Book Review: A Second Helping

Book: A Seconding Helping (Blessings book #2) by Beverly Jenkins

Edition: Paperback

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Is there such a thing as cozy literature because if there is, A Second Helping would totally fit in that genre.

Although I did not read the first book, the author does a good job of summarizing throughout what happened in the previous story and who the characters were. So I didn't feel lost while I was reading this.

The story filled with warmth, drama, humor, family, friendship and community follows several of the residents in the small and historic town of Henry Adams, Kansas. Thanks to Bernadine Brown buying the small struggling town, it was finally starting to become revitalized. Although Bernadine owned the town, all the residents from the newly elected Mayor to the children were involved one way or another in making sure the town was heading in the right direction.

This was good, I was drawn into the story as many of the characters face various issues and challenges that range from romance to complex family drama. Such as Bernadine was dealing with seeing her cheating ex-husband Leo showing up unexpectedly in town. She had moved on with her life but it still hurt to see him. Meanwhile, 11 year old Amari Steele who was a foster child wanted to officially be adopted by his foster father Trent July, the Mayor. However, the matriarch of the July family, Tamar thought Amari should do something that showed he understood the importance of being apart of the family as well as finding a way to celebrate the history of the town. There was even an intense scene when one of the teenagers had been kidnapped leading to a frantic recovery.

A Second Helping is warm-hearted and emotional at times but there is lots of humor to go around. There are a lot characters in this but they don't overwhelm the story. You get to see how they deal with not only trying to rebuild the town but their lives. There was some discomfort that pertain to one character Rochelle "Rocky" Dancer who returned to Henry Adams because she left her husband after she found him wearing her underwear. It seemed like her husband's choices were not only used as a running joke but as way to ridicule him. Too bad there wasn't a scene where Rocky at least expressed that she cared for him but he needed to figure out who he is for him to be happy. The incident didn't have to be shown with such disgust and disdain from not only Rocky but some of the townspeople. It would have been a great opportunity to show understanding on Rocky's part and that the couple parting ways was because she wanted him to be happy finding himself.

Although, that's the only issue I had with the book, I'm very much interested in wanting to continue reading this series. It's an easy, breezy read with a bit of drama to keep the story moving along.