Carolina is opening a book store, but that isn't the biggest news on Chancey's Main Street. Why in the world would an upscale coffee shop be opening in the old junk store? Why would a fashionable young woman who's been on TMZ be moving onto Main Street? Who's the guy taking over Carolina's bookstore and at the same time moving in with Patty?
“A new voice in Southern Fiction” is how a recent reviewer labels Kay Dew Shostak’s debut novel, "Next Stop, Chancey".
After being raised in a small-town in Tennessee, Kay lived around the country in a variety of settings. Taking a look at the familiar and loved from new perspectives led Kay to see, and then write about, the absurd, the beautiful, and the funny in her South.
After publishing several stories in compilation books and spending a few years in journalism, Kay wandered into writing fiction and found it hard to leave. She currently is working on the fourth book in the Chancey series and living in Fernandina Beach, Florida with her husband.
The Chancey series reminds me, somewhat, of a Mitford-style series for slightly younger readers. They are “slice of life” style stories centering around a family that relocates to a small town from the Atlanta suburbs. We see the family, particularly mom, Carolina, adjusting to small-town living as we get to know a cast of colorful characters.
My only real complaint is that the books are so poorly edited. Sometimes a neighboring town is called Collinsville- but it’s usually Collinswood. Once, our protagonist was referred to as Sharon instead of Carolina. Spelling errors abound. And yet, I keep moving to the next book when I finish one up. There’s something about Chancey that makes me want to stick around to find out what’s coming next.
I won't give away the ending, but I liked this passage where Carolina realizes that she's praying. "I wait. Then as I’m waiting, I realize what I’m really doing. I think I’m praying. And realizing that, I lean into it. Let it happen. Okay, so I’m praying. Me, by myself, no one leading me or making me or any of that. My eyes stay open, and I can feel love pouring in the direction of my son standing ten feet away from me. Then I feel that same kind of love surrounding me. Okay, so this is praying. Peace. A feeling of acceptance.”
Small towns... when you grow up in one, all you want to do is get out of it. Then, you end up moving back to that small town, or to another. There you settle down and there you raise your family. The humor of Carolina keeps me reading. I can smell the fresh-cut grass. My favorite smell in the world. Somehow I missed the second book of this series so I am going back. Thanks to the author. It feels like a trip to a familiar and simple home town when I was just a kid and everything was simple and there was such still such familiarity to it.
I enjoyed the story, although there were a lot more characters to keep track of in this one. I didn't realize it is the last one. I had only read the first one before this one, so there were references to things that happened in one of the other two books that I didn't know anything about. I like that the characters each have their own personalities, just like people in real life. The weird part is how Laney was acting throughout most of the book, although from some of what she did, I was pretty sure what part of it was. Nice descriptions, made me feel like I was there.
I read this book out of order just because it was available on sale for my Kindle. There were several references to the prior books in the series, but that didn't bother me as I felt the novel was also self-contained.
This was a light read that was entertaining enough to read it through quickly. When I finished, the first book in the series was offered for 99 cents for my Kindle, so I bought it and will read it next.
The only thing that really irked me throughout was having to suffer through characters saying, "Me and so-and-so" instead of "so-and-so and I." I get that it was colloquial speech, but it's just...wrong, and it hurt my brain to read this incorrect grammar.
This was a cute, feel-good book that just about perfectly depicted WASP life in the South. It further depicted how these new generations have scoffed at what their parents taught them. The author needed an editor, and she needed to filter out many throw away characters.
One certainly wouldn't want to read this before reading the earlier Chancey books, but it is a good story. The underlying theme is Chancey jobs, but the relationships, as always, take center stage.
Unlike the previous chapters, this one cries out for more. You know there has to be a sequel; too much is left unfinished, and too many "wait .... what?" moments to believe otherwise.
Loved book made you feel as if you were there. So descriptive and felt like town had peop!e like I have known in my life I have read two of her books and can't wait for next one Also was nice they are free as I am on fixed income and am not able to get out about much Thank you so much
Just what I needed. A well written look at a small Southern town with folks who know and care about each other. A hint of the "Mitford" series style with enter twined characters and newcomers that are the center of attention for a "spell" that kept me reading for more and I will definitely continue to follow Kay Dew Shostak.
Another great story in the continuing adventure of the citizens of Chancey. I think I will miss them when they are gone. I would love to stay at the Crossing B+B and enjoy the sights of Chancey.
I was so tired of Carolina’s whining in book 3 that I wouldn’t have continued the series. However, I had already purchased thru #6 so I read #4. A lot less whining and I really enjoyed the added characters and story lines. I’ll keep reading.
I would give it five, but sorting out the characters was difficult. Even books in a series need to be able to be read independently. A few errors in editing. But I love the humor and the characters!!
The most confusing aspect was that this read like either a light read or a cozy mystery, and I kept half-expecting a body or three to show up. Not really sure where to put this, but it killed a couple of hours in an enjoyable if undistinguished way.
I didn’t realize this was the end of a series when I started to read. The characters seemed to just shoot into the story without much of an introduction. Otherwise i might have enjoyed it.
There were so many times I felt this story was not truly developed. This story jumped around and never really finished its thoughts, and at was confusing. To many cliff hangers in this booj.
This was a different type of story, I enjoyed the characters, Caroline and her friends and family, the story did jump around a lot. But in the end the weddings went on and it seemed like everyone got what they wanted.
I have enjoyed every book in this series. I look forward to listening to the next book. I feel like I have a set of virtual friends. I wish Chauncey existed as I would like to visit.
Another great visit with the residents of Chancey.Through chaos and coffee two weddings are going to take place,jobs and houses will be found and lost.It is Chancey.Great narration by Suzanne Barbetta.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
I'm really loving this series! My only issue is with the editing. There are some very annoying issues that need cleaned up. Other than that, a great book!
Love these characters. They are easy to relate to. Love the town of Chancey and the trains and the eccentrics who live there. Good storyline without sex or foul language.