Auntie's 2016 Bookwork Challenge 09

Book: Come Rain or Come Shine.

Author: Jan Karon

Info: Copyright 2015:  Farmington Hills MI:    Thorndike Press (Large Print Edition)

Where acquired: Library check out

Rating (on a scale of 1-4 hashtags): # # # # 

What it's about:  Of all the adventures of Father Tim Kavanagh in the Mitford series, the marriage of his adopted son, Dooley, is the most extravagant of all.  Dooley and his fiancé Lace, two throw away children from abusive homes who slowly fell in love, experience the absolute nuttiness of planning what was to be a simple wedding.  With humor, romance, and a little bit of animal wrangling, the town of Mitford comes together to help them pull it off.

Favorite Quotes:

"What am I gon' wear?" said Harley.
"Your teeth, for sure," said Lace. - p. 34.

"Go out there and be as happy as a bird with a French fry."  p. 245

"Tommy grinned.  He'd never heard so many amems, and he'd been raised Baptist." - p. 270

"Danny Hershell had read the program and knew this was it, it was now or never. 'Kiss th' bride!' he hollered. What was wrong with people in this religion that guys didn't get to kiss th' bride?  His mama would kill him, but she had killed him before any number of times." - p. 276

What I Liked:

• Lace's journal entries about her relationship with Dooley were darling.
• This may seem strange, but the fact that everything was not neatly tidied up at the end.  There were still unresolved painful situations, and some of the character's stories were left open--whether to the reader's imagination or to the possibility of the author adding to the series.
• The wedding ceremony was more beautiful that anything Hollywood could come up with.
• I simply enjoyed the emotional effect of the story.  It was romantic without being mushy, dramatic without being exaggerated, and joyous without being ridiculously over the top.

What I didn’t like: 

• The reference to the "OMC."  If someone hasn't read any of the other books, he may not know that it refers to Esther Bolik's famous Orange Marmalade Cake.  They also won't know why this cake is pivotal to the entirety of the series. 
• This is a little bit of a SPOILER:  I would like to have known more about the specifics of Sammy's experience with Teen Boot Camp. 
• This might be the last book of the Mitford series.

Takeaway:  I'm not sure if this truly is the last book in Karon's Mitford series, but if so, it beautifully drew together these beloved characters for a triumphant finish.