Sean Dietrich; I remember reading my first Sean Dietrich novel in line to get Covid tested. Anyway ... I much preferred Kinfolk. Possibly the 1 hour plus wait for a covid test had something to do with my mindset at the time.

Many (MANY!) thanks to NetGalley for introducing me to author Sean Dietrich and Harper Muse for approving my request to review the advance listen audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The publication date is Nov 14, 2023. The last day to be eligible for the 2023 GoodReads Readers Choice voting. I sure hope this book is in the running, because it definitely would have my vote. I've been raving about this book on Facebook. Give this book several chapters, then you'll be hooked. (I wanted to read this book so desperately, I requested both the audio and electronic version, I opted to listen. The way to go on this one!) 5 stars ... but more if I could.

This is the second novel I've read of Sean Dietrich, and I am a huge fan. Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins for the audiobook read wonderfully by the author himself. If you want to read (or listen) to a story about people who are not all good and not all bad; who mess up and try again; who forgive and are forgiven, this is it. And it's not all mushy and gospelly. It's funny and exciting. The cliff-hanger chapter breaks are executed with a professional touch. The writing is poetic without hurting your brain. Five stars!

Read this book as soon as you can! Don't miss out on this great new book from Sean Dietrich.

Do you like a book that moves you to tears? One full of great characters?

"It's early 70's in Park, Alabama. There's Nub Taylor (he's 5'2") He's a drunk (or an alcoholic if you're not from the South) His ex-wive dismisses him and his grown daughter can't stand him. He meets Minnie Bass. She's 6'5" and 15-years-old and working as a cook at Waffle House. She has an Opry kevel singing voice. She's pregnant and headed to foster care after her mother commits suicide. Nub wants to do something right and sets out to help Minnie. There's Sugar Bass. He's on parole but the criminals he used to work for want something back. They don't care who they have to hurt to get it."

I love characters that fight against all that life throws at them and prevail. Especially the ones that start with nothing or less than nothing. But using the gifts and talents they have, they climb out of bad situations and poverty and make a life.

Several times, Dietrich brought me to tears. People just stared at me in the grocery store while I listened to the audio and sobbed. I felt terrible for these fictional characters. But like me, you probably know people like this.
Dietrich makes you fall in love with these characters and makes them feel real.

Dietrich narrates this himself. I'm normally not a fan of authors doing their own narration. It's a bit flat at the beginning, but then Dietrich let's loose and adds so much to the story with his voice.

I wish he hadn't included the 1972 Iron Bowl - the Punt, Bama, Punt game. 50 years later Auburn fans still talk about that game.

There is a Brad. He's an usher at First Baptist Church. Nub rear-ended his car at a red light.

This is now my book of the year. Don't miss it.

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.

I listened to the audiobook that was narrated by the author. He did an outstanding job giving different voices to each of the characters. The accents and language/phrasing used are all authentic to Alabama. Additionally the story contains many musical references and the author sang throughout the story. 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.

I wish I could go back and re-read this one from the beginning without knowing how it was going to end…
For the first time! ... It was that good!

Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich.

Definitely will make you “Feel” all the feels. Will make you root for the underdog, curse the popular people, and give the average folks a second look…or chance…or two.

We start out with looking back on life…suicides…screw ups…things that could’ve been done differently…

Then we are introduced to Nub…a drunk who seems to have nine lives… He’s divorced, and has no relationship with his daughter…whatsoever.

And then there’s Minnie… a young girl who has EVERYTHING going AGAINST her…and just when you think it can’t possibly get any worse…it always does.

We follow these two on the journeys of their messed up, non-enviable lives… and how at some point they intertwine…

And I am reminded again of the theory of “An Invisible Thread” and how just one person could make such a huge impact in the world…especially for one person!

This one brought me to tears multiple times…but also made me laugh out loud…and cheer unabashedly for the underdogs!! Also makes you think about life, and how such simple things can sometimes make such a HUGE difference in one persons life.

Absolutely loved this one from beginning to end!

If you haven’t read this one, again…RUN, don’t walk to get this one!
If you haven’t heard of it, ADD it to your TBR list now.
You will not be disappointed!

The mob. Jail. Suicide (multiple). Bullying in school. Getting even… and teenage problems/drama are just a few of the threads in this one…so if any are a trigger, beware…but aside from that…DON’T MISS THIS ONE!

