Even though I've never stayed at a Bed and Breakfast, it has always been something I could dream doing if I simply had a home big enough and support from my husband to give it a go. For best selling author Deborah Raney, she uses this as the setting for her latest series, A Chicory Inn. In the first novel, Home to Chicory Lane, we get a sense for how and why it all started for Audrey and Grant Whitman, who have a sprawling 5500-square foot home on the lushly wooded acres in Langhorne, Missouri. Now that all their children have grown up and begun their own life, it seems silly to have this big old house all to themselves. So rather than sell it off, they decide to forgo the empty nest, and fix it up as a Bed and Breakfast so that they can continue to tradition of taking care of people looking for peace and relaxation while Grant begins retirement to help Audrey in fulfilling her dream.
Like all good dreams, Audrey wonders if she can really pull it off. How to get out the word and keep this dream afloat enough to make a living out of it without depleting their savings. However like all great families when you all pull together you can make it work. Yet the one thing they hadn't bet on was their youngest daughter, Landyn arrives home with a U-Haul attached. After only being married for six short months, Landyn is ready to throw in the towel but first she will need to find a way to tell her parents and odds are they aren't likely to be pleased with her reasons and more than likely neither will Chase, once he finds out what she is hiding.
Audrey and Grant wonder if they're opening weekend will be a boom or a bust, but with Grant's blood pressure being more than a challenge, he feels this is just what the doctor recommended when he diagnosed a reduction in his stress levels at work. Retiring and helping his wife manage the Inn sounds like a dream in comparison to the rigorous hours at a high pressure job. But how will they be able to help Landyn if all their rooms are booked solid. Where does one send your child when they need help but they can't exactly move back into their childhood home again?
I received Home to Chicory Lane by Deborah Raney compliments of Abingdon Press and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained here are strictly my own. This is such a beautiful story about how Grant and Audrey are attempting to solve the dilemmas left when you enter the empty nest chapter of your life and how their experience at whether challenging times in their own marriage will be the foundation that Landyn and Chase will launch their own resolution from. They aren't the pushy parents but want the newly wed couple to be able to see the wisdom that age often brings during challenging times in their own marriage. It's not an easy fix, but in the end it shows how helping our spouse achieve their dreams can be challenging and worth while in the end. Deborah embodies the struggles on both an older and younger married couple so there is truly something the reader can relate to. I easily give this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars and can't wait for the next novel in the series, Two Roads Home which we are given a sneak peek at the conclusion of this one. A readers discussion guide is also included.
For more information about Home to Chicory Lane, Deborah Raney or where to pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:
You can also find Deborah Raney on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.
To read more reviews on Home to Chicory Lane, please visit Litfuse Publicity's Book Tour page.
The first book in Deborah Raney's new Chicory Inn series, Home to Chicory Lane, introduces us to Audrey Whitman, a mother who has launched all her children into life and now looks forward to fulfilling some of her own dreams during her empty-nest years. However, not all of her children are ready to stay out of the nest quite yet.
Deborah is celebrating the release of her new series with a $200 B&B Weekend Getaway and a Facebook author chat party.
One winner will receive:
- A B&B Weekend Getaway (via a $200 Visa cash card)
- Home to Chicory Lane by Deborah Raney
So grab your copy of Home to Chicory Lane and join Deborah on the evening of September 9th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)
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