Author: Linda Wood Rondeau
Genre: Short, humorous contemporary women’s fiction
Release Date: April 19, 2020
Today is Jocelyn Johnson’s 45th birthday. Unhappy with her marriage of 22 years, the parenting talk show host has planned a noonday tryst with her cohost. A phone call from her college daughter, a peek into her teenaged son’s journal, a sick preschooler, a Goth daughter’s identity crisis, a middle-school son’s prank, and her husband’s inflamed suspicions, not only interfere with her hopeful birthday plans but throw her family into more chaos than a circus on steroids.
In desperate need of counsel, Jocelyn invites a Christian to dinner, her guest from her morning talk show segment. However, the evening holds little promise of calm. In the midst of bedlam, a forgotten faith rekindles causing Jocelyn to rethink her life and her marriage.
You will laugh and you will cry from the first page to the last as you journey through the day’s events and Jocelyn’s search for Second Helpings.
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Linda Wood Rondeau is a new to me author and I wasn't sure what to expect from this book from reading the synopsis. I must say I was pleasantly surprised that this book kept my interest focused throughout.
Second Helpings is a Christian Fiction with some Humor book. Jocelyn is a Talk Show Host and her 45th Birthday is today. She is unhappy in her marriage and her household is in a state of Chaos. Even through all the Chaos and her husband suspicions that she is unhappy, she is determined to have a good Birthday. Jocelyn goes to dinner with a guest from her Talk Show who is a Christian. The conversation over dinner turns out to be one that helps Jocelyn rethink some of her feelings and brings her heart to calm over the "Chaos".
Second Helpings tackles some real life "Family Chaos" issues including Teen Pregnancy, Possible Martial Affairs, and many more. I really like the Christian aspect, even though some parts of the book might seem to be where faith was loss. The book has a theme of Forgiveness and that even when things seem too much, God is right there with you. GREAT BOOK!
More from Linda
When I first set out to write Second Helpings, I envisioned writing a story about a harried housewife with a passel of kids. I thought of my mother who went around the house with her hands outstretched toward heaven saying, “Lord, give me strength.” Words she uttered each time we kids did something wrong, which was quite often.And so I envisioned my own version of, Please Don’t Eat the Daises.
The movie came out in 1960 and starred Doris Day and David Niven, a comedy about a university professor who leaves his job to become a theater critic, creating problems with his family and friends. There’s an iconic scene where the harried housewife rescues her toddler who tries to climb out of the barred NYC windows. One wonders, can this marriage be saved?
As the story developed in my own addled brain, I saw a larger picture than a madcap comedy. I asked myself, what would happen if a woman who ran a radio show about parenting found herself in a marriage about to fall apart and anticipates an affair? Since the woman, at the outset of the story is not a Christian, what might cause the affair not to happen? What driving force might be greater than her unhappiness? And why was she so unhappy in her marriage in the first place?
The answer came. However unhappy she might be, she was first and foremost a mother. Though married to a psychiatrist, she was the fixer in the family. What problems might her children face to make Jocelyn think twice about an affair? Which of her children’s crises would be the first signal to abort her affair? The answer came.
When Jocelyn receives a phone call from her college-aged daughter, plans for a tryst suddenly change. Lisette announces she is coming home tonight. Jocelyn’s worst fears for her daughter are confirmed. Not only is Lisette pregnant, she wants to get married next month. History seems to be repeating itself. And Jocelyn does not want her daughter to make the same mistake she thought she made by marrying her baby’s father. Jocelyn sets out on an immediate campaign to convince her daughter she has other options than a hurried marriage. Jocelyn’s tryst will have to wait.
Lisette’s pregnancy revelation has set the stage for twelve hours of bedlam … all on Jocelyn’s 45th birthday. These serious situations create a comedy of misunderstanding against the backdrop of a failing marriage and begs the question, “Can her marriage be saved?”
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Texas Book-aholic, July 22
Inklings and notions, July 23
deb’s Book Review, July 24
For Him and My Family, July 25
Locks, Hooks and Books, July 26
Adventures of a Travelers Wife, July 27 (Author Interview)
As He Leads is Joy, July 27
Artistic Nobody, July 28 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
Ashley’s Bookshelf, July 29
Tell Tale Book Reviews, July 31 (Author Interview)
Fiction Full of Faith, July 31
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 1
Godly Book Reviews, August 2
To celebrate her tour, Linda is giving away the grand prize of a Kindle Fire 7!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
6 comments:
I liked the review, thank you.
Thank you for hosting this review
This sounds like quite an involved story!
@Emma
Emma, just like life
Thank you for your review of "Second Helpings". I like a book that shows the messiness of life yet focuses on the hope, mercy & grace the Lord gives through it all!
I bet I would enjoy reading this too. :-)
@Trixi
God indeed is in the middle of our messes
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