27th Nov
Sophia Rose is here with a review of The Party Line by Carolyn Brown. Grab a cup of tea and find out what Sophia enjoyed about this small-town women’s fiction with romance, humor and family secrets.
The Party Line
by Carolyn Brown
Genres: Women’s Fiction
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Rating: 
A niece’s inheritance comes with family secrets, new romance, and sweet Texas strawberries in a refreshing and warmhearted novel by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.
Returning home to Ditto, Texas, is bittersweet for Lila Matthews. Her dear and feisty aunt Gracie has passed away, leaving Lila her estate. That includes a centuries-old house, a field of the freshest strawberries in Atascosa County, more money than Lila can count, and a secret Aunt Gracie took to her grave. All the angels in heaven won’t be able to pry it out of her.
For more than eighty years, generations of folks in Ditto have whispered and gossiped about what the secret could be. When Lila inherits Aunt Gracie’s legacy, ears perk up and tongues start wagging. As Lila reacquaints herself with locals, finds warmth in family—extended and otherwise—and cozies up to a handsome new neighbor, she begins collecting clues to the past. They’re revealing an Aunt Gracie nobody knew—and a life of rebellion, broken hearts, and selfless love that affected more people than anyone realized.
Whatever reason Aunt Gracie had for leaving Lila the secret, will it now be Lila’s secret to keep?
Sophia Rose’s Review
When her old aunt passes away, a woman comes back to her small town to claim her inheritance. Family secrets and a new promise of love and new start on life are there waiting if she’s willing to take a chance on change. Carolyn Brown is an autobuy author for me particularly when it comes to the cozy, country charm of her small town women’s fiction with a smattering of romance and humor.
The Party Line is set in a town that isn’t on most maps where everyone knows each other and all the secrets, but one. Aunt Gracie had a secret that has the town stirred up again when they think Lila will discover it after she moves into Gracie’s house. Lila has been an accountant in the big city, content with her job and acquaintances, but she feels the difference between contentment and deep-seated happiness when she sorts through Gracie’s past, reacquaints herself with the neighbors, spends time with her mother and Gracie’s friends. The strawberry fields behind the house and the new young foreman have her attention and tempt her to try something new.
Gently paced and full of all sorts of heartwarming moments, The Party Line is a book that the reader can sit back, relax, and feel- feel the summer heat and taste the sweet strawberries, appreciate family, friends, and romance, and then dig a little deeper into bittersweet truths the past generations had to face. Not a book for high entertainment or drama, but well satisfying all the same. The Party Line is for those who like the crossover of women’s fic and romance in a country town setting.
About Carolyn Brown
Author Carolyn BrownNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Brown was born in Texas and raised in southern Oklahoma. These days she and her husband make their home in Davis, Oklahoma, a small town of less than three thousand people where everyone knows everyone, knows what they are doing and with whom, and read the weekly newspaper to see who got caught. A plaque hangs on her office wall that says I know the voices are not real but they have such great ideas. That is her motto and muse as she goes through the days with quirky characters in her head, telling their stories, one by one, and loving her job. She has been married almost half a century to a retired English teacher that she calls Mr. B and he does not read her books before they are published because she cannot afford a divorce. They have three grown children.—and enough grandchildren to keep them busy and young. When Carolyn is not writing she likes to sit in the back yard and watch the two tom cats protect the yard from all kinds of wicked varmints like crickets, other cats, spiders and blue jays.
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About Sophia Rose
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat.
