Bette Lee Crosby

Be prepared for raw emotions…A baby is stolen from its crib in the middle of the night. The parents are devastated. Grief-stricken. But I felt compassion for the woman who raises the baby. How can that be? This beautifully written book will break your heart, but it is equally heartwarming. I found myself with conflicting emotions throughout the book.

The women in this book are the epitome of motherly love. With themes of family, loss, faith, and forgiveness, and filled with wonderful show more characters I was completely enthralled with this story.

Complex. A definite page-turner. Bette Lee Crosby proves herself to be a masterful storyteller.

I loved this book even though it left me feeling like my heart had been wrung out. show less

Reading a new book by author Bette Lee Crosby is always a pure pleasure. The words, the people, the setting, and the story that makes you feel as if you are living it. Sometimes you cry because your heart is broken; sometimes you cry because there is no other way to express the joy you feel.

After Margaret Rose McCutcheon – never Maggie, that person was from the long ago before time – buries her husband she comes to realize that not only will she have to figure out who to name as her show more beneficiary for their estate, she will have to figure out who she is now that she’s no longer Mrs. Albert McCutcheon. Albert was a very good man and they had a very good life together. But they didn’t have a family of their own and little by little Albert’s dreams became Margaret’s dreams. She lost track of herself, of what she may have wanted from life, just as she lost track of her siblings when her mother was forced to split them up when Margaret was a child. There were eight children, but all Margaret knows for sure is that her mother and one sister died years ago, and their father left one day and never returned.

While cleaning out Albert’s home office Margaret discovers that twenty-five years ago he hired a detective to find her family. The investigation was abruptly stopped and he never told her anything about it. Margaret tracks down the detective and convinces him to reopen the old, cold case. And so begins the journey of discoveries: memories, surprises, secrets, tragedies.

The narrative alternates between 1968, Margaret’s present in Charleston, and the early 1900’s where Maggie lived with her parents Martin and Eliza Hobbs and her brothers and sisters in the hills of Coal Creek, West Virginia. Life in Charleston with Albert has been good to Margaret Rose, but life in West Virginia was hard on Maggie and her siblings. Very hard. In the book, someone says of Martin, “Their daddy was the meanest man I ever set eyes on. The devil himself would’ve left town to be rid of him.” And that is a fitting description. He was a selfish, arrogant, cruel, uncaring liar and cheat. Not the young man who told Eliza he loved her and promised her a good life. His love was more of an obsessive possessiveness and the good life never materialized. The more the family grew the more he stayed away, often months at a time without a word – and without any support. The good old days weren’t so good for women in that time and place. Eliza had no voice, no rights, no skills to support them, nothing but the home that had belonged to her family. That and a lot of sadness and bewilderment at how Martin could treat his family so badly.

And then one day Martin leaves and is never seen again, and it becomes necessary for Eliza to split the family up. They lose touch with each other. Margaret is now determined to learn what became of them and vows to never be without family again.

When I Last Saw You is a beautiful story that unfolds and unfolds and unfolds, revealing more about the depth of Martin’s treachery, Eliza’s powerlessness and long-forgotten memories about what the Hobbs children endured. And a dark, dark, secret. It is a wonderful tale, full of well-drawn characters in both times and a plot that moves along smoothly. Thanks to Bette Lee Crosby for providing an advance copy of this book for my reading pleasure and honest opinion. This is another treasure to add to my library of this author’s touching, satisfying works. All opinions are my own. show less

“We’ll name her Jubilee, because this child is a celebration of our love.”

Thus, Jubilee’s story began and you will not want to miss it.

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Jubilee’s Journey is the sequel to Spare Change. Spare Change was the first book of Bette Lee’s that I read and it is still my favorite. I have been an avid fan of hers ever since.

The southern charm and giving nature of the characters captivate me. It makes me think of Hillary Clinton’s book, It Takes A Village. This book drives home the show more point that a community can accomplish so much more than a single individual. We can definitely learn some lessons from the loving and giving characters in Bette Lee’s novels.

I love her covers and this one speaks to me as strongly as all the others. They are some of the most touching and emotional covers in their simplicity. The cover design for Jubilee’s Journey was done by Kathleen Valentine of valentinedesign.com. Bette Lee will also occasionally incorporate a friend or fan’s name into her novels.

Living in coal country is never easy, but for Paul and Jubilee it became impossible.

Their mother died and my tears began. Paul did his best to be there for Jubilee – he never returned to school, so he did all he could think of to make Jubilee’s life better and took care of the house. After his father’s death, they were evicted from the only home they had ever known. How would Paul keep his promise to his mother to take care of Jubilee and his promise to his father to never work in the mine?

He knew of an aunt in Wyattsville, Virginia. He only had a name, Anita, but off they went.

Hurt McAdams dad had abused him and raised him with fear. As a defense, he took the offensive line and became a bully, then a murderer. He ended up in Wyattsville on his search to find his father and make him pay for his miserable life.

Oh no, Paul is in the store looking for work and here comes Hurt. I am very fearful, my heart is heavy with dread. I knew it. Bette!!!! But, what’s this? Who should arrive but Ethan Allen and I breathe a sigh of relief. No way will he allow anything bad to happen to Jubilee.

“Grandma Olivia’s nice. She helps kids in trouble.”

That being said, I knew things would be okay. Somehow.

Bette Lee Crosby writes stories as if they are biographies. They are full of the cruelties and unfairness of life, but also the beauty and wonder. The worlds and dialogue are so real, I feel as if I am there and I feel frustrated because I do not know what to do to help. She packs so much life and realism into her novels, sometimes a BOX of tissues is not enough. I laugh and cry with the characters. I go through their highs and lows, their ups and downs, all the while trying to figure out how Bette is going to make this end with a happy ever after.

The ending left me begging for more. I was sitting on the edge of my seat as if my happiness was on the line.

I received this book from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review. I can hardly wait to see what she has in store for us next. show less

Loneliness is a powerful thing. We’ve all been lonely but I hope not so many of us have been as heartbreakingly lonely as Suzanna. All her life. No one since her mama has really seemed to care about her. She has the love of her daughter Annie but that is not the same as the love of other adults, having relationships. And lying is a powerful thing, too. When is it okay to lie? Ever? Never? Under what circumstances?

There is such a sense of suspense throughout the book, right up until the show more very end. Will Suzanna get to be happy? Will her lies be found out and take away the warm feeling now encasing her and throw her back into the cold? And as important – will Suzanna make some downright stupid decisions based on her old understanding of things or how she thinks things “should” be?

I had to remind myself that this was 1960 – if women are restrained and constrained and put down now, picture it then. And I also had to remind myself just how young Suzanna still was and how limited her experience and world view were. No high school diploma, no work experience except for that short time at the snack shack, no freedom, no close friends. Her life had been a virtual prison since the time her mother died. Her father was cruel and heartless, abusive. So was Earl. He may have thought he loved Suzanna but it was a physical attraction, ownership, controlling and Annie meant less than nothing to him. It is amazing that being held down as she was for most of her life Suzanna found the courage to leave at all.

And the lies. She saw Annie happy, loved, content, and she felt the same. But the lies didn’t come easy Her goal, what she hoped to gain was all about feelings, not money or possessions.

A Million Little Lies was Inspiring, heartwarming, and often just plain scary. There is such a strong plot and interesting cast of well-developed, believable characters that I was hooked from the start, not knowing what would happen but sure of what I wished for. Any book by author Bette Lee Crosby is always a treat, and this is no exception. She tells such a wonderful story about people you don’t want to let go of. I received an advance copy of A Million Little Lies from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. show less