Robin Jones Gunn: Tea with Elephants

By Kelly Bridgewater

Ever since they met as teenagers volunteering at a conference center in Costa Rica 20 years ago, Fern Espinoza and Lily Graden have shared a close friendship, even though they live in different states. They can hardly believe it when their teen dream of traveling to Africa together becomes a reality. It's the trip of a lifetime--but life sure isn't what they thought it would be back when they were young.

Along with their suitcases, each woman brings along emotional baggage that weighs heavily on them. Yet the people they meet and the places they experience have the power to change their hearts--but only if they surrender to the lessons God wants to teach them in this unexpected land of emerald tea fields, graceful giraffes, and rambunctious elephants.

Pack your bags and get ready for adventure as Robin Jones Gunn invites you on a safari of the heart in this vulnerable exploration of how to move forward in faith even when the future is uncertain.

 

My Thoughts:

Tea with Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn reminded me a lot of her Sisterchicks series. I have loved Gunn's writing since I picked up True Friends with Christy and Katie back in high School. Now almost an empty-nester myself, there is a lot of changes coming to my life soon. It is nice to see Gunn create characters who are teenagers and handling that part of their life, then she moves into young adults, then adults, then late thirties adults. With Tea with Elephants, I enjoyed the concept and the characters, but the story really did not capture my attention. It read more like Fern's opinions on her trip. A journal entry of every day. Her thoughts. Her actions. Her descriptions. Once in a while, Gunn would thrown something to move the plot along, but I wanted more in-depth. Sometimes we had discussions between Lily and Fern, but since they were good friends, it took them a long time to allow their own walls to come down and be honest with each other. I found that odd. If they had been such good friends for a long time. Why didn't they share their woes on the plane to Africa or as soon as they entered their first cabin. Why keep it hidden from each other? Gunn does a wonderful job at describing the setting. If readers are interested in Africa, this might help hold the thirst at bay. For me, I have no desire to visit Africa, so it did not seem like a place I wanted to visit. Overall, Tea with Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn is a good friendship story, but the story lacked the movement of what I wanted to see when two friends are spending time on the side of the world.

I received a complimentary copy of Tea with Elephants by Robin Jones Gunn from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Purchase Tea with Elephants

Spring Book Covers

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Spring has finally arrived! A little bit warmer, possibly even a lot warmer, depending on where you live. What better way than to share covers that have flowers all in bloom or green grass everywhere. Here are some covers that share the colors and joys of Spring. (All images comes from Goodreads.)

Beauty Among Ruins by J’nell Ciesieskli

Beauty so Rare by Tamera Alexander

Island Dreamer by Robin Jones Gunn

Seasons Under Heaven by Beverly LaHaye and Terri Blackstock

Times and Seasons by Beverly LaHaye and Terri Blackstock

What about you? Do you enjoy scenery on a book cover? 

Robin Jones Gunn: Being Known

By Kelly Bridgewater

After her mom passed away, Jennalyn was in the midst of moving, having a baby, and helping her husband work toward his dream job. At the time, she thought she processed the shock and loss, but only now that Jennalyn has two small children, a lovely new home, a lucrative side hustle with her art, and a husband who is always working does she feel the full impact of the loss.

Enter an old boyfriend who knew Jennalyn well and who shares many fond memories of her mom. Jennalyn begins to doubt her marriage and all her other life choices ever since her mom passed away. It takes the power of truth, close friends who know her well, and a series of choices at the heart level before Jennalyn can surface from the confusion and see with clarity where her life is headed.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

I really don't enjoy women's fiction, but Robin Jones Gunn captured my attention with the Christy Miller series when I was a teenager, and I look forward to everything she writes whether it is YA or Women's fiction. Being Known continues the journey of adult, parenting group of friends that have devoted time to spend together. Either praying or talking about issues in their lives. It is nice to catch up with Christy Spencer and Sierra from Gunn's earlier writings. But it is also nice to hang with the new girls. Everytime I read Gunn's new series, Being Known included, I wish I had a group of Christian women I could hang out with and plan different get together days. It would be nice to have prayer partners who I can see actually caring about the situations in my life. Gunn does a wonderful job at showing the heartache of being a mother at home with kids all day while the husband works. Now one of her novels needs to show a mother who works 50 hours a week while her husband works 40 hours and she still has to come up and cook dinner, enforce chores, assign baths, and work on homework while the husband lounges on the couch watching television. That is a book I couldn't wait to get my hands on. In Being Known, I really admired the way Gunn handled the grief of losing a mother from Jennalynn's perspective. So many times novels mention once and then the characters appears to move on and never think about it again. So untrue. Losing my Daddy four years ago, it can hit at the most unexpected time, and I think about him almost every day. Overall, Being Known is not a typical women's fiction novel, I love how Gunn faces the harsh realities of being a mother and parent in her novel, but with grace and surrounded by friends. I highly recommend this series to anyone. Christian or not.

