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The Devine Doughnut Shop–divine doughnuts in Devine, TX
The Devine Doughnut Shop
by Carolyn Brown
Anyone who has traveled across Texas by car knows that most small towns in Texas have a doughnut shop. It’s a standard! Devine, Texas, an actual town near San Antonio, in this novel boasts the most divine doughnuts in the area. They are made in small batches from a secret recipe passed down through four generations of Devine women who are a “family of sisters.”
Grace and Sarah are biological sisters and their cousin Macy is like a third sister. The three women, who also live together in a house near the shop, are up at three o’clock six days a week making their delicious doughnuts.
All of the these women have suffered shattered romantic relationships ranging from a bad boy spouse who couldn’t stay around to parent his newborn, to a boyfriend who lied about his marriage, to a serial con man. In The Devine Doughnut Shop, the reader watches as some of these disasters unfold.
Grace’s teenage daughter Aubrey is beset with her own trust issues in her desire to be popular. She is used by a group of “mean girls” and foolishly casts off her old friends. One of those friends, Raelene, is herself abandoned by her own mother just a few months before her high school graduation. She finds herself without a home or food and in danger of losing the college scholarship she has worked for.
The mean girls have moms who spoil them and were obviously bullies themselves in high school. Now they are vicious gossipers who excel in and celebrate making others miserable.
All of the characters have trust issues to overcome. Grace finds herself oddly attracted to a successful businessman with a good heart. Married to his job, Travis is surprised by his attraction to this hard-working, no nonsense mother of a teenager who won’t sell either her business or the secret recipe. Is he really interested in Grace or does he just see her as a stepping stone to another business deal? What will it take for these characters to turn their lives around and begin to trust in love again?
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: General Fiction, Romance
Notes: Standalone
Publication: February 14, 2023—Mountlake
Memorable Lines:
She was wearing a five-dollar thrift store dress, but she was riding in a modern-day golden chariot, and she had to admit that the excitement bouncing around in the back of the limo was contagious.
“The way to a man’s heart might be through his stomach, but the way to a woman’s heart is through her family.”
“Honey, I’m swimming with the dolphins.” Beezy held up her tote bag. “I’ve got my bathing suit right here, and I don’t give a rip if my hair gets wet. At my age, we got to do what we can when we can, because tomorrow we might be too old and decrepit to even feed ourselves.”
Trip North of the Border
Bienvenido a Casa!
Welcome Home!
This little lady and about 20 more greeted us on our arrival at our cabin in Northern New Mexico last week.
We have returned a little early due to some events north and south of the border. It is not the pretty scene of midwinter with everything covered in a white snowy dress. The display is piles of dirty snow, some ponds where there were none, and muddy areas with deer prints. Although it is not pretty, it is a welcome relief from the drought of recent years. As soon as the temps rise, we should see a lot of green as the trees and grass spring to life.
But backtracking a little, we had four long days of travel with 2 dogs in tow to get from the middle of Mexico to Northern New Mexico. We spent 3 hours inching along in our manual transmission pickup at the border crossing into the U.S. Here are a few pictures of the Plaza de las Culturas (Plaza of Cultures) as you exit Mexico at Tres Piedras to cross over into Eagle Pass. We have crossed there before, but I hadn’t really noticed the replicas of ancient temples, because in the past we had zipped right past them.
One highlight of the trip for me was the small Texas town of Eldorado. On our trips from New Mexico to east Texas, we have fun finding the doughnut shops as we pass through little towns. We don’t eat at all of them, but Eden, for example, has delicious fresh doughnuts. On this trip, the doughnut shop in Eldorado appeared to be closed. As my husband turned around to tell me the bad news, a sheriff’s vehicle pulled in. We had a friendly conversation, and he shared that the doughnut shop was now part of the liquor store in town. He not only gave us directions, but when I pulled out to go there, I found he was at the stop light waiting for us and gave us an escort! As in many small towns, for purposes of survival, the shop (called A’s) was not only a doughnut and liquor store but also a short order grill and convenience store with some of the nicest owners you would want to meet. Texas friendliness at its best!
As we were leaving town, we pulled over for GPS adjustments and I hopped out and snapped some gorgeous
Bluebonnets!
As my lack of inactivity on my own blog and those I follow demonstrates, the last few weeks have been hectic–preparing for the trip, making the journey, and transitioning into life in the U.S. again. I am so far behind, that I will probably alleviate the stress of unread blogs by deleting most of my email notices. My apologies. The good news is that, perhaps, due to a new tower and Internet provider in my rural area, I may actually have a good connection this summer. I am currently using a loaner device and it is fabulous. Under past “normal” conditions, I would be unable to make this blog post. If my actual connection is only half of what I am currently getting, I will still be happy. I find I have less time in the U.S. for reading and reviewing as I have a different lifestyle here, but the future looks bright!
education pathways 