The Spendor of Ordinary Days

The Splendor of Ordinary Days
A Novel of Watervalley
Jeff High
(NAL)
ISBN: 978-0451474100
October 2015/432 pages/$15.00
Readers of Jan Karon’s Mitford series and Patrick Taylor’s Irish Country series will fall in love with Jeff High’s funny, heartfelt Watervalley series.



The pastoral charm of small-town Watervalley, Tennessee, can be deceptive, as young Dr. Luke Bradford discovers when he’s caught in the fallout of a decades-old conflict.

After a rocky start as Watervalley’s only doctor, Luke Bradford has decided to stay in town, honoring the three-year commitment he made to pay off his medical school debts. But even as his friendships with the quirky townsfolk deepen, and he pursues a romance with lovely schoolteacher Christine Chambers, several military veterans’ emotional wounds trigger anger and unrest in Watervalley.

At the center of the clash is the curmudgeonly publisher of the local newspaper, Luther Whitmore. Luther grew up in Watervalley, but he returned from combat in Vietnam a changed man. He fenced in beautiful Moon Lake, posting “Keep Out” notices at the beloved spot, and provokes the townspeople with his incendiary newspaper.

As Luke struggles to understand Luther’s past, and restore harmony in Watervalley, an unforeseen crisis shatters a relationship he values dearly. Suddenly Luke must answer life’s toughest questions about service, courage, love, and sacrifice.

Dedicated to the Wounded Warriors whose scars cannot be seen and for those who hope, pray, and wait for them to be whole again.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After growing up on a farm in rural Tennessee, Jeff High attained degrees in literature and nursing. He is the three-time winner, in fiction and poetry, of an annual writing contest held by Vanderbilt Medical Center. He lived in Nashville for many years, and throughout the country as a travel nurse, before returning to his original hometown, near where he now works as an operating room RN in open-heart surgery. He is the author of the Watervalley novels, including More Things in Heaven and Earth and Each Shining Hour. Find out more about Jeff at http://www.watervalleybooks.com/.


MY THOUGHTS

I was intrigued by this series when offered the chance to review this book, so I bought the digital versions of the first two novels, More Things in Heaven and Earth and Each Shining Hour and read them first. While The Splendor of Ordinary Days can be read as a standalone, I loved having the background of the characters and events that preceded this third novel of the series. Watervalley is a quaint and often quirky small town in the Tennessee hills, and Jeff High captures all of the nuances--good and bad--of a community that has weathered war, betrayal, unrequited love, and more. High populates the town with characters of all sort, and the strength of this novel likes in the development and interactions between the various individuals. As a caveat, this is a general market novel, and while I found it to simply depict a slice of real life, ultra-conservative Christian readers may be disappointed by mild language and the presence of alcohol within the story. However, I found Watervalley to be a charming place to pull up a chair and visit a spell, and I loved this tale's reminder to step back from the busyness of life and enjoy The Splendor of Ordinary Days.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NAL and Litfuse Publicity Group as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”


When several military veterans’ emotional wounds trigger anger and unrest in Watervalley, Dr. Luke Bradford learns some important lessons in service, courage, love, and sacrifice in The Splendor of Ordinary Days by Jeff High. As Luke struggles to understand Vietnam War veteran Luther’s past, and restore harmony in Watervalley, an unforeseen crisis shatters a relationship he values dearly.

Join Jeff in celebrating the release of The Splendor of Ordinary Days with a Kindle Fire HD 6 giveaway!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• Signed copies of all three Watervalley books
• A Kindle Fire HD 6

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on October 27th. The winner will be announced October 28th on Jeff's blog.