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The Tentative Knock
Writer, beachcomber, and supermom of four grown children, Jessie Oakey is looking forward to a slower pace when Randall, her husband of 35 years, finally retires. Instead, she finds herself completely at a loss for her future after he dies suddenly in a tragic accident.
Soon - too soon? - Jessie and her newly widowed co-worker, Paul Jameson, begin to navigate grief together. Maybe no one should be surprised when the two affectionate old friends begin to see each other in a new light, begin to fall in love. Maybe heartbreak really can be sincere and shared all at once. Maybe age fifty-something is not too old for a second-chance at romance. Maybe, somehow, Jessie will find a way to be freed from guilt and doubt and embrace a brand-new chapter in her life.
Filled with colorful family members, southern, coastal vibes, and plenty of Generation-X pop culture, Jessie’s story is one of ordinary people trying to overcome extraordinary circumstances with grace, humor, and always, love.
Soon - too soon? - Jessie and her newly widowed co-worker, Paul Jameson, begin to navigate grief together. Maybe no one should be surprised when the two affectionate old friends begin to see each other in a new light, begin to fall in love. Maybe heartbreak really can be sincere and shared all at once. Maybe age fifty-something is not too old for a second-chance at romance. Maybe, somehow, Jessie will find a way to be freed from guilt and doubt and embrace a brand-new chapter in her life.
Filled with colorful family members, southern, coastal vibes, and plenty of Generation-X pop culture, Jessie’s story is one of ordinary people trying to overcome extraordinary circumstances with grace, humor, and always, love.
348 pages, Paperback
First published September 21, 2021
About the author
Kelly Capriotti Burton
14 books21 followersKelly Capriotti Burton is the author of the Surfside Beach Series and the inspirational non-fiction collection, Swerve.
A native of South Chicago Heights, Illinois, Kelly also works as a professional running enthusiast (mananging a family-owned running store),
a licensed minister, and a marathoner, who now resides in Surfside Beach, South Carolina and can't imagine it any other way.
Though a new novelist, Kelly has a longstanding professional writing career that includes work in magazines and marketing, most notably for TRU Teen Magazine, Southern Gospel Radio, and SGN Scoops. Upon moving to coastal Carolina and experiencing several twists and turns, she decided it was time to put a creative spin on her "big, crazy, gathered family" and her belief in happily ever afters for complicated relationships.
Kelly does life with her husband Rod, their five kids, granddaughter, parents, two dogs, a Harley, a rock band, and that ever-expanding gathered family. She enjoys warm nights hearing the band play, riding on the back of her husband's motorcycle, combing the beach, long runs with friends followed by a great breakfast, adventures with her kids, and laughing.
Her debut novel, The Tentative Knock, is an exploration of moving forward while carrying grief and is a book club favorite, along with a rising favorite on the Amazon charts. Kelly's inspiration collection of essays, Swerve: When Life Throws
Curves, But God Said Live, is an Amazon #1 New Release.
A native of South Chicago Heights, Illinois, Kelly also works as a professional running enthusiast (mananging a family-owned running store),
a licensed minister, and a marathoner, who now resides in Surfside Beach, South Carolina and can't imagine it any other way.
Though a new novelist, Kelly has a longstanding professional writing career that includes work in magazines and marketing, most notably for TRU Teen Magazine, Southern Gospel Radio, and SGN Scoops. Upon moving to coastal Carolina and experiencing several twists and turns, she decided it was time to put a creative spin on her "big, crazy, gathered family" and her belief in happily ever afters for complicated relationships.
Kelly does life with her husband Rod, their five kids, granddaughter, parents, two dogs, a Harley, a rock band, and that ever-expanding gathered family. She enjoys warm nights hearing the band play, riding on the back of her husband's motorcycle, combing the beach, long runs with friends followed by a great breakfast, adventures with her kids, and laughing.
Her debut novel, The Tentative Knock, is an exploration of moving forward while carrying grief and is a book club favorite, along with a rising favorite on the Amazon charts. Kelly's inspiration collection of essays, Swerve: When Life Throws
Curves, But God Said Live, is an Amazon #1 New Release.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 13, 2021
Great debut by a new author!
