Chin Up, Honey

by Curtiss Ann Matlock

Book Overview

It takes a lot of work to plan a wedding--and even more to save a marriage--but in Valentine, Oklahoma, there's always someone to help you keep your chin up. Emma Cole's son is getting married, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 077832558X
• ISBN13: 9780778325581
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Mira Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Just a delight to read!

Have you ever sat down with a book, and it felt like you were sitting on a porch swing, chatting with good friends and catching up on their lives? That's exactly the feeling you get when you pick up a book by Curtiss Ann Matlock. Her stories about the folks in Valentine, Oklahoma make the reader feel like they've come home for a family reunion. And everybody's there - the sweet old uncle who has the delightful radio show everyone loves, the aunts who cluck about making sure everyone is fed, and the kids running in and out between everyone's feet. In the latest in the Valentine series, "Chin Up, Honey," the story focuses on Emma and John Cole Berry. Emma and John Cole have been having some marital problems, to the point that John Cole has not been home in a while. But when their son, Johnny, announces that he and his sweet girlfriend Gracie are getting married, Emma knows that she has to put aside her disagreements with her husband in order to plan the wedding of the year. After all, there are parties to plan, invitations to design, a pool to be installed - you know, important things. But when Emma finds out that Gracie's mother, the elegant businesswoman Sylvia from up North, doesn't approve of Johnny - well, let's just say the mother lioness instinct kicks in and Emma goes into overdrive trying to prove to Sylvia that their family is just fine and dandy. But her anxiety may prove to be unnecessary. All it takes is getting the stuck-up lady down to experience the loving ways of the folks in Valentine to get her to loosen up a bit. A day at the Glorious Women's retreat, a few glasses of sweet tea and Sylvia's good to go! (If only it were that easy.) Meanwhile Brother Winston's radio show is getting noticed by the folks at the "Today Show," there is a pack of kids running around town stealing things, and down at the drugstore there is a raging debate on whether you are supposed to wear panties underneath your pantyhose or not. Yep, it's always exciting in Valentine, Oklahoma. Never a dull day passes. Curtiss Ann Matlock has a unique gift of bringing her readers right into her stories, making them comfortable and wanting to stay a while. With just the right touch of Southern hospitality, a heaping helping of love and a generous dash of humor, her novels are instant classics. "Chin Up, Honey" is one of the best of the series, which is saying a lot since the others are delightful as well. I can't wait until it's time to visit Valentine again.

Life Is Full of Changes

Emma realizes that her life can't continue along the same comfortable rut at the same time that her son comes home to tell her that he is getting married. She is forced to try to spin many plates in the air at the same time without going to pieces herself. Great summer read!

fun lighthearted frolic

John Cole comes home ostensibly only to attend the wedding of his son Jonny. However, he also has returned hoping to persuade his wife Emma Berry to give them a second chance. Emma has doubts, but agrees to try again with the stipulation that together they see a marriage counselor. Reluctantly John, who hates discussing issues with loved ones let alone strangers, agrees. As the day of the marriage ceremony comes closer, Emma realizes her in-law disapprove of her son. She wants to help Johnny with his future relations so she makes an effort to change the mind of her son's mother-in-law and show she, her husband and Johnny are good people who will be there for her daughter. The quirky secondary cast makes for a fun lighthearted frolic. The story line lacks action and the one of the two prime premises not significant as Johnny will have to prove his worth to his in-laws with deeds not his mom's interference. The second chance romance aspects are also somewhat muted as the differences between John and Emma are minor. Still fans will enjoy watching the antics of the groom's mother, making two fronts worse. Harriet Klausner