10 | April | 2018

Title: Mornings on Main
Author: Jodi Thomas
Genre: Contemporary Fiction; Romance
Pages: 384
Published: April 2018 – HQN
Source: Publisher; NetGalley

Description: When Jillian James lands in the small town Texas community of Laurel Springs, she’s definitely not planning to stay—except to find a few clues about the father who abandoned her and destroyed her faith in family.

Connor Larady is a single dad, and the only one caring for his grandmother, Eugenia, who has Alzheimer’s. And now he has to close Eugenia’s quilt shop. When Connor meets down-on-her-luck Jillian, he’s out of options. Can he trust the newcomer to do right by his grandmother’s legacy?

Jillian is done with relationships. But as she grows closer to Connor and Eugenia, she must consider giving up her nomadic life for a future with those who need her. (publisher)

My take: Jillian has lived all over the world, it seems. She traveled with her father, an oil worker who went from job to job. Growing up this way made her a wanderer of sorts. After college she’d work in a town and move on when she wanted to another. In her search for information about her father and mother Jillian arrives in Laurel Springs. She’s hoping to find a job and a place to live but isn’t looking for a relationship. Her new boss, Connor Larady, has deep roots in the town. He also can offer a job to Jillian running his grandmother’s quilt shop. She can’t turn down the offer and she soon can’t ignore her attraction to Connor.

Mornings on Main is a story about two people who are very different yet similar in small ways. I enjoyed Jodi Thomas’ novel about creating family and appreciating people for who they are. It was a total comfort read for me at a time when I needed it. Fans of small town stories and Jodi Thomas are sure to enjoy it.

Praise for Jodi Thomas:

“You can count on Jodi Thomas to give you a satisfying and memorable read.” —Catherine Anderson, New York Times bestselling author

“Western romance legend Thomas’s Ransom Canyon will warm readers with its huge heart and gentle souls.” —Library Journal

“Compelling and beautifully written, it is exactly the kind of heart-wrenching, emotional story one has come to expect from Jodi Thomas.” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“This tale will grab readers, who will fall in love with the main characters and be just as enamored of the others.” —Library Journal, starred review, on Lone Heart Pass

A guest post from Jodi Thomas:

I just love this quote from my newest release MORNINGS ON MAIN, “Ah! A slower pace in a small town would give me time to think,” Jillian James decided.

When you grow up in a small town you’re very much aware of how much the people around you shape your life. No matter how old I get, I’ll still be Cliff and Sally’s daughter. I’ve always loved wandering the main streets in small towns. Stepping into the shops. Talking to the people. Sometimes all you have to say is, “How are things going?” and an hour later you’re still listening. In MORNINGS ON MAIN, I wrote about the people of Laurel Springs.

As the stories of the town’s history is displayed in quilts, MORNINGS ON MAIN weaves three women’s stories together. One beginning to collect memories, one always leaving the past behind, and a one losing a lifetime.

I hope readers will think about how they store their memories. Whether in quilts or scrapbooking, a diary or pictures. Our lives are stored in pieces, in memories that shape our beliefs and actions. I’d hope that my readers will smile when they finish my story and maybe pull out a few of their favorite memories to enjoy.

Come visit Laurel Springs, and stay for a while!

Jodi Thomas

About the author:

A fifth-generation Texan, New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Jodi Thomas chooses to set the majority of her novels in her home state, where her grandmother was born in a covered wagon. A former teacher, Thomas traces the beginning of her storytelling career to the days when her twin sisters were young and impressionable.

With a degree in family studies, Thomas is a marriage and family counselor by education, a background that enables her to write about family dynamics. Honored in 2002 as a Distinguished Alumni by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Thomas enjoys interacting with students on the West Texas A&M University campus, where she currently serves as Writer in Residence.

Commenting on her contribution to the arts, Thomas said, “When I was teaching classes full- time, I thought I was making the world a better place. Now I think of a teacher or nurse or mother settling back and relaxing with one of my books. I want to take her away on an adventure that will entertain her. Maybe, in a small way, I’m still making the world a better place.”

When not working on a novel or inspiring students to pursue a writing career, Thomas enjoys traveling with her husband, renovating a historic home they bought in Amarillo and checking up on their two grown sons.

For more information, please visit Jodi’s website at www.jodithomas.com.