tomislavbodf07

Daily Hair and Body is hoppin’ like a sale barn on sheep and goat day, in the words of Donetta Bradford. Donetta is back to narrate half of Never Say Never, the third in Lisa Wingate’s delightful Daily, Texas, series. I’d been waiting to read this final book and Lisa kindly shared a copy for me to review. Just like a slice of Imagene’s pecan pie, you can’t wait to dig in, then want to savor every last bite. The story kicks off as Donetta, Imagene and Lucy head off to take a cruise. Except Hurricane Glorietta interferes and on the evacuation route, they meet up with Kai, as well as a bus loaded with members of the Holy Ghost Church. Naturally, Donettta hustles them all back to Daily and showers them with hospitality. And pie. Kai, who has been something of a refugee her whole life, narrates the other half of the story. She honestly shares stories of her ragtag past and makes us cheer as she finds herself attracted to the rascally Kemp Eldgridge, Donetta’s nephew and coach of the high school baseball team. Kai is also drawn to the faith and love that Donetta generously shares. Donetta does her best to make love blossom between Kai and Kemp, even while her heart breaks at inattention from her husband, a man whom she admits has the romance of a sack of beans. It’s an unexpected and powerful subplot. As Donetta admits, “Even though I didn’t want to, even though I was hard in my heart about it, and I had been for a long time, my eyes welled up and right there in the carport I broke down and started to cry.” With such insightful writing, the characters in Never Say Never take breath and come to life. It has a few weak points, such as the portrayal of Donetta’s arch enemy Betty Prine and it is unclear where Kai is in her relationship with God, but the last of this series was my favorite. The romance is well developed and realistic since Kemp gives Kai plenty of mixed signals. In the end, he emerges as the hero carrying a chain saw and leaves no doubt that love — and pie — will always be found in Daily, Texas. There’s even a little romance in the air for Imagene.

2022-11-14 13:26