Michelle Stimpson

(I read this author's debut ChristFic novel almost twenty years ago. Wowzers—the flying of time! Now, on to the book at hand...)

Not only did this contemporary fiction novel's title and vibrant cover grab my attention, but I remained interested all the way through the read.

Granted, greens don't play much of an actual role in this story. I think a title like Sisters with Seasoning or something in that vein would've had more meaning. Especially given that the pair of sisters in this novel are show more women of a certain age.

In any case, this story has some kick to it with flavorful dashes of humor and sass. And the thoughtful, gradual approach to Rose and Marvina's conflict gave me space to feel for them, to care about their fears and hurts as well as their dreams and joys. By the time the sisters' central matter began coming to a head, rather than feeling tired of the two of them for being at odds, I was pulling for them to reach a resolution.

I especially liked that I couldn't tell ahead of time exactly what the resolution would be.

On a different note, regarding the messed-up behavior of the leadership at Marvina's church: It would take more in a story to really deal with issues like that. They're reflections of deeper, widespread problems damaging real people in the church, and on that score, the sudden, partial smoothing-over toward the end of this novel is like a bandage smoothed over a scratched area of skin while a tumor lies beneath the surface. Unfortunately, that's also a reflection of the case in too many churches, so Marvina's "bandaged up" situation wasn't a good look to me. Didn't leave me hopeful.

Aside from that issue, I loved this novel. show less

I must admit that I didn't enjoy this book. It was too predictable and the author tried to hide the lack of development of the plot and characters behind a multitude of religious verses. This "heroine" was not what she claimed to be when the going got tough. We are all human, but her continual repetition of stupid decisions showed she wasn't learning any lessons. A different ending would have provided a better opportunity for the author to show growth and maturity.

The main character show more Patricia "Peaches" Miller was presented as independent, strong and religious woman. She had a young son named Eric, a fiance named Quinn (not her son's father, Raphael) and a great job. But her fiance got a promotion requiring him to move from Texas to Philadelphia and that is really when all hell broke loose.
Peaches didn't want to take that leap of faith and move to another city because she didn't want to be "dependent on man". She gave various reasons from not wanting to find another job to her son's barely stable relationship with his bio dad to her friends in Texas. The fiance offered to fly the son down for the once a month visitation with bio dad, but Peaches wouldn't budge. Peaches knew her job had an office in Philadelphia, but she just kept spewing the "Independent woman" rhetoric and asserting that she "didn't need him to take care of her and her son".

Keep in mind that Peaches was aware that the company she was working for was undergoing a financial transition and was having difficulty. She also complained that her baby's father Raphael was inconsistent and not a great father, while her fiance Quinn was a great role model and very loving to her son. Not one to be dependent, Peaches and Quinn separated and he moved to Philly. Peaches then began sleeping with her son's father, who was engaged and living with someone else.
She hid that fact from her mother and all of her friends because she obviously knew she went from a steak to ground beef. It came as no surprise to me to find out that the man she described as a loser, was in fact, a loser in the end and left her more damaged than before. In order to truly sympathize with Peaches, I wish that the author had made Peaches go to counselling to deal with her issues such as her perception of her parent's marriage etc.

In this case, the author was determined to have a happy ending for one of God's children, so Peaches had to regain everything she threw away. I see the religious message that the author was trying to impart to the reader, I didn't buy the ending. This book had potential, but it didn't live up to it for me. show less

Title: Joy For The Journey
Authors: Michelle Stimpson & CaSandra McLaughlin
Publisher: M.S. & C.M.
Series: Magnolia Gardens Book 3
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:

"Joy For The Journey" by authors: Michelle Stimpson & CaSandra McLaughlin

My Rationalization:

I found 'Joy for the Journey' one beautifully told ending in this Magnolia Garden series. I found from the read that no matter what was happened in one's life, by putting God first you will come out all right. All of the characters, show more for the most part, were absolutely wonderful, being well developed with each one having their own story told. Some of what happens in the story may not have been good news buts, all in all, it seems like all did work out and leave all in a good place.

The photo at the end of the book was beautifully done. show less

Title: Sisters with a Side of Greens
Author: Michelle Stimpson
Narrator: Susan Spain
Audible Logo Audible Audiobook*
Reviewed by: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Sisters with a Side of Greens" by Michelle Stimpson

My Thoughts:

'Sisters with a Side of Greens' is a well-written book that sometimes makes readers laugh and even tear up. From the read, one can see how the read brought out what happened between these two sisters, Rose and Marvina, which made them act as they did toward one another. And show more seeing how their mother brought on a lot of anger between the two girls had me shaking my head.

With Rose wanting her mom's recipe for this unique spice and only her sister Marvina being able to give it to her, we can see how Rose had no choice but to confront her sister about it. The story is mainly about what will happen with this. Also, will these sisters be able to finally talk and see what the problem was that caused all this rip with them not being able to get along over the years? There will be a lot going on in this story, and one will find out about these two sisters. Their lifestyle, death in the family, husbands, exes, children...[dead and alive], and even helping a young girl with what was going on in her life.

Be ready for a soulful read that will keep you turning the pages to see what is next for these two sisters and a few other interesting characters from the minister, ex, and others.

I loved the ending, especially how they [the sisters] came up with the appropriate name for this unique seasoning. Were these sisters now getting along?

If you are looking for a story about family, southern home cooking, exciting side characters, and, above all, a Spice that only one person had..then you have come to the right place to get it all.

To get all of the story, you must pick up 'Sisters with a Side of Greens' to see how well this author tells it all to the reader.

Yes, I recommend this novel to you. show less