A Page Before Bedtime

The Gardins of Edin and A Gardin Wedding by Rosey Lee

2026-09-18T19:57:00.000-05:00

The Gardins of Edin - Book 1

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pages: 308 pages
Published: January 2024

A Gardin Wedding - Book 2

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Pages: 281 pages
Published: May 2025

The Gardins of Edin and A Gardin Wedding by Rosey Lee were part of my September Reading Circle selections, and together they offered a heartfelt, engaging introduction to Lee’s work. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the author blended family drama, emotional growth, and gentle storytelling. In this review, I’ll be sharing a bit about both since I read them in succession. The timelines sit close in proximity and the second book naturally continued from the first. However, each of the books can be read independently as Lee provides enough background in A Gardin Wedding for new readers to feel fully oriented.

This series centers on four women of the Gardin family in the fictional town of Edin, Georgia. The primary characters include: the matriarch, Aunt Naomi, older cousin Ruth, and younger cousins and sisters Mary and Martha. In each book, Lee presents a central conflict that the family must navigate together, and she consistently delivers the hopeful, satisfying endings she promises.

In The Gardins of Edin, the reader meets the Gardin women and learn of the long-standing tension between Ruth and Martha. Ruth, who married into the family twice–first through Naomi’s son, and later through Naomi’s cousin Beau–has taken leadership of the family’s peanut company. Martha resents Ruth deeply, convinced she has ulterior motives regarding the family business and estate. As Ruth pursues the permanent CEO role after Beau’s death, the two clash repeatedly. When the consultant Ruth hires begins forming a personal connection with Naomi, the conflict gains another emotional layer. Lee guides the family through these challenges with care, ultimately offering a resolution that feels both tidy and believable.

In book two, A Gardin Wedding, the story opens with a Gardin wedding and the focus shifts to Martha who is navigating a new relationship with her love interest, Oji, a successful real estate entrepreneur. She’s also getting a little taste of her own medicine from book one, but this time from Oji’s mother who’s keeping her at a distance while caring for Oji’s father who has recently been diagnosed with dementia. Similar to the first book, this plot takes several twists and turns but Lee again employs her signature device of bringing everyone together in the end.

I really enjoyed reading both of these fast-paced novels. Lee offers an affirming, respectful portrayal of Black family dynamics, and I appreciated the in-depth examination of health issues affecting the community. While I don’t always gravitate to stories that are tied up nicely in the end, I valued how Lee pulled things together without making them feel forced. Her writing is clear, her pacing steady, and her characters compelling. My only early struggle was understanding Ruth’s place in the family, and Martha’s treatment of her in book one frustrated me. But by book two, Martha’s character felt more grounded and sympathetic. Any story that evokes emotion, especially conflicting emotion, is a worthwhile read in my opinion.

Recommendation: I don’t typically like to get invested in book series because I like to read widely across many authors, but Rosey Lee’s work may be an exception to my rule. I’m grateful for the way she presented middle-class Black families without leaning too much on trauma or drama. If you enjoyed shows like The Cosby Show or This is Us, I think you’d enjoy falling into the world of the Gardins.

Until next time ... Read on!

Regardless of whether I purchase a book, borrow a book, or receive a book in exchange for review, my ultimate goal is to be honest, fair, and constructive. I hope you've found this review helpful.

Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris

2026-08-30T20:39:33.322-05:00

Rating: 5+ of 5 stars

Pages: 496 pages
Published: February 2026

I ordered Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris to read along with my online book club, This Browne Girl Reads. When the book arrived, I was delighted I had snagged a stunning sprayed-edges edition. The cover is gorgeous on its own, but the sprayed edges make it feel magical. And that magic doesn’t stop on the outside. Harris has written a beautiful, emotionally resonant novel that explores grief, guilt, belonging, family, and redemption with tenderness and care.

The story is about Leigh Wilde, the lone survivor of her immediate family as well as the only surviving passenger of a prison bus transport crash. Reeling from trauma and loss, Leigh takes this pivotal event as an opportunity to walk into a new life in the small rural town of Camden, Alabama. While there, she meets Jackson who owns a local flower farm in nearby Gee’s Bend. Jackson offers her a place to live and work on the farm during a period of expansion for his horticulture operation. This arrangement provides Leigh with stability, purpose, and more importantly, a chance to build a found family with Jackson and his team Luke and Tibb.

As Leigh learns to tend to the land and learns the rhythms of the farm, she beings to confront her past trauma and work toward self-healing. The flower fields become a sanctuary, a place where she can bloom quietly, like the wildflowers she grows to love. And Jackson provides guidance and a safe space to release the past pain she’s carried. But as often happens in life, peace is fragile, and Leigh’s past comes back to haunt her, forcing her to reckon with the truth she hoped to walk away from.

This was a compelling blend of literary fiction, romance, and suspense. The author provided just enough tension to keep the reader engaged while also enveloping the plot in poetic and immersive prose. Harris’ writing is lush without being heavy, and she has a gift for crafting sentences that feel both delicate and powerful. The emotional beats land with sincerity, and the pacing allows the reader to enjoy the journey rather than rushing to the conclusion.

Recommendation: Harris takes her time with the novel constructing the most exquisite sentences to express even the simplest moments. Her book is one I was grateful I had the time to slowly enjoy over two weeks; allowing the story to unfold at its own gentle pace. She truly has a way with words, and Where the Wildflowers Grow is a shining example of the finest literary fiction. I’m already looking forward to reading more of her work.

Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves

2026-08-15T18:36:00.000-05:00

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Pages: 256 pages
Published: July 2026

Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is Ben Reeves’ debut novel, and what a striking debut it is. This short work of magical realism explores death, the human condition, and the fragile beauty of emotional connection through an unlikely narrator: Death. Personified as Travis, his job is to comfort people in their final hours–an act he performs with practiced empathy but intentional detachment. However, this detachment begins to crack when he befriends a single mother and her eight-year-old daughter who live across the hall in his building. Through them, Travis starts to question not only the meaning of his work but also the cost of feeling anything at all.

The novel is undeniably melancholy. Its tone is somber and reflective, giving the reader time to consider the life, death, and the spaces in between. Reeves threads glimpses of hope throughout small moments of connection, kindness, and unexpected joy that gives the story some light. Those moments reminded me of Sandra Bullock’s 2013 interview when she shared advice to “savor, savor, savor,” to hold on to those fleeting bits of between that make life worth living. This book does exactly that. In the midst of heartbreak, sadness, and pain, there are small, quiet moments that really give life meaningful purpose.

Reeve’s writing is elegant and restrained. He doesn’t rush, although there were passages in the novel that felt a little long and overly verbose. Having said that, it does give the reader time to sit down with the characters’ emotions and to observe Travis’s reckoning with humanity.

I enjoyed this novel. The writing is thoughtful, and the pacing is gentle. And I’m so appreciative of the little “gift” Reeves gives us at the very end. The book is a tender reminder that even in sadness, there is beauty and even in endings, there is something worth holding onto.

Recommendation: If you enjoy introspective, character-driven stories that blend realism with a touch of the surreal, this novel is a lovely choice. It’s one that will stick with you for a while.