Spare Change by Bette Lee CrosbyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
"The Good Lord don't do things that way. When he sees a person's flat out of hope and feeling dead broke, He slips a bit of spare change into the bottom of their pocket. Not a lot maybe, but enough for them to get by."
Spare Change is a story of hope and a future, not just for orphaned Ethan Allen, but for newly-widowed Olivia Ann.
When Olivia's husband, Charlie Doyle, dies just 22 days after their wedding, in the middle of their honeymoon, she blames it on herself for not watching the signs - the eleventh day of their honeymoon and that opal she really should have refused.
Ethan Allen is the sole witness to the brutal murder of both his parents, but he can't tell because the murderer might kill him. Running away from home, he sets off to find the grandfather he's never met, only to find himself stuck with his grieving widow.
I quite enjoyed reading Spare Change. In her charming Southern voice, Crosby interweaves the stories of these two disparate people from very different worlds and binds them in a knot of love and family that is increasingly hard to find. She fleshes out her characters so well that you feel Susanna's pain of frequently dashed dreams, even if you don't like the way she's carrying on with that Scooter Cobb, and you understand Ethan's frequent foul-mouthed outbursts grown out of habit and fear, even if you agree with Olivia that he should stop it.
I think what broke it (a little) for me was the last two chapters. It was maybe kind of necessary to tie up the story, but it felt a little forced and out of place.
* I received a free copy of this ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.
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