I wish I could give it more than 5 stars! Probably one of the best I’ve read this year!!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperMuse for an ARC of the audiobook which releases on 11/14.

#Kinfolk by #SeanDietrich. Narrated by the author! (Wonderful)

5++ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for me!

Follow me for all my up and coming reviews at #BookReviews_with_emsr on Instagram.

Thanks for reading! 📖📚

I had the opportunity to listen to an ARC audio version of this book.
Nub is the town drunk who hangs out with his cousin, Benny and is estranged from his daughter, Emily. While hospitalized following a drunk driving incident, Nub meets 15 year old Minnie, seemingly orphaned by her mother’s suicide and unknowingly pregnant. In an effort for a second chance and because Nub is drawn to Minnie due to their commonalities of being picked on and losing a parent to suicide, Nub joins AA and sobers up so he can foster Minnie. Meanwhile, Emily is dealing with her own health challenges and Sug, the father that Minnie is unaware of, is released from prison but pursued by mob-like criminals. The story unfolds with life changing events for all the characters.
I really enjoyed both the story and the narration, read by the author, for the most part. I love listening to an author read their own book because they get the meaning and nuances just right. Sean of the South does an excellent job with this reading as far as voice inflections, accents and subtle nuances. I really liked the funny church jokes and Nub’s metaphors and references as I also grew up in Southern Baptist church. I see that other reviewers enjoyed the author’s singing but I absolutely did not. He has a decent voice but I just found the singing really distracting.
The story itself was very heartwarming. The characters were well developed and so likable! Of course, much of it was far-fetched but it is fiction so readers can just “enjoy the ride” and it’s nice to read about so much good in today’s messed up world. I am not a fan of country music (I find it annoying) so my only criticism is that there were too many references to old timey country music artists that seemed unnecessary to the story.
#NetGalley #HarperMuse

I loved this audiobook! I wasn't sure at first that I would but it sort of snuck up on me, hooking me in with its wonderful characters. The characters are so realistic you are sure you know them, They become friends and you have to know what happens to them. Alcoholic and chain smoking Nub has always been a screwup, and this cost him his marriage and relationship with his daughter. When he befriends fifteen year old Minnie he begins to change into a totally different man. Minnie is a big girl who gets picked on at school and the teachers aren't much help. You have to feel sorry for this poor girl who has had such a hard life. She too changes drastically over the course of the book. This is a book about love and change and family. This is the first book I have read by this author but it won't be my last. He has a way with words that makes you really feel the story. His colorful descriptions and subtle humor make you see and feel life in small town Alabama in the 1970s. He also has some surprises in store for the reader. The author narrated the book himself and does an excellent job. In listening to the afterword it is apparent that he has drawn from events in his own life to create this book. I received an ARC of this audiobook from Netgalley.

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.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for this ARC.

Kinfolk is delightful. Sean Dietrich is a master storyteller. I loved this audiobook and hearing him read his story.
Once you start listening, this one is hard to put down.

5 stars

Y'all! This book! To start, let me just say that I went into listening to this book with a wee bit of trepidation. I had high expectations - fueled by my love for Sean Dietrich's writing, both his novels and his entries on Facebook, and his podcast. I know what this man is capable of and I was hoping I wouldn't be disappointed.
Happily, I was not. Not one weensy bit.
This is indeed about kinfolk - the ones we're born with, and the ones we find along the way and incorporate into our life. And it's about second chances, and how it's never to late to get something right. When Nub, a 65-year-old self-professed screwup, comes across Minnie, a 15-year-old dropout and Waffle House cook, he sees a fellow wounded soul who needs help. His help. And while he still doesn't get everything right, bless his heart, his good heart does shine through. Set in Alabama in the 70s, this book is Southern to the bone. It's chock full of eccentrics who anyone from the Deep South (including myself) will recognize. And can Sean Dietrich deliver a wonderful narration? Well, of course he can. Not only that, he sings at appropriate moments, and it's a delight, as is this book. Just read it, y'all.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Harper Muse for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

EXCERPT: Thanksgiving. November 23, 1972. The world was going to pot in more ways than one. Violence and idiocy ruled the culture. The hit movie was 'The Godfather', which featured two hours of sustained gunfire interrupted only by boobs. Don McLean's 'American Pie' governed the radio waves, a two chord song that was approximately the same duration as veterinary school. Nixon was in office, so there was that. The Vietnam War was still in full swing, and everyone was either protesting it, protesting the protesters, or protesting Jane Fonda. Meantime, in Alabama, Governor George Corley Wallace, the same man who once shouted from podiums for "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever," was head honcho. The world was a mess. And now 1973 was on the horizon, and Nub wasn't nearly drunk enough to face it.

