Good Hope Road: A Tending Roses Novel

Good Hope Road is a little bit off Lisa Wingate's beaten path, and off mine as well. But as I often find with books I consider "unusual," I made a connection with Good Hope Road in some unexpected and valuable ways.As other reviewers have said, it's a tough book, externally and internally. Externally, the characters go through the aftermath of a string of tornadoes, which can be painful to watch through your reader's lens. We also get a lot of Jenilee and Eudora's external struggles, considering they're both outcasts in Poetry and have never been given fair chances at relationships or life. On top of that, everyone, not just Jenilee and Eudora, face some heavy internal stakes and decisions. It's a lot to take in. But Lisa Wingate writes everything with such a careful hand, and such attention to everyone's humanity, that I never felt beaten over the head with tragedy. Instead I felt like, "Yeah, these are real people going through life, and often, life is horrible. They're beating it, not letting it beat them. I like these people."That's not to say Good Hope Road is full of perfect characters. They're nuanced, and I love it. That is, you have "good" characters like Jennilee, but Jennilee is flawed. She has accepted the lies and shame spoken over her to the point that she can't see what's best for her or others anymore. You have Eudora, who is a wise, determined, and tenacious woman, but she is by her own admission a mean old lady with a lot of rough edges and preconceived notions.The same is true for "bad" characters. For instance, I hated Mazelle Sibley, but that's partly because I know people like her. I've faced people like her, and the truth is, I've had to come to grips with the fact that some days, Mazelle lives in my mirror. I wasn't a fan of Jennilee's daddy, but then again, how was he treated? How much junk did he have to put up with that he never healed from? Learning he was a Vietnam vet certainly brought some depth to those questions as well.In addition, I soon felt "at home" in Poetry, even though the town had been destroyed. That is, in real life, I would probably look at a town like Poetry or interact with certain residents like Nolan Nelson or Mazelle Sibley or even maybe Jennilee, and drive the other way. But in Good Hope Road, I wanted to stick around. I rooted for the residents to heal, to move forward, to grow. That's why I found myself loving so many of the smaller scenes and gestures, like when Jennilee put up the picture wall or tranquilized Charlie when everybody wanted to shoot him. I live in a small town too, and I remember thinking, "Yeah, this is what happens. Lisa nailed it."I did take a star for a couple of reasons. First, Jennilee and Eudora's story on its own is great, and I know it fits in to the rest of the series because Jennilee is related to the Vongortlers. But for me, there wasn't enough of a connection to previous or following installments (remember, I accidentally read the series out of order, if you're following these reviews). Again, that might just be me, but I wanted more, especially considering Jenilee had no stable or positive family influence throughout her life.I also knocked the rating down to four because of the first picture and letter Jenilee found. That is, Lisa ties up all the loose ends well for Good Hope Road. The baby picture in particular makes perfect sense. But that plot thread was also set up to be a much bigger part of the story, at least to me...and then it wasn't. I also felt there was at least one red herring, considering the origin of June and Ivy's baby and Ivy's relation to Jennilee.However, four stars or five, Good Hope Road is still a strong book and gets a recommendation. It's one of those books that captures humanity and slice of life stories without having to go into genre conventions (the cutesy romance, the unpredictable thriller, the coming-of-age story that jerks tears just to jerk). It's down to earth, real, and yet filled with hope, without making hope a nebulous fairy tale. If you'll forgive the pun, I hope you read and enjoy it, too.

It’s been a long time since I couldn’t put a book down and instead burned the midnight oil…the story blew my heart up … thanks Lisa!

Excellent novel! I recommend reading the entire series

Wow! I loved this book. I fell in love with some of the characters and I even really disliked some of them. Having been a victim of tornadoes, hurricanes, and evil neighbors(🤣), I could relate to every word! I cannot wait to start reading the third book!

I usually love Lisa Windgate’s books. They are deep and real, full of characters, not beautiful physically as much as beautiful internally. This story felt depressing from the first page.It is full of the hardness of life. There is hope, and reconciliation, forgiveness, and redemption but it didn’t feel like enough.I skipped parts because I just didn’t want to read about anymore pain and suffering. So maybe my review isn’t worthwhile since I didn’t read the entire book.I confess to loving books that not so heavy, or at least not the 4/5ths of it. Life has so much hardness already, I read to escape that and find some truth, some hope, joy, and even some humor of possible.This book had almost every human fault in it, lies, stealing, alcoholism, pain(physical and emotional), drugs, stupidity, war wounds, divorce, children out of wedlock, death, loss of property and finances, adultery, cancer, abuse, you name it. I think on,y a few would have been enough. It was overwhelming for me and depressing.While this novel is well written, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you like dark stories. I would give it only 3 stars but it is well written and delves into deep human emotion. It is not fluff or a beachside read.

The characters were so relatable...couldn't put the books down. Read all 5 in the series in about 10 days.

I picked up this book during my own pandemic challenge. I always find Lisa's characters filled with small town wisdom and good sense, yet willing to learn from the difficult situations they find themselves in. This book did not disappoint.The main character, Jennilee, is a young lady who has grown up in a difficult situation. Town gossip has left everyone around her and herself with very low expectations. Throughout the story Jennilee has opportunities to make choices to do the selfless acts of kindness and see through crisis how beauty and opportunity often come through crisis.There are several other vividly written characters and side stories that readers will identify with. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and leave feeling like I have grown too from the wisdom gained from her characters. A touching story well worth the read.

I saw some similarities to my own childhood in Jennilee. All families have problems and this story brings that out. Redemption is weaved all throughout this story for those who are willing to be redeemed. It is always good to forgive and not hold on to past regrets and mistakes. You will never hate anyone to The Lord. I recommend this story to anyone who has ever felt unseen or unwanted or less than others. I challenge you to read this story and forgive those people who made you feel that way.

Refreshing and fun. Thought-provoking and relaxing. Absolutely wonderful.

This second novel in the Tending Roses series keeps the reader turning the pages. As usual with Lisa Wingate's writing, she delves deeply into the characters, revealing strengths and weaknesses and moving them through to growth and the realization of who they can be. Will definitely look for further novels in this series.

Lisa Wingate is an amazing authorHer books are much deeper and meaningful that a typical romance book. I personally don't read romance stories, but stumbled across others written by Lisa, and now I am totally hooked. Recommend to any body who enjoys a great story. You won't be disappointed.

Lisa Wingate is a very talented author. Picked up Tending Roses on sale and I was hooked. Wasn't even finished the novel when I was searching for more!

Good