I received a complimentary copy of Being Known by Robin Jones Gunn from Waterbrook-Multnomah Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Purchase Being Known

Favorite Books of 2019

By Kelly Bridgewater

Another year is in the books and another year is before us.

I really enjoy doing this post every year to give a nod to some of my favorite books that has captured my attention for the previous year. (All Images come from Goodreads.)

So for 2019, here are my favorite reads:

Curse of Misty Wayfair by Jaime Jo Wright



Echoes Among the Stones by Jaime Jo Wright




Far Side of the Sea by Kate Breslin



Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn



The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke



Storm Rising by Ronie Kendig



The Killing Tide by Dani Pettrey



Diamond in the Rough by Jen Turano



Memories of Glass by Melanie Dobson



How about you? Did any of these books capture your attention? Are there different books you want to add to your favorite books of 2019 that I didn't include?

My Favorite Covers

By Kelly Bridgewater

What makes a cover appealing to you?

Is it the colors?

Is it the gesture of the heroine and hero on the cover?

Is it the allure of the suspense hidden in the pages?

I enjoy a cover that hints at what the story is about without actually giving away too much.

So for today, I want to share some of my favorite covers. In a couple of weeks, I will share the covers that really don't do it for me, even though I'm sure the story inside will take me away.  (Images taken from Goodreads, unless noted.)

The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson

 

The Number of Love by Roseanna M. White

 

Wings of the Wind by Connilyn Cossette

 

Kissing Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn

 

Blue Skies Tomorrow by Sarah Sundin

 

From This Moment by Elizabeth Camden

In Places Hidden by Tracie Peterson

 

Out of the Ordinary by Jen Turano

 

What about you? Do you enjoy some of these covers? Do you have any favorites you want to add to this list?

Robin Jones Gunn: Becoming Us

By Kelly Bridgewater

Five young women, including beloved Gunn characters Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen, gather for a simple Christmas party and soon become unlikely best friends. Told from the viewpoint of Emily, a timid young mom going through a difficult season of life, the regular gatherings provide the much needed community she's longed for. As the women begin sharing their life stories in Becoming Us they are endeared to each other and find ways to challenge, encourage, and help each other become the nurturing mothers they wished they'd had when they were growing up. They see themselves as Haven Makers and unite to be remembered for what they do and not for what was done to them.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Robin Jones Gunn was my first introduction to Christian fiction when I was a teenager with her Christy Miller series, so I have been looking forward to everything she creates. Luckily, with the novel Becoming Us, Christy Miller-Spencer makes a cameo as one of the five women trying to decipher how to be a mother, wife, and friend. With this installment, I met Emily, a transplant from North Carolina with her husband and her ten-year-old daughter. In the beginning, Gunn does a wonderful job at showing the insecurities of a mom to a new world with her family. Emily's emotions throughout the entire novel rang true to me. The relationship between the five women grew as the novel moved along. Emily opened up more as the story progressed and began to value the friendships. I believe this novel is like nothing I have ever read. It is true and shows the difficulties of beginning a life without the constant support of your family. It was well-written, and I really can't wait to read the next book in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn from Waterbrook-Multnomah Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

About the Author:

From Amazon

Robin Jones Gunn has written over 100 books with sales of over 5.5 million copies sold worldwide. She and her husband have two grown children and live in Hawai'i.

Her best-selling Father Christmas novels have been made into 3 Hallmark Movies. Get a behind the scenes look in her book, "How My Book Became a Movie".

Robin's best-selling, award winning novels include the Christy Miller series for teens as well as the Sierra Jensen and Katie Weldon series. The characters in these series continue in Christy & Todd: The College Years, The Married Years, The Baby Years and in The Haven Makers series. More details at www.ChristyMiller.com (Taken from Amazon.)

Why Did You Have To Leave Me?

By Kelly Bridgewater

Nothing is better than reading a series that you love and watching it end. I love picking up a book and noticing that is the first book in a series, but it has to be well-written and capturing my attention from the first book.

There are plenty of books that capture my attention and don't keep my interest the whole time. There are some hit and miss books in a series when you are reading it.

BUT . . .

there are a couple of series that capture my attention the whole time. I get lost in the characters and the setting. I anxiously await the next book in the series. I feel sad when I close the book and know the author is done.

Here are the series I hated to see end:

Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn (I'm glad she keeps writing books in this series with familiar characters.)

From Amazon

Christiansen family by Susan May Warren

From Amazon

The Tox Files by Ronie Kendig

From Amazon

The Patrick Bowers series by Steven James

From Amazon

Courage to Dreams series by Susan Anne Mason

From Amazon

All of Sarah Sundin's writings

From Amazon

What about you? Why not list any books or series that you have enjoyed so much that you hated to see it end?