ABOUT'KINFOLK': Sometimes it’s the most unlikely meetings that give us life’s greatest gifts. 1970s, Southern Alabama. Sixty-two-year-old Jeremiah Lewis Taylor, or “Nub,” has spent his whole life listening to those he loves tell him he’s no good—first his ex-wife, now his always-disapproving daughter. Sure, his escapades have made him, along with his cousin and perennial sidekick, Benny, just a smidge too familiar with small-town law enforcement, but he’s never harmed anyone—except perhaps himself. Nub never meant to change his ways, but when he and fifteen-year-old Waffle House waitress Minnie form an unlikely friendship, he realizes for the first time that there may be some good in him after all. Six-foot-five Minnie has been dealt a full deck of bad luck—her father is a convicted murderer serving a life sentence, her mother is dead and buried, and she has a Grand Ole Opry–worthy singing voice with no place to perform. Oh, and there’s the small fact that she’s unexpectedly pregnant, courtesy of a no-good high-school boy. Gradually, Nub realizes the gift he’s been a second chance to make a difference.

MY THOUGHTS: Kinfolk - (in anthropological or formal use) a person's blood relations, regarded collectively or singularly. A member of one's own family, one's own flesh and blood, a blood relative, a loved one.

And that's what Kinfolk is about: family, in one form or another.

The dedication had me clutching for tissues before the book proper even started. Kinfolk is the book I wanted when I read an earlier offering from this author - The Incredible Winston Browne. I liked that, but I love Kinfolk.

I felt all the emotions while reading Kinfolk - sorrow, joy, and anger at the absolute stupidity of some of the human race. Make that a lot of the human race. I laughed, and I cried. My heart twisted itself into knots at the way Minnie was treated and at the way Nub changed his life so that he could care for Minnie. I cried for Emily, for her feelings of rejection and her unrecognized love for her father. I cried for Nub, for his youthful stupidity, and for the world wearing him down. I applauded him for the strength he showed when he needed to; for reaching deep down into his reserves and proving everyone wrong about him - even himself.

The characters are richly drawn, the plot intriguing. I was immediately immersed in the 1970s Alabama setting, in the small town of Parke (or PAPKE as it is spelled on the water tower).

I loved every word of this book and now I can see why Sean Dietrich is called Sean of the South. He writes with a raw and poignant lyrical beauty and his warm humour shines through. There is an awful lot of himself in these pages.

Sean Dietrich narrates the audiobook of Kinfolk amazingly well. It would be one of, if not the best narration I have ever listened to. And he can sing beautifully. His voice is rich and has a wonderful range of both tone and inflection. Mr Dietrich, I hope you don't mind me saying this, but if you ever let anyone else narrate your books then you're a danged fool. And I certainly don't think you are that.

Kinfolk would have to be audiobook of the year for me.

The full 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

#Kinfolk #NetGalley

Kinfolk is due for publication November 14, 2023.

THE AUTHOR: As a child, I liked to write. I filled up notebooks with tales of the high-seas, shameless vixens, and steamy scenarios combining both of the aforementioned. My fifth grade teacher found one of my notebooks and scanned through it. She told me I wrote with too many commas, and encouraged me to pursue a career in construction work.

That, old, woman, never, liked, me.

Years later, I learned my teacher had left the school. She took a job at the Piggly Wiggly as a cashier. I went to visit the old girl, to show her the man I’d grown into.

She seemed genuinely glad to see me. And I was just as glad to find her wearing that red apron for a living. After visiting for a few minutes, I realized something I’d never noticed before. Beneath her hardshell exterior was a regular lady, working from nine to five for pennies. She was doing the best she could with her life. Just like me.

Before I left, she asked me what kind of work I did.

At the time, I worked in construction.

DISCLAIMER: Thank you a thousand times to Harper Muse for providing an audio ARC of Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

What a delightful book! I was laughing out loud in some parts, holding back tears in others. The characters are unique, the descriptions are wonderfully detailed and quirky, giving the book its flavor.

The narration of this book is superb! The author does a masterful job of bringing the book to life and making it real. I definitely recommend the audio version of this book though I'm sure the book version is also excellent.