The characters in The Tentative Knock were all so relatable and real, and I loved reading a book that was based in Surfside!
The fact that Jessie and Paul got together so soon after the death of their spouses gave me pause, but who are we to dictate how someone deals with the cards they are dealt? The way Kelly wrapped you in Jessie and Paul's story, and their pain and healing, you understood it, and ultimately rooted for them and their second chance. I especially loved the extended family and the roles they played in the story.
Special thanks to the author for giving me an early preview. The Tentative Knock releases September 21st
The characters in The Tentative Knock were all so relatable and real, and I loved reading a book that was based in Surfside!
The fact that Jessie and Paul got together so soon after the death of their spouses gave me pause, but who are we to dictate how someone deals with the cards they are dealt? The way Kelly wrapped you in Jessie and Paul's story, and their pain and healing, you understood it, and ultimately rooted for them and their second chance. I especially loved the extended family and the roles they played in the story.
Special thanks to the author for giving me an early preview. The Tentative Knock releases September 21st
November 14, 2021
Kelly Capriotti Burton’s “The Tentative Knock” is engaging from start to finish, not for the young heroine who overcomes impossible odds or for a love story written in the stars. The challenges – and, yes, intrigue – come instead from a believably ordinary family trying to move on after an impossible tragedy, with a fiercely determined mother, Jessie Oakley, at its center. Jessie’s strongest weapon against family strife is a well-cooked meal and navigating the welcomed chaos of a crowded household. But soon, Jessie will be forced to uncover new strengths if her family is to remain a family at all.
Jessie has the perfect life. A perfect husband, Randall, and a brood of grown children drawn forever homeward by Jessie’s rituals of food and celebration. She has the good fortune as well of working side-by-side with her good friend Paul, developing Christian curricula for homeschooling parents. But Paul is also great friends with Jessie’s husband, and Jessie’s and Paul’s families have likewise developed into something of second families to one another.
What could go wrong?
As in real life, simply the most unexpected of tragedies. Jessie’s husband and Paul’s wife are both killed in the same automobile accident. Families grieve, as families do. But when Jessie’s and Paul’s shared grief takes them past friendship and into a “tentative” romance, the families begin to shatter, inside and out.
Suddenly, Jessie finds herself struggling to understand and come to terms with her grief and a new love emerging even in its midst. But Jessie’s and Paul’s children, as resentful as Hamlet over Gertrude’s “o’erhasty hasty marriage,” see the developing relationship as a betrayal of their lost parents.
“The Tentative Knock” is often uncomfortable in the complex and emotional family dynamics. I found myself both rooting for Jessie – who is wonderfully written by Capriotti Burton as a well-settled middle-aged woman whose identity is wrapped up entirely in family – and wondering, as her and Paul’s children do, if she isn’t moving on “too soon.”
Kelly Capriotti Burton’s first-person narrative told from Jessie’s point of view kept me engaged in the story and often taking sides and being angry, at various times, with almost every character in the novel. The effect on the written page was nothing short of keeping the reader immersed almost as a participant in the family saga. “The Tentative Knock” is Kelly Capriotti’s debut novel, and it holds the promise of more to come from this talented writer.
Jessie has the perfect life. A perfect husband, Randall, and a brood of grown children drawn forever homeward by Jessie’s rituals of food and celebration. She has the good fortune as well of working side-by-side with her good friend Paul, developing Christian curricula for homeschooling parents. But Paul is also great friends with Jessie’s husband, and Jessie’s and Paul’s families have likewise developed into something of second families to one another.
What could go wrong?
As in real life, simply the most unexpected of tragedies. Jessie’s husband and Paul’s wife are both killed in the same automobile accident. Families grieve, as families do. But when Jessie’s and Paul’s shared grief takes them past friendship and into a “tentative” romance, the families begin to shatter, inside and out.
