A Year of Extraordinary Moments: A Magnolia Grove Novel

A Year of Extraordinary Moments by Bette Lee Crosby is the second A Magnolia Grove Novel. Dominic DeLuca left Magnolia Grove three and a half years ago and swore that he would never return. His grandmother, Alice calls telling Dominic that her cancer has returned, and she only has months to live. Alice would like him to return home to help her finalize details. Dominic reluctantly returns to Magnolia Grove, but he is not prepared for his grandmother's interference in his life. Tracy Briggs lives with her mother, Lila and her hearing impaired son, Lucas and manages the Snip 'N Save magazine that her father began. Tracy has turned her life around since she left Dominic and returned home. Her sister, Meghan is happy working alongside her husband, Tom at the Kindness Animal Clinic. She wants Tracy to have a fulfilling personal life and encourages her to go out with Gabriel Hawke. When Gabriel asks Tracy to accompany him to an awards dinner, it is beginning of their relationship. Alice is unable to get a straight answer from Dominic regarding Lucas' parentage, and she decides to take matters into her own hands. Alice sets out to get answers and ends up having a special relationship with her great-grandson as well as Tracy. It leads Alice to make decisions that will lead to unexpected repercussions. Come along to Magnolia Grove for A Year of Extraordinary Moments.

A Year of Extraordinary Moments is not a standalone novel. You need to read The Summer of New Beginnings before embarking on A Year of Extraordinary Moments. I did find the story to be a slow starter. The beginning was off-putting to me, and I wish the author had started A Year of Extraordinary Moments on a different note. However, the pace slowly increases, and the story becomes more intriguing. By the halfway mark, I was engrossed and kept reading until I finished. I was surprised to find foul language and intimate relations before marriage included in A Year of Extraordinary Moments. I thought A Year of Extraordinary Moments was a Christian novel. The characters were well-developed, and I like that they keep evolving (except for one). Alice was such a loving character. You could feel the love she had for family and the pain she was experiencing from her illness and Dominic's actions. The point-of-view alternates between Meghan, Dominic, Tracy, and Alice. It allows the reader to see each person's perspective and understand what they are thinking and feeling. However, it is also distracting and made it hard to become fully engaged in the book. Bette Lee Crosby portrays what a family experiences when a child is hearing impaired. In this book, Lucas is learning to speak with the aid of his cochlear implant and speech therapy. I appreciated that the author shows the difference between a job and career that someone enjoys. It is important to find your niche and follow your dreams. I did feel the romance between Gabriel and Tracy was rushed. One minute Tracy states they are just friends and then he asks her out for which he receives a resounding yes (I experienced whiplash at her sudden change of mind). I was happy to see them become a couple, but their relationship seemed rushed. There are some loving moments with Alice, Tracy, Charlie, and Lucas that will touch your heart. A Year of Extraordinary Moments has family love and drama, friendship, romance, hope, faith and tension blended into one absorbing novel.