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.

Sean Dietrich narrates his own book and no one could have done it better. He may be my new favorite male narrator. Love that sings several times in the audio.

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.

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.

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I don't really know what I expected, but I got it and so much more. You can't beat family drama, but I think the root of the story was redemption. A very nice piece of literary fiction.

Kinfolk is a poignant, character driven novel that follows multiple generations in a small Southern town. You will fall in love with these dynamic characters with tragic pasts and you'll root for them as they form unlikely and precious connections with each other.

It's 1970s Alabama and Nub is in his sixties and he's always been told he's no good. When he happens to meet a fifteen-year-old Waffle House waitress Minnie, they form an unlikely friendship. Nub starts to realize that maybe he is a good person as he sincerely seeks to help Minnie. Minnie has been dealt a hard hand. Her father is in prison, her mother is dead, and she's working at all hours instead of using her Grand Ole Opry-worthy singing voice. Oh, and she's pregnant.

Voiced by the author, the audiobook is absolutely breathtaking. His singing brings so much more of the story to life and his Southern accent is spot on. I cannot recommend this one enough. It is full of depth, redemption, and love.

After having loved Sean Dietrich's The Incredible Winston Browne, I was excited to receive this audiobook for review. Admittedly, though, I was worried that I might be disappointed this time because I had high expectations. I'm happy to report that this novel was even better than the other.

Sean Dietrich's wit and the interesting facts shared throughout the book help make this story of redemption, forgiveness, and found family a stand out. Listening to his smooth speaking voice and his soulful singing make the experience even better.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for allowing me early access to the ARC audiobook edition of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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.
The narration by Sean was perfection. I could listen to him talk all day. Xoxo Sean thanks for the love to all your readers at the end of the book.

Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich was narrated by the author and I was blown away. This 5 star audiobook surpassed all my expectations and I can’t believe I haven’t heard of this author before now.
The novel stole my thoughts and it felt like home. I had a love hate relationship with this book. There was bulling, addiction and heartbreak but lots of special healing moments.
I live in South Carolina and I laughed out loud through most of this incredible story. Simple put, I loved this and highly recommend it. And if you want to hear an incredible narration then picks this up. The author wooed me with his voice and singing and he’s one of the best I’ve ever heard.
Thanks Harper Muse via NetGalley.

I loved reading this wonderful story about Nub Taylor, aka the town drunk , with a good heart. His ex-wive and daughter Emily both despise him. He's definitely had his fair share of bad decisions resulting in unfortunate results.
Then he meets Minnie Bass at an unfortunate trip to the hospital. She's a teenager that is also going thru some difficult times and is working at Waffle House. He mother just committed suicide so she's really going thru the struggles. He has a soft spot for her and decided he's going to get his life together and help her out. This is just a really good novel about a small town fella in Alabama.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC/ audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I loved this story and definitely recommend it.

This was a really great read! Something new and different to listen to. I enjoyed the narration and the story was really well written! The characters are interesting and engaging. I highly recommend this book!

Five Stars!!! What a great book. This book is for you if you like - stories about family, historical fiction, second chances or hope.

This is a story about a family in the south that experienced tough times and let it define them for a lifetime. People that were convinced that nothing good could happen to them because they did not deserve it. Life is tough and our job is not to let the tough times define us. When someone decides to take a second chance and turn their life around, don't hold them back. We think we want them to change, but we are afraid of what it might mean for us. That is what this book is about.

Kinfolk is well written and the characters are engaging. The main character Nub is a grumpy old southern drunk with a quick wit, lots of sarcasm and laughs at himself often. This book made me laugh out loud at times and that is unusual for me. But this book will also make me sad because every family has tough times, this family seemed to have more than enough. The author does a great job of working current events into the book which sets the tone.

I am usually not excited when an author narrates their own audiobook. Writing a story and making a story come to life in an audiobook seem to be two separate skills. So when I heard the author was the narrator I was disappointed. But Sean was perfect making this story come to life for me. He is a great writer as well as narrator.

This book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys stories about family, historical fiction, second chances, or hope. It is a heart-wrenching tale of a southern family who, after experiencing tough times, allowed it to define them for a lifetime. The story is a reminder that life can be tough, but it is not our job to let the tough times define us. Instead, we should take a second chance and turn our lives around.
The main character, Nub, is a grumpy old southern drunk with a quick wit, lots of sarcasm, and a tendency to laugh at himself. The author, Sean, does an excellent job of making the characters engaging and the story entertaining, with a great mix of humor and sadness. The book is also relevant to current events, which sets the tone perfectly.