Suddenly, Jessie finds herself struggling to understand and come to terms with her grief and a new love emerging even in its midst. But Jessie’s and Paul’s children, as resentful as Hamlet over Gertrude’s “o’erhasty hasty marriage,” see the developing relationship as a betrayal of their lost parents.
“The Tentative Knock” is often uncomfortable in the complex and emotional family dynamics. I found myself both rooting for Jessie – who is wonderfully written by Capriotti Burton as a well-settled middle-aged woman whose identity is wrapped up entirely in family – and wondering, as her and Paul’s children do, if she isn’t moving on “too soon.”
Kelly Capriotti Burton’s first-person narrative told from Jessie’s point of view kept me engaged in the story and often taking sides and being angry, at various times, with almost every character in the novel. The effect on the written page was nothing short of keeping the reader immersed almost as a participant in the family saga. “The Tentative Knock” is Kelly Capriotti’s debut novel, and it holds the promise of more to come from this talented writer.
August 24, 2021
This amazing book was an incredible mix of heart wrenching grief, romance, and family saga! I wasn't quite sure about a romance starting only a month after the death of a spouse, but the author did such a great job of acknowledging the crazy of that while also showing that for these characters it was the right next step. While that situation could be easy to judge from the outside, diving deep into these characters lives instead brought out so much empathy for their difficult situation.
One of my favorite things about this book is how REAL all of the characters are! They are all people that could easily be in any of our lives and I love having realism in my books. There are A LOT of people/names to keep track of with both characters having big families, but there is typically enough context to figure out which person it is (even if you forget the names).
The ending was incredibly satisfying, the cast was realistic and lovable, the setting was gorgeous (I felt like I was on the beach for half the book) and overall the book just left me feeling so satisfied.
One of my favorite things about this book is how REAL all of the characters are! They are all people that could easily be in any of our lives and I love having realism in my books. There are A LOT of people/names to keep track of with both characters having big families, but there is typically enough context to figure out which person it is (even if you forget the names).
The ending was incredibly satisfying, the cast was realistic and lovable, the setting was gorgeous (I felt like I was on the beach for half the book) and overall the book just left me feeling so satisfied.
April 6, 2023
Just coming from Surfside beach myself. I could relate to alot of the places mentioned in this book which made it more interesting! Jesse's husband was killed in a tragic car accident along with her coworkers wife who were setting up a nice dinner date for the 4 of them. Since they were such good friends, they weeped on each others shoulders until it turned into something much more that just friendship. Jesse handled these matters very graciously and after some time without any guilt. What a true to life story!
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October 19, 2024About a woman who loses her husband and a man who loses his wife during a car accident with the husband driving. The survivors had been friends and co-workers for years. They end up getting involved which is frowned upon by some in the community and some of their children as well. Everything happens fast and feelings for the deceased are tangled up with feeling for each other. This book is by a local author and I enjoyed seeing references to places in the Surfside Beach and Myrtle Beach areas.
July 22, 2024
I started to read this previously and dnf three chapters in. I couldn’t get behind how quick the relationship started. I decided to give it another chance. I really enjoyed the book and I liked the writing. The book really does address the issues I had at the beginning of the book and I plan to continue with the series
April 17, 2022
This story is:
- A breath of fresh air.
- A conversation with your best friend that you walk away from feeling refreshed.
- About complicated relationships that leave you guessing what will happen next.
- A breath of fresh air.
- A conversation with your best friend that you walk away from feeling refreshed.
- About complicated relationships that leave you guessing what will happen next.
December 31, 2021
Great read with well developed characters. It’s a an amazing story of loss, love and all it’s complications. Loved it from start to finish and highly recommend it.
September 21, 2022
122210
8/10
8/10
September 23, 2022
Enjoyed the book and references to my hometown 😀
July 23, 2024
I have been visiting the Surfside Beach area for about 30 years. It was fun that this book took place in that familiar area. Also, happened to be in MB last week and met the author!
November 10, 2024
3-4 ⭐, felt it was slow in the start but I did enjoy the book!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews