The Prayer Box (A Carolina Heirlooms Novel) Paperback – September 1, 2013

I loved this book and recommended it to my friends.

This was just a wonderful story! A young woman, Tandi and her two children running, escaping from a harmful home life, heading to the only place she remembers being safe. She rents a cottage belonging to the mansion behind it. One day she has thoughts about the old woman who lives there, not seeing her for a few days or seeing the lights on. As she investigates she finds her, passed away. She is hired to clean out the house in exchange for rent. There is so much to this story, her children, her bad choices of men and the sorrow about her life so far. As she cleans out the house she finds boxes full of letters addressed to Father and eventually figures out these are prayers written down over all the years of her life. Really good!

It was a good inspirational read. With it being called The Prayer Box, I was expecting it to go a little deeper. I wanted Tandi to have an encounter with God & not just be inspired but realize that God is what has been missing in her life. I still liked the idea of a prayer box and loved Iola’s story.

The Prayer Box – Prayer Box Series #1Lisa WingateI downloaded this eBook when my favorite author, Jen Turano, posted about it on her FB page. I tucked it away to be read later, and later finally came this weekend. I finished the book in tears (Oh, the Mulberry Girl!) and can’t wait to read the novella, The Tidewater Sisters – Postlude to the Prayer Box.I generally read Christian Historical Fiction, but this was a free download, Jen recommended it, and there was a great video from the author under the paperback version posted on C B D. So I gave it try. I am so glad I did.The book really took off around Ch. 4 when we begin learning about the elderly Iola Anne Poole and her letters. I had never heard of prayer boxes before this. They are a place to tuck your prayers into, and let your cares go. This book so beautifully describes them, and although Iola is fictional, she is someone I wish I could know. I have tried journaling before, and tend to do it most when I am going through great turmoil, and then stop when things are good. I would hate for someone to just read those someday and think my whole life was turmoil. Maybe a prayer box would be good for me.Tandi is a broken young woman with two kids, who finally had the strength to leave a controlling marriage. She has returned to her childhood hometown where her grandparents occasionally were able to bestow love to her and her sister Gina. She hopes to lay low and start fresh. Little does she know that small town people tend to notice, and this small town intends to help her. She is renting a cottage from the elderly Iola Anne Poole, who lives in a historic Victorian home next door.She has a new boyfriend, Ross who seems to care about her. I prefer not to include spoilers about him. Her 9 year-old son, J.T., seems to making an impression on the locals and his teacher, Paul Chastain has taken a real liking to him and his helping grow his interest in science. Paul wears outrageous Hawaiian shirts, proving once again you cannot judge a book by its cover. Tandi’s 14 year-old daughter Zoey has fallen in with the wrong crowd, and it will take some time and the love of the community to help her out of it.Iola also had a difficult life. I believe she was born in the 1920s. Her father was white and her mother was a black servant. Sometime after her father died, the patriarch of the home she lived in, Mr. Benoit had married a woman who did not approve of her and insisted she be sent away to a missionary school. She prayed and prayed to be returned home. God molded this young girl into someone so beautiful who would have such a passion for His people around her, and even far from her. It was amazing. She never sought recognition, but quietly served. So quietly that the people of her community made up lies about her which spread all throughout the town so much that many people believed them. That part was sad.There is a delightful reference to banana beignets. Unfortunately the author did not include the recipe, but I did my own internet search and look forward to trying them. I found one on Taste of Home magazine, from a lady in VA, which would be close enough to the region of the story set in Hatteras, NC and The Outer Banks. If it does not get deleted, I am including the link here: W w w tasteofhome dot com /recipes/banana-beignet-bites/printThere is also an ugly black cat in the book who adds great fun to the story. In this book he has no name. Maybe in the next one?Sandy is the owner of Sandy’s Seashell Shop. She is included in the book at the request of the author’s own Aunt Sandy who offered up much input about what her shop should look like. The character is spunky and kind, generous and protective. I definitely enjoyed her and would love to go sit, have a cup of tea, and gab in her shop with the Shell Shop Sisters. I believe her story starts in the novella, The Seaglass Sisters, prelude to The Prayer Box.The only thing that did not add to the story for me was the overabundance of ocean themed metaphors, that were sometimes so over-the-top I had to re-read them trying to understand them. But, maybe that’s just me.I recommend this book, but have your tissues ready!4.5 out of 5 starsAlso included: Discussion Questions for Reading Groups© 2013 Tyndale House385 PagesI downloaded this eBook from Amazon for free and offer my honest opinion for no compensation.Read: 8/8,9&10/2014Reviewed: 8/10/2014

This pre read book is in excellent condition. I’m currently reading and enjoying it.

The Prayer Box is an amazing novel. Its captivating, entertaining and good for leisure time reading.

What a lovely book about a selfless and inspiring woman who quietly used her inheritance to help others. She wrote prayers to her Heavenly Father and stored them in Prayer Boxes. I recommend this book. There’s a message for everyone.

This is the story of a woman who suffers from low self esteem, on one hand, but then is also quite selfish. She constantly second guesses her abilities and her worth, and she is also fully self-absorbed. When she gets to the island she is accepted by the community but feels she doesn’t deserve their support and friendship. She has 2 children, aged 15 and about 10, and she pretty much leaves them to their own devices, allowing the 15 year old to serve as a surrogate parent to her younger brother. In the end, it’s a romance, as she ends up with the “nerd” who befriended her from the start. The book has some good moments, but it’s not this author’s best work. I read Before We Were Yours first, and was expecting more from this book.