After reading Tamara Angela Grant's first book, "Promises Made, Promises Kept," I said I'd be looking for her next release and was extremely happy to see that she'd been published again.
In "The Cooling Board" we meet the Darling family in Regal City, Louisiana. Unfortunately, the family has come together to bury Lulu Bell Darling Devereaux, the stitch that held this madness called a family together. All hell breaks loose as the family forgets that in this time of bereavement they should lean on one another for love and support instead of viciously going on the attack. As the family prepares for the last will and testament, Lulu Bell has her final say.
Will her crazy relatives utilize her words of wisdom and adjust themselves accordingly? Or has her loss caused an eternal rip for the Darling Devereaux family? I sincerely enjoyed "The Cooling Board." Set in the late 60's it's easy to vividly transcend into the setting, wording and hot button topics representative of that time. Regal City, Louisiana, is just as much apart of "The Cooling Board" as is the very eccentric family that readers will lovingly embrace, and in many cases relate to. Secrets, lies, jealousy and stubbornness have prevented them for so long to truly operate as a real family.
I guarantee that in reading this you're sure to reflect on your own family ties, the mending of fences, tears, laughter, all the while anxiously awaiting the turning of the pages. Now that I'm married, I realize that my husband's family, despite our differences, is my family as well. Initially that was not my understanding and I didn't plan to blend, mix or settle into his family because I felt like they were just that, his family. Besides, I had my own nutty family to deal with. Needless to say, I was wrong. While you can't choose your relatives, you can elect not to overindulge in some of the more outlandish parts. Now that I'm wiser, married, and a mom, I can fully appreciate all of the drama that makes up my uniquely crazy family and respectively have learned to value the time that we have.
Kudos, Tamara, for shining the light on families! Continued success!
-Nardsbaby 4.5 stars
The matriarch of the Darling-Devereaux family, Lulu Bell, has gone on to her glory. While everyone is trying to deal with the pain and regret, it's more difficult to have to deal with one another as the tension continually builds. Lulu Bell decided long before passing that the only way to get her family together was for everyone to make amends. The problem now is without her presence the family feels that they don't have to do anything.
Can Lulu Bell work a miracle from the grave? Or is trying to resolve the Darling-Devereaux issues too much? Tamara Grant has written a delightful story about a family with all of their imperfections, bitterness, justifications, sorrow and ways of life.
THE COOLING BOARD makes for great reading and I believe that it's the perfect book for a club discussion.
Reviewed by: Peaches for OOSA online book club
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