Update: I'm upgrading this to 5 stars. I haven't stopped thinking about this book and these characters. This book is even better than Demon Copperhead and deserves to have a huge audience!

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I just finished listening to Kinfolk written and narrated by Sean Dietrich.
I give this book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This is a fictional memoir of Jeremiah "Nub" Taylor, set in 1972 in small town Alabama. When we met Nub, he's a middle-aged drunk, without much self-worth and a huge chip on his shoulder. He's divorced, and he is at odds with his adult daughter, Emily. He seems quite accident prone, but much of that seems to correlate to his drinking.

He ends up sharing a hospital room with Minnie Bass, a very large and tall teenager. He runs into her over and over. He sees her being bullied by another kid and steps in to help. He discovers she's the chef at the local Waffle House. They form a friendship, and when her mother dies and Minnie is sent to an orphanage, Nub decides to take her into his home. To do that, he has become sober first. He does it because she needs him. She's not only homeless she's also pregnant at 15 years old.

There is a bit more of a plot. Minnie thinks her father is long dead, but he has just gotten out of jail. Some mobsters are after him and his daughter. This provides a bit more action. Also, Minnie is naturally talented with singing ability, so we see this develop with support.

Great character development and natural dialogue. Narration was very well done by the author.

The end was well-written up until the very end when the great exit was spoiled! That part was too hard to swallow, and the book would have been better without that reversal.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Muse for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Trigger warnings - alcoholism, car accidents, bullying, cancer, fire, shooter in public area, gunshots

I absolutely loved this book. I could listen to this narrator all day. The characters were my favorite type of character - not all good or all bad.

Kinfolk, is a beautiful must read!

I absolutely loved this book. The audiobook is next level.

A story of love, forgiveness, hope, and family that have you on edge for what's next.

I fell in love with the characters. It's a book with all the feels and characters that pull at your heartstrings. It is totally a favorite of 2023 and will be on the list of favs and highly recommended reading.

It is totally a book hangover worthy read.

Sean Deitrich did an outstanding job with the audio narration.

A blend of southern, family, literary fiction that pulls at your heart strings. I don’t know how I haven’t heard of or come across this author before, but I absolutely fell in love with this writing. (And the audiobook solidified that love for me).

The main characters we follow-Nub, Minnie, Benny and Emily- are the most beautifully tragic quartet. They are beyond flawed but balance that with being realistic, honest and heartwarming. Their individual character development throughout the novel pulls at your heartstrings and makes you feel like you are apart of their family of misfits.

Each character tackles different themes (and not give them away) and their point of view on them which is enlightening.

There are so many great things to say about this book and I highly highly recommend!

Thank you #netgalley for the ARC of #Kinfolk !

This is my first novel by Sean Dietrich and it won't be my last.
He is known for his storytelling of the American south and he tells it extremely well.
This is a story of hope, love and forgiveness set in 1970's Southern Alabama.
I love that the author narrates his own novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an arc of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I read Sean Dietrich’s blog everyday and really enjoy his writing. This book was totally enjoyable and I loved that it was narrated by the author. A really good story about love, friendship and second chances.

A historical Southern fiction about Nub, the town drunk, whom everyone has given up on including his family. He meets a 14 year old pregnant girl and become a light in her storm.
I listened to this on audio and I loved the narrators voice. I found this very inspiring. No matter how far gone one is they can still be a savior for someone else. People who have the most heartache in life can be the most empathetic. They understand the struggle. Meeting Minnie and helping her made Nub and better person. She saved him as much a he saved her. Great store telling. I will definitely read more of Sean Dietrich's publications.
Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Muse publications for allowing me to ready the ARC.

Many people make excuses for their behavior and their mistakes. Not "Nub" Taylor. He owns them. He knows he's made a mess of his life, and while he wishes he hadn't, he can't see a way to turn things around. It doesn't help that just about everyone in town and those around him remind him of all his past mistakes. Something stirs in "Nub" when he sees a young girl being bullied by some teenage boys and he feels drawn to stand up for her, to protect her, and to even provide some joy in her life, showing the reader that there just might be some hope for "Nub" Taylor. This book was hard to read initially, because the characters are all dealing with hard things. However, Dietrich's beautiful storytelling of life in the South, with his cast of memorable characters who all have some degree of trouble themselves, gives the reader so much to pull for as the story unfolds. Not only did I find myself rooting for most of the individuals in the story which Dietrich developed so well, but I could relate to many of them as people I know or those I meet in my community. This book was a great reminder that life is hard, we need to give each other grace, and we always have hope. Well done, Sean Dietrich!

