Customer Reviews

Yesterday's Embers (Clayburn Novels Series #3)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Doug DeVore is suddenly widowed when his wife and daughter tragically die. He is left with five children and very few resources. He turns to Mickey Valdez, his children's day care teacher, a thirty year old single woman. For a lesser writer, this storyline would be a feel-good romance, a "love conquers all" exercise. But Deborah Raney offers more than that. She looks beneath the surface at what motivates DeVore, his loneliness, his feelings of being overwhelmed at caring for his children, his need for someone to take care of him as his wife had done. Kayeleigh, at 12 the oldest child, struggles with the loss of her mother along with normal adolescent insecurities and her resentment of Mickey drives a lot of the story. Mickey worries that life is passing her by, that she will never have the marriage and family she desires. How their relationship develops, and all the problems they encounter, from religious differences, the demands of so many children and money problems, to extended family pressures, give a sense of reality to their story. I had a real sense of getting to know this family. There is a strong Christian element to the story which motivates the characters and drives their decisions but this does not overpower the story.

Yesterday's Embers by Deborah Raney is the story of Doug DeVore and Mickey Valdez. Doug's wife and one daughter die in an accident on Thanksgiving Day, leaving him with five other children to raise on his own. Mickey is the kind-hearted single day-care worker who is already familiar with the family because three of the children already attend her day-care. Mickey provides some respite from Doug's somber mood with her humor and her willingness to help. Soon a relationship begins and in no time, Mickey and Doug decide to marry, although both have misgivings about the speed with which this happens.

I found this to be a very easy read with extremely likeable characters. However, I wanted to warn Doug and Mickey away from a plan which seemed rash at the very least. I think the courtship was handled very well, but the marriage and the problems that arouse because of it were kind of rushed. At several different points, hints were given that Kayleigh, the 12-year-old, was developing an eating disorder, but then was never mentioned again.

All in all, I enjoyed this book, but wish more time had been spent on the marriage and the ways Doug and Mickey worked things out.

If I were able to give 1/2 stars, I would rate this 3-1/2 stars

On Thanksgiving Day, Kaye DeVore and her five years old daughter Rachel died from monoxide poisoning. The grieving widower Doug understands the irony of their deaths as an EMT he has warned about the hidden dangers of monoxide poisoning. However, he has no time to mourn as he must raise five children with the oldest Kayeleigh being only twelve.

Mickey Valdez knows the DeVore kids and their late mom as she runs a day care center that include the family's youngest Harley. As Doug struggles to make enough money to support them, he relies heavily on Kayeleigh to take charge of her siblings while also is always late for picking up his kid from the daycare center. Mickey takes Harley home and Doug invites her to join his family with their take-out meal. Harley, Sarah, Sadie and Landon are thrilled to have Mickey eat with them, but Kayeleigh resents her. When the two adults meet at a wedding that Doug wanted to skip but Kayeleigh insisted on attending, the townsfolk sense a spark and begin matchmaking though Kaye is only gone less than three months and the tweener resents the intrusion.

This is an interesting family drama in which six people struggle with a sudden death of two loved ones when the patriarch begins courting another woman. The story line is character driven as the kids react differently to Mickey entering their lives and she and Doug have major doubts as each knows it is to soon for him and his children. Though somewhat similar in tone to REMEMBER TO FORGET, the poignant reactions of the children refresh this deep inspirational Clayburn, Kansas novel (see LEAVING NOVEMBER).

Harriet Klausner

I love her writing i read the other books in this series and couldn't
wait for this one to come out. I hope their will be more

mzeen

This book 3 in the Clayburn books by Deb Raney, but what that means is there is the same cast of characters and each book focuses on a different main character. So I was not left in the dark when I started reading this one even though I hadn't read the first two. To the contrary, Deb makes it very easy to step right into the world of Clayburn. In this book we meet Doug when tragedy strikes his family. As he is trying to recover and move on with life (or what is left of it) he finds himself falling for Mickey who is the day care provider for his youngest kids. Is what they have love or convenience. This is a beautiful story of grieving, living and loving.

Doug Devore loses his wife Kaye and daughter Rachel, tragically, on Thanksgiving Day. He doesn't know how he is going to raise his remaining five children - ranging in age from Harley at age 2 to Kayeleigh who was 12. He was already working two jobs and Kaye had worked part-time. Together they had just barely covered the bills.

Mickey Valdez is the director at Doug's daycare. He becomes habitually late in picking up the kids and so she offers to bring them home one night. Doug invites her to stay for the take-out he had picked up for dinner. The kids seem thrilled to have her there and Doug is reminded what it is like to have a woman in the house.

Mickey and Doug next meet outside of daycare at a wedding in town. Doug had only gone at the insistence of his daughter Kayeleigh, who wanted to wear the pink dress her mom had made for the Christmas program. A program that she never attended. He hadn't done any socializing since his wife had died 2 1/2 months earlier. He preferred living in his grief-stricken fog - only surfacing for his job and his kids.

