This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Mrs. Saint and the Defectives

Summary: Critically acclaimed author Julie Lawson Timmer returns with a tale of how community can heal the brokenness in all of us.

Markie, a fortysomething divorcée who has suffered a humiliating and very public fall from marital, financial, and professional grace, moves, along with her teenage son, Jesse, to a new town, hoping to lick her wounds in private. But Markie and Jesse are unable to escape the attention of their new neighbor Mrs. Saint, an irascible, elderly New European woman who takes it upon herself, along with her ragtag group of “defectives,” to identify and fix the flaws in those around her, whether they want her to or not.

What Markie doesn’t realize is that Mrs. Saint has big plans for the divorcée’s broken spirit. Soon, the quirky yet endearing woman recruits Markie to join her eccentric community, a world where both hidden truths and hope unite them. But when Mrs. Saint’s own secrets threaten to unravel their fragile web of healing, it’s up to Markie to mend these wounds and usher in a new era for the “defectives”—one full of second chances and happiness.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Confession: I read this as Mrs.Saint and the Detectives the first time I looked at this book (lol) BUT that is not far from the truth of the story 😉

What I liked:

The cover! Those of a certain age might remember when Home Improvement came on at night on ABC and not on TVLand. There was a character name Wilson who you never saw his face completely because he was always on the other side of the fence, but he always had some advice for Tim that would help get his family, marriage, etc back on track. Mrs. Saint made me think of Wilson.

Mrs. Saint. Yes, she might be meddling. A know it all. Stubborn. We should all have a Mrs. Saint in our lives.

 

What I didn’t love:

Markie. Yes, her life sucked. Yes, some of it was her fault because she ceded so much control of her life to others. Yes, Mrs. Saint could be a bit meddling in her life- but Markie tried to make mountains of molehills at times and acted all la-di-dah at times when she should have been more observant. I was extremely glad to see growth in Markie from beginning to end of book and her journey, while sometimes making me want to slap her and say “JUST LISTEN TO MRS.SAINT!!!” did end in a good place- so yay!

 

Bottom line: Mrs. Saint and the Defectives was like a cool drink- refreshing!!!!!

 

*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

**Mrs. Saint and the Defectives is an August #FuturisticFriday selection from Traveling With T.**

 

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Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T