I really enjoyed this book, including the author and the narrator. Such a sweet story about a southern group of friends turned family facing the world together. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for a copy of this audiobook for an honest review.

Kinfolk was my first book by this author, "Sean of the South," who has been writing for quite a while, and I've just been looking other directions. I'm on to him now, and will pick up more of his work, and give a listen to his podcast under his moniker (above-given "s of s").

I listened to this one, and wished I'd also had an e-book, which I'll gather up soon. The story wrapped me in straightway, with Nub finding Minnie, and needs must when the devil drives. . .putting them directly in each other's path, two oddballs for sure. Mix in the Grand Old Opry, and a baby named Bun, and you have a family forming itself right in your read! Are there problems? of course, but Nub and Minnie are up to the challenges. A sweet Southern read.

*A sincere thank you to Sean Dietrich, Harper Muse, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #Kinfolk #NetGalley

Thank you Harper Muse for allowing me to read and review Kinfolk on NetGalley.

Published: 11/14/23

Narrator: Sean Dietrich (Author)

Stars: 5

Impressive. This is why I read. I could have devoured this in one sitting. However, I forced myself to savor the story. Books that I enjoy to this degree are few and too far in between. I postponed writing this to hold the finality at bay. Press send and the book becomes a memory. I wanted it to go on.

I truly dislike authors narrating their work. And, almost passed on Kinfolk for that reason. The synopsis and Cover drew me to request what I now know is a beautiful story.

Dietrich wrote exactly how I know small towns to work. I'm not giving examples, so as not to spoil. I am not a writer or narrator, I'm a proud reader. I never had to ask where did you grow up? Where did you get your info? Every situation, every character, business and traditions I didn't have to question -- they were spot on. I understand small towns. Convicts, murders, and well Minnie no, but I could relate in a parallel world.

I look forward to exploring more of the author's work.

I loved this story. There may be a life lived the wrong way, but there is always time for good change, forgiveness, and hope.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Harper Muse for an audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After listening to Kinfolk, I immediately went looking to see what else Sean Dietrich has written. He has excellent voice in this story and his writing made me feel like I was right there, in Parke, Southern Alabama with Jeremiah Lewis Taylor, his cousin and sidekick Benny and Minnie, a 15 YO waitress with no family. Jeremiah, better known as Nub was not a good husband, father or grandfather. He was a drinker, brawler and ne'er to well. When he meets Minnie, something inside him changes. They become friends and he realized that Minnie has an amazing voice, one that could easily make a go at the Grand Ole Opry. Minnie has been bullied because her father is in prison, and she is gangly and looks different. When one of the bullies begins paying attention to her, she ends up pregnant. She is placed into a home for unwed mothers, and Nub applies to be her guardian. Never did he plan on changing, but Minnie brings something into his life and slowly, he becomes the man he always could have been.

All I can say is WOW. This is a powerful story about found family, forgiveness, new beginnings and the resiliency of man. Nub was such a great character. Although his actions definitely harmed himself, he did not do anything to harm others. Even when he ended up in a brawl, he didn't start it, only protected himself or someone else. Minnie is a wonderful character as well. She was basically alone after the death of her mother and was taken advantage of by the town bully. The 1970s in Southern Alabama were different, it was very much "the good old boys club". Men ran the town, the economy and often the law and the privileged, the sports stars, the sons could get away with just about anything. Nub was threatened, his house burgled and set afire and more, but nothing was done. The secondary characters, his friend Benny, his daughter Emily and others were well fleshed out and played important roles in the book. Emily had me tearing up more than once, the daughter that was basically abandoned by her father, but never gave up trying to have a relationship with him. Kinfolk is a well written, gritty, at times dark, at times humorous book that pulled me in and kept me gripped from start to finish. The narration was done by the author himself. He has an amazing voice and gave this book an added level of enjoyment. He knew just where to add emphasis and expression. I highly recommend this book, and if you are one who listens to audiobooks, then listen to this one, you won't be disappointed. I highly recommend Kinfolk.