Well-meaning townsfolk pushed the two of them together for a dance. This led to them spending most of the evening together dancing and Doug taking Mickey home afterwards. This was all very upsetting to Kayeleigh. She did not want to see her dad laughing and dancing with anyone like he used to with her mom.

After a few weeks Mickey and Doug are seeing each other regularly - but it has only been a few months since Kaye died. As they grow closer, Kayeleigh continues to pull farther away. Is the spark between Doug and Mickey really love? Or is it taking the place of something else?

I enjoyed this story very much. It was very realistic with characters that were full of warmth and feeling. It pulled at my heartstrings when Doug lost his wife and daughter. I struggled with him as he tried to go on with his life and help his kids adjust to their new reality. I felt as anxious as Mickey when they began "courting". Wondering if it was too much of a good thing too soon. I wanted Mickey and Doug to come through everything as a couple - but you must read the book yourself to see what happens!

Yesterday's Embers by Deborah Raney is the third book in the Clayburn Novels Series. On Thanksgiving, Doug DeVore lost his wife Kaye, and their daughter Rachel, leaving him to care for five children on his own. Mickey Valdez loves running her day care center, because she's always wanted children of her own, so helping out with the DeVore children comes naturally. But sparks start to fly between the new widower and Mickey. Raney has a true gift for writing about families and the strong feelings that come with relationships, and this novel is a great example of this. Mickey wants so much to have a family, and when Doug shows an interest in her, she can't help but fall in love with the handsome family man. Doug has a huge hole inside of his heart and he feels lost without Kaye, but Mickey makes him feel alive again, and she's so good with his children, he convinces himself that he's in love with her as well. They leap into an ill-timed marriage, and then things really start to fall apart. Raney captures all of the heartbreak and angst of a blended family. When Mickey moves some of her things into the house, and the children feel betrayed by the replacement of their mother. Raney always shows, never tells, and she allows the story to tell itself without forcing an unrealistic ending. This isn't your usual romance; Raney's storytelling elevates it to something richer and deeper. I couldn't put it down.

I feel especially blessed to get to read and review two new Deborah Raney novels back-to-back. "Yesterday's Embers" is the third book in the Clayburn novel series, and one you won't want to miss.

Mickey Valdez is a thirty year-old daycare teacher who has started to wonder if she will ever have the husband and family she's always longed for. When she hears about the tragic death of Doug DeVore's wife and youngest daughter, her heart breaks for him and his remaining five children.

She quickly steps in and offers to help, but soon finds herself pulled in over her head. Is this what God has planned for her, or are things moving too quickly?

This is a story of compassion and concern, gutwrenching pain and forgiveness, commitment and renewal, and portrays so beautifully how God can bring good out of life's difficulties. There are so many things I love about this book, I almost don't know where to start.

Unforgettable Story: This is a love story in every sense of the word, but with a twist. I can't say much more without spoiling the story, but this book will leave you thinking about the characters long after the last page is read.

Dramatic Tension: Can you imagine the horror of coming home to find your spouse and child dead? And that's only the beginning of the conflict in this wonderful story!

Amazing Characterization: This book has five children in it. Sometimes in stories with that many children, it's difficult to keep them all straight. Not in this story. Deborah Raney does a terrific job of portraying Mickey's large extended family, the DeVore children, and especially Mickey and Doug. Her characterization of the oldest child in the family, a tween-ager by the name of Kayeleigh, is outstanding.

Add to these, Raney's penchant for vivid detail and a remarkable plot, and you have a delightful story that will keep you sighing in joy for days after you've finished reading the book. I loved it!

Yesterday's Embers is a story about a man who goes through catastrophic life changes and finds himself on a emotional roller coaster. He searches for the happiness that he lost. In a way he is grasping at anything that will bring him some small measure of happiness to make up for the enormity of what he lost. He just wants to feel happy again, to feel the happniess that was torn away from him.

He believes he has found what will make him feel as he did before only to discover that life and love does not work that way.

Here is the story of Douglas Devore and Mickey Valdez and the events that bring them together and threaten to tear them apart.

This book will grip you from the beginning. It will make you laugh and cry and hope for the future of those suffering to look beyond your pain and find the healing hope and love of God.

I enjoyed this comfortable contemporary romance story. I read it start to finish in one day. The plot moves along smoothly, with a few bumps and bends in the predictable road to reach a satisfying conclusion. This is the third in the trilogy, but it can be read and enjoyed without the first two.

It was good to return to the small town of Clayburn. I was happy to see that the Latte-dah, the coffee shop, is thriving. Written in third person narrative, the reader easily follows the thought process of each character. The characters are people I'd like to meet. I'd love to keep in touch with Mickey and share her future. Perhaps she'll appear in a future book.

Discussion questions are included.