Synopsis from Jennifer Lynn Cary:
Sue is hiding out until she is sure her former reputation won’t destroy what she’s trying to rebuild. Unfortunately, that means this brilliant wordsmith turned semi-hermit is working beneath her potential and dealing with stress every time her office door opens.
The last thing she needs to do is greet some biker guy who sets her nerves to jumping just by being in the same room. And if his hairy face isn’t enough to put her off, the mere fact that he’s male is.
So why does she keep ending up in his presence?
Mac is home from Viet Nam and if he never thinks about that place again, it will be too soon. Instead he’s returned to his music that got him through his teen years, his exotic senior trip overseas (thanks to his Uncle Sam), and the deep wound that he brought home with him. Using his GI bill to further his music understanding has pushed him outside his comfort zone, but the leggy secretary at his professor’s office is tempting him with other ideas he thought he’d shelved for good.
Even if she gets flustered every time he runs into her.
What will it take for her to give him a chance? Or is she more wounded than he is?
Return to 1972 Kokomo, Indiana for the third installment of The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue series—Runaround Sue—and what happens when people discover who God has called them to be.
You will love Runaround Sue, inspired by Dion and the Belmonts’ 1960s hit song, because everyone understands about facing fears with a do-over.
Publisher: Tandem Services Press
Source: Jennifer Lynn Cary
Leslie’s Review: 5 Stars/A Favorite of 2023!
I love being transported to the 1970s and traveling back to Kokomo, Indiana to the world Jennifer Lynn Cary has created and I got a chance to visit again through Ms. Cary’s latest book, Runaround Sue. Runaround Sue is the third story of Cary’s The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue series that tells the story of Sue, the new secretary of Wabash Congregational Church and “Mac”, a Vet who served in Vietnam and has returned home after losing his foot. Sue is a very intelligent woman with a college education and multiple degrees, who after her mother dies, puts herself out there to go dating and gets an unsavory reputation, regardless of whether or not it’s true, and is forced to move away from home and start over. Mac, whose name is actually Peter, is adjusting to life after returning from War and doing his best not to let his new disability stop him–especially when it comes to riding his motorcycle and continue his education. Sue and Mac meet at Wabash Congregational Church when Mac comes by to meet up with Professor Aaron Day (Aaron Day is a character from Ms. Cary’s The Weather Girls series and his daughters also make an appearance) about his music final. Both want to continue to move forward with their lives and in the process their fondness for one another grows–despite grappling with who they were in the past and who they are coming to be now while learning to embrace God and the plan He has for each of them.
I can’t say enough how much I love traveling back to Kokomo, Indiana! Being introduced to Sue and Mac was a treat and seeing Aaron Day and his “Weather Girls” made the visit that much sweeter. I appreciated Sue and Mac and what they went through. I could relate to Sue and what she went through and how she handled things and the reasoning behind the things she did, because I have been there (at least with eating habits). My heart went out to Mac and I could only imagine the adjustments he had to make on all spheres of life–mentally physically, and spiritually–returning from War. I thought the struggles that Sue had reconciling who she was and is and what the Bible says she is was extremely relatable and authentic. I love seeing the journey of Sue’s transformation though out the book as well as the growth in Mac. I also love the how the characters of Rachel and Smitty are intertwined within the storyline that Ms. Cary has created and how she paced the story out in regard to their connections to Sue and Mac. I never appreciated how real Kokomo actually is until now and how Jennifer Lynn Cary sprinkles real places within her books like she did with Runaround Sue. Having degrees in Journalism and History myself, I loved learning about Elwood Haynes and the museum that bares his name (I even Googled it to learn more) and how Ms. Cary weaved it into Runaround Sue. I also love the life nuggets and Biblical Wisdom sprinkled all through out. (I even highlighted ones that ministered to me.) I love seeing the appearance of the cardinal again and how the symbolism pops up in Runaround Sue! If you are looking forward to a sweet, quirky read full of Biblical Truth that leaves a impact on you as a reader, then I highly recommend Runaround Sue by Jennifer Lynn Cary! I’m looking forward to seeing if the cardinal pops up again in any of Ms. Cary’s future writing…
Have you read Runaround Sue? What did you think of the book? What other books of Jennifer Lynn Cary’s have you read?
I would like to thank Jennifer Lynn Cary for giving me a copy of Runaround Sue to review and letting me be a part of her Launch Team. It’s been a joy to work with Ms. Cary again. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Learn More About:
Historical Christian Romance author Jennifer Lynn Cary likes to say you can take the girl out of Indiana, but you can’t take the Hoosier out of the girl. Now transplanted to the Arizona desert, this direct descendant of Davy Crockett and her husband of forty-plus years enjoy time with family where she shares tales of her small-town heritage and family legacies with their grandchildren. She is the author of The Crockett Chronicles series, The Relentless series, and The Weather Girls trilogy as well as the stand-alone novel, Cheryl’s Going Home, her novella Tales of the Hob Nob Annex Café, and her split-time novels The Traveling Prayer Shawl and The Forgotten Gratitude Journal. Runaround Sue is the third book of her spin-off series The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue.
website: https://www.jenniferlynncary.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1030580.Jennifer_Lynn_Cary
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-lynn-cary
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjenniferlynncary
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenny.cary_author
More from Jennifer Lynn Cary:
Sylvia’s Mother: Book Two of the of The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue series
Leslie’s Library Escape 
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