Happy Saturday, Friends!
Today I wanted to share a book recommendation for you. Last month I read The Thing About Home by Rhonda McKnight, and I’m STILL thinking about the book. So I decided to recommend it to you in case you haven’t had an opportunity to put it on your TBR pile.
About the Book
Home is not a place—it’s a feeling.
Casey Black needs an escape. When her picture-perfect vow renewal ceremony ends in her being left at the altar, the former model turned social media influencer has new fame—the kind she never wanted. An embarrassing viral video has cost her millions of followers, and her seven-year marriage is over. With her personal and business lives in shambles, Casey runs from New York City to South Carolina’s Lowcountry hoping to find long-lost family. Family who can give her more answers about her past than her controlling mom-slash-manager has ever been willing to share.
What Casey doesn’t expect is a postcard-worthy property on a three-hundred-acre farm, history, culture, and a love of sweet tea. She spends her days caring for the land and her nights cooking much needed Southern comfort foods. She also meets Nigel, the handsome farm manager whose friendship has become everything she’s never had. And then there are the secrets her mother can no longer hide.
Through the pages of her great-grandmother’s journals, Casey discovers her roots run deeper than the Lowcountry soil. She learns that she has people. A home. A legacy to uphold. And a great new love story—if only she is brave enough to leave her old life behind.
My Thoughts
In The Thing About Home, Rhonda McKnight hooked me on the very first page and didn’t let go until long after I reached the end. Somehow, Ms. McKnight managed to do a jilted-married bride and it worked perfectly. I had to know how Casey’s story would end. A sweet chance at romance, finding family, and finding where she belong kept me turning the pages. This book brings you extended family, Southern cooking, a swoony new love interest, and faith. It’s a perfect combination that endears readers.
I loved the little flashbacks we got to see when Casey reads her great-grandmother’s journals. I can only imagine what my own great-grandmother would have to say if she’d journaled.
Now that the book is over, I keep thinking about the lessons Casey learned that I could apply to my own life. Plus, I wonder how many people will put Nigel on their book boyfriend list. :) All in all, this was a five-star read for me.
Have you read this? What’s your favorite Southern dish to eat?
Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace thanks to the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior. She writes to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness. She spends her days hanging out with her husband and their two boys. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Find out more on her website at http://tonishiloh.com.
This sounds great, I haven’t come across it but will definitely add it to my tbr list!
I’m from the UK, so I have to admit I’ve never really eaten any traditional southern food. I love reading about it in books though, it sounds amazing. I would particularly like to try shoofly pie or chess pie, or biscuits and gravy (which we’ve estabished here bofore would not be at all like English biscuits and gravy lol). Even sweet tea- tea to me is drunk hot with a little milk, but sweet tea in hot weather sounds perfect!
Hi Toni!Rhonda McKnight’s book sounds fascinating. As a retiree, I enjoy reading book that tie in multi-generations. While cleaning my parents house, I found my German mom’s WW2 journal detailing the Battle of Kalingrad. Few Americans know about the horrors my mom and the people from East Prussia faced at the hands of the Russians. Very similar to what is occurring in the Ukraine today. Added the book to my wish list. Unfortunately the Kindle cost is 1/2 of my month’s book budget. June & July many authors had great promotions and sales. My Kindle received 30 new books. Too many books and not enough time – even in retirement. Eyes can only read for so long. Enjoy your weekend.
I haven’t read this, and haven’t heard of this author before, so I’ll be checking it out!! My own roots are firmly entrenched in the south, since the 1700’s on my mom’s side! I love my mom’s chicken and dumplings (which I now have to make myself if I get them), and of course turnip greens (and the turnips, which for some reason, are never sold together anymore), collard greens, black-eyed peas.
Sweet tea is perfect in hot weather and hot tea with a little milk is perfect in winter. :)
Check the library for it too!
Chicken and dumplings is sooo good!
Thank you for the review! The book sounds fabulous! I’ve added it to my TBR list & found it on Hoopla! ♥️
My favorite southern dish is corn casserole. I make it from my husband’s grandmother’s recipe & it’s like having her back with us for a few moments every time I make it🥰
Excellent review! I just bought a copy of the book. 😀
Haven’t read this. Will put it on my TBR!!
No. I have not read it. My favorite Southern dish is biscuits and gravy. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
Love how food connects us to people!
Hope you enjoy!
Yay!
I love biscuits and gravy!