Proper Goodbye

I received a free electronic copy of this Christian novel from Netgalley, Connie Chappell, and Black Rose Writing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all, for sharing your hard work with me.

This is an interesting novel, a fast read, and one that provokes mind games. Is Beebe's withdrawal from the church family a loss of faith, just a hiatus, or a necessary time out while she learns to handle the problems associated with her mother's long disappearance? Will she, like her father, wind herself around her pain and seal out the world? All of the characters in this novel are fully rounded, charismatic, and easily understood. It is a book I can easily recommend to friends and family.

First response: This was excellent! I never know what to expect from books that are women's lit rather than romance or mystery or such. I'm never sure what direction it will take. Or if I'll like it. Well, I sure liked this one. I'll have to write a full review in the morning. I always seem to finish a book at bedtime...

My Review:

This is a sequel to Wild Raspberries, though it is a standalone as well. If you read Wild Raspberries, you may remember the grief counselor, Beebe Walker. This book, Proper Goodbye, is her story. It was just released a month ago.

This is a wonderful book. It's full of the emotional messes that we all love to read in women's lit and the untangling of the stories to get to the truth that lies at the heart of the matter. And what lies at the heart of this mess is worth 300 pages! This is very well written. I really think Ms. Chappell has a knack for this genre. She knows how to convey all those twists and turns life takes when we're not watching. She brings out the best and worst in her characters just when they want to be wallflowers. She puts the right words in their mouths when they are really needed. Then sometimes they're the wrong words. She makes her characters real. They get caught listening at doors and are embarrassed. People are talking behind their backs, and there's a good reason for it.

This is such a great book, I think it needs to end up on my favorites list. I will definitely read it again. I highly recommend this to you and to anyone who likes a good puzzle of emotions and family messes. Keep this book in mind when they start looking for the best books written in 2016. Proper Goodbye needs to be on all the lists of bests.

This book was provided in ebook format by Black Rose Writing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am not being compensated in any way. All opinions are fully my own.
~ Judi E. Easley for Blue Cat Review

I enjoyed the book. I wish that the characters would have been fleshed out a little more.

Great book about love, grieving and life decisions. Makes a compelling story about the stages of grief and the decisions we ultimately make during the process. Thought provoking and realistic story telling.

This is the second book I have read by this author and I have enjoyed them both. 

What I enjoyed the most about this book was the realism.  The characters and plot were realistic and I found myself sensing the emotions as I travelled through the pages.  As Bebee lost her position in the church and went though her own religious trials, I could feel her grief and the questioning of her choice of employment in the first instance.  Then she found out about the loss of her mother, whom had many issues and had made lots of bad choices which had effected Bebee, I quikcly became drawn to Bebee's character.  She wanted to fix her father, but had things to fix within herself and the writing of this novel portrayed all this in such a way that it was real and more than a plot line.

Cliff, Bebee's father, was a brilliant peice of artistry in Connie Chappell's writing.  Every emotion he had seem raw.  Although he hid behind the past, trapped in the past, he was angry yet gentle all ta the same time.  He seemed to deal with the loss of his wife, and the past, as any man would. 

The other characters seemed to drift in and out of the story, all fitting in to bring the plot to a closure as questions were answered and things brought together in final chapters.  There were twists that kept me turning the pages, even at times becoming tempted to skip read to find where the story was leading me.

I like Connie Chappell's writing.  She writes with realism and innocence both of which draws me to her novels and the characters within.

An interesting book especially if you have read the first book, 'Wild Raspberries'. In think I enjoyed this book better as it focused on the most interesting character from the first one. I would not buy this book for my library as it is a school library and not really suitable for the students, however, I enjoyed reading it.