Angela Correll

What a delight to find another author to put on the favorites list! I immediately fell into Angela Correll’s second novel, Guarded. The charming rural Kentucky setting matched with appealing characters and a story that piqued and kept my interest all added up to a very pleasurable reading experience. This novel, definitely women’s fiction, is book 2 in a series and continues the story begun in Grounded. I have not read book 1, but never felt behind or confused — the author does a good show more job of naturally recapping the story. But I do want to go back and read Grounded. Correll is too good an author to miss out on her books!

Annie Taylor is back at home on the farm after ten years working as a flight attendant. Living with her grandmother, Beulah, is starting to grow on her, and Jake, the boy next door, has grown up and is definitely her soulmate. However, Annie is left feeling not quite settled and scared that she may take after her roving father in too many ways. As Annie strives to save her childhood home from the ravages of a fire, she discovers family history buried for too long. Letters from both the 1700s and the 1940s shed light on family treasures and secrets.

Do family traits carry on throughout the generations? Guarded explores the influence, for bad and good, of heritage and legacies. I loved how one secondary, yet critical, character challenges Annie to look at what God can do to change what others say is set in stone. Correll’s characters are very well-developed; I felt they could have been my own neighbors! The sense of place was strong as well. Can I please go to Kentucky (not to mention Italy!). Faith is naturally woven through the story and the characters lives’. While the novel is contemporary drama at its best, Correll does have a deft hand with humor as well. You are going to love the scenes between Beulah and her houseguest, Rossella!

Guarded is a great book, and I am looking forward to more from Angela Correll.

Highly recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to the author for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less

As someone who is interested in sustainable living, and hoping to start on that journey soon, this was an intriguing read. Although that was not the focus of the book, these ideals are used by the main character to help refocus her life. As a Southerner, half raised by my grandparents doing many of these same things, I felt a real connection to Annie. I, too, went off and tried to make my way in the world, only to realize being back home was the only place I really wanted to be.

As Annie’s show more life seems to fall to pieces around her, she decides to move home and try to reconnect with the grandmother who helped raise her after her mother passed. Annie and her grandmother must now learn to live with each other without her grandpa as a buffer. Along the way, she also reconnects with her childhood friend, Jake Wilder, who has some serious life decisions of his own to make. Their connection rekindles some old feelings that make both of them rethink the future.

Their journeys offer insight into what is really important throughout this life and how our priorities can so easily be neglected along the way. It is a charming summer read that will not only teach you some family lessons, it will also teach a few about good ‘ole country living with a heaping helping of southern charm and hospitality. An excellent debut novel that will leave a warm feeling in your heart and make you wish you were sitting in a porch swing, drinking sweet tea, on a lazy summer afternoon.

Rating: 4

HEAT Rating: None

Reviewed By: Daysie W.

Review Courtesy of: My Book Addictions and More show less

Annie is a flight attendant who grew up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, but now lives in New York City. Annie was raised by her grandparents after her single mother died much too soon. After Annie's grandfather died, she focused more on her work and less on her grandmother back on the farm because the memories hurt too much. Then Annie loses her job to a airline buyout and finds out her boyfriend isn't the man she thought he was. With no where else to go, Annie decides it is time to go back show more to Kentucky and face her memories. Once she is there, Annie isn't prepared for what she feels and what lies ahead.

This is the author's first novel and she has based it on her own personal background of farming and promoting local food and resources. I found the story quite easy to follow and the characters appealing. Annie is a likable character and you genuinely feel sorry for her when events turn her life upside down. The story really kicks in gear once she returns back to her grandmother's farm and you learn all the history behind Annie's childhood.

The characters that live around the farm are funny, lively, and well developed. You could almost imagine each one of them in your mind. Beulah, Annie's grandma, was by far my favorite. Throughout the story, Beulah imparts wisdom and truth by sharing her values and her faith. As a woman who grew up during the depression, her farming and gardening methods are very important to the story and give it the basis for Annie's future in the story. A lot of the sayings in the story like "Hard work is hard on the body, but good for the soul" reminded me of my own parents and grandparents.

As a child who also grew up on a farm and yet doesn't currently live on one, this story reminded me of all the things I appreciate about going back home. The gardening, the canning, the horses, the sights and the sounds in this story all reminded me of home. The importance of farming takes center stage in this novel and will make you question where and how you get your food to feed your family.

The author adds a mystery character to the story that gives it a twist and keeps you guessing along the way as to her identity and reason for her secrets. Even though her story is minor, it offers a nice balance and intrigue to the rest of drama.

I think this is a great "weekend read" and a story that you could share with your grandmother! It will leave you feeling happy and nostalgic for family and home. show less

Readers may remember I reviewed Correll's first book, GROUNDED in the fall of 2013. Correll writes from her Kentucky home surrounded by farm animals and gardens. She is passionate about farming and has her own farm-to-table restaurant as well as a shop that sells natural beauty products. These passions, as well as her faith, come through in the stories she writes.

In GUARDED, Correll picks up on Annie's story from GROUNDED. Annie had been laid off by her job as a flight attendant and dumped show more by the man she expected to marry. So, rather than going back to the crazy life she led in New York City, she returned home to her grandmother's farm in Kentucky. Move forward a few months, and Annie is now trying to find a way to fix up the family stone house that was damaged in a fire. While fixing it up, she finds letters hidden in the floorboards. The letters hold a family secret that will take her to Italy and back in time to WWII to find out the answers.

Since Annie’s return to Kentucky, she has been reunited with childhood friend, Jake. Their romance has been developing slowly and now that Annie feels like she is ready for a life with Jake, something from her past begins to put a wedge between them. With all these secrets, Annie isn't sure there is a future for her on the farm in Kentucky.

I appreciate how Correll has connected her two books while also allowing them to stand alone. Fans of her first book will enjoy reading about the same characters and new readers will enjoy her casual writing style that makes you feel like you are sitting at the table with Annie and her grandmother enjoying pie and coffee. The conversations flow and when their faith is weaved into the story, it is natural and not overbearing.

The historical piece in this novel was my favorite, especially the telling of the story through letters sent during the war. My mother's family also has a historical stone house and this story made me wonder about the secrets and memories that house also holds in its walls.

Correll did a beautiful job telling a story from the war that is not readily talked about. Her descriptions of Italy, the food, and the people made me want to book a trip there. This part of our war history has been ignored and her twist to this piece of our history was handled delicately and with love. This easy weekend read is perfect for cuddling up with a cup of coffee and a fire….and don’t forget the pie. show less