Great book with the added bonus of 2 stories, blended nicely together as you read Iola Poole's letter's from the past and follow Tandi Reese's life in the present. Both stories are compelling and interesting in their own unique way, but the way they work together in the book is amazing. Tandi is a down on her luck single-mom whose life has been a whole lot of heartache. She's on the run from an abusive husband and flat-broke. Her kids are used to fending for themselves for the most part and their relationship with Tandi is shallow at best. You can feel the despair and desperation in her situation right from the beginning. Iola Poole was a lovely woman who didn't understand many wrongs that had been done to her throughout her life. She was sent away from her home and family at a young age to live at a Catholic home for orphans and overheard some ladies call her an "anathema" which means curse or something to be shunned. It took many years before she'd realize why they would say that about her, and even afterwards the sting of rejection from her own family would be something she carried. Hiding her true identity of who she was from her neighbors, and even her husband for a time, was something she bore alone. However, she found solace in her letters, written to Father, that she placed in prayer boxes. Those prayer boxes are the treasure that Tandi will find, years later, and slowly begin to piece together Iola's secret. What Tandi discovers is an amazing woman, with a great capacity to give, anonymously, to meet the needs of those in her community and beyond. Even when many treated her poorly because they did not understand her true heritage, she never stopped praying and giving generously, even up to her death. What happens and how it all pulls together makes for a great story. Tandi learns a lot of hard lessons along the way, but with the help of some people who treat her compassionately and genuinely care about her well-being, she grows stronger and is able to stand on her own two feet. An excellent read that will grab you and engross you throughout the entire book!

The Prayer Box – Prayer Box Series #1 Lisa Wingate I 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/print There 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 stars Also included: Discussion Questions for Reading Groups © 2013 Tyndale House 385 Pages I downloaded this eBook from Amazon for free and offer my honest opinion for no compensation. Read: 8/8,9&10/2014 Reviewed: 8/10/2014

The first quarter of the book I found myself restless with reading and harder to get into the story. I almost considered reading another book instead, but I decided to press on because I read such good reviews about it. As I continued to read more of the book, I became more engaged in it and eager to read. By the end of the book, I was so enthralled in the story, that I didn't want to put it down and I was even able to block out noise around me as I was engulfed in the story. It was as if I was feeling the characters and being apart of the story. The ending was so touching, I felt a mixture of happiness and sweet sadness. I loved the story line and how we were able to read the letters/prayers from Iola Anne and her history. The letters were very inspirational, expressing love, patience, peace, and faith in her Father, our God. It was great to see Tandi (the main character) feeling affected by the letters and learning positive values in life through Iola Anne. I guess it makes sense too, to feel anger and disgust for the "bad guys" in a story, because, well, I disliked very much Ross and Gina. And I felt love for the "good guys", Sandy and Paul. Tandi was trying to make new in her life, just as the town of Fairhope was mending the damage after multiple storms. This quote from Iola Anne's letters seem to describe the storyline of "recovery after a storm": "Dawn comes after the darkness, and with it the promise that what has been torn by the sea is not lost. All of life is breaking and mending, clipping and stitching, gathering tatters and sewing seams. All of life is quilted from the scraps of what once was and is no more - the places we have been, the memories we have made, the people we have known, that which has been long loved but has grown threadbare over time and can be worn no longer. We keep only pieces. All colors, all shapes, all sizes. All waiting to be stitched into the pattern only you can see. In the quiet after the storm, I hear you whisper, 'Daughter, do not linger where you are. Take up your needle and your thread, and go see to the mending...' "

Such a good book. One of my new favorites.

The Prayer Box took me on such an emotional journey. At times the stories of Iola Anne Poole and Tandi Reese are heartbreaking, full of hurt and turmoil, but overall there is a wonderful spirit of optimism in this book. Tandi is a single mom with two kids, who has left a horrible, dnagerous situation and escaped to the Outer Banks, a place with happy memories of times spent there with her grandparents. Her own childhood was a scary one, as she and her sister were bounced from foster families to her grandparents and back to their parents again. She'd love to give her own children a more stable, happy family life, but feels caught up in her own past. Tandi is renting a cottage at Benoit House, a dilapidated Victorian that has withstood many storms in all the years since it was built. When Iola Anne Poole, the owner of Benoit House, dies, Tandi is asked to help with cleaning it out in exchange for letting her stay in the cottage. Destitute and desperate, Tandi takes on the task, not knowing that what she finds within its walls could be the answer to her prayers for herself and her family. While she is cleaning out the house, she discovers a closet full of boxes of all shapes and sizes, each containing letters written by Iola Anne to God. As Tandi reads the letters in the prayer boxes, she uncovers the story of Iola's life, from when she was a child living in a home for orphans, through the last years of her life. As she uncovers Iola's past, she also discovers so many truths about herself. The language in this book is breathtaking, and is full of wonderful quotes and sayings, words that we can all live by. Words that tell us that we should see the divine in everything, that prayers are answered in ways that we don't choose, that the river of grace bubbles up in unexpected places. I loved the thought that life is quilted from all the scraps of our life, where we've been, the people in our lives, and how it's up to us to stitch them together. Tandi comes to many startling revelations as she reads the letters, revelations about herself, and especially how she learns that love is not just about those who are tied to us by blood, but it's those who love us outside of our bloodlines that prove to us that we are worthy. The Prayer Box is an amazing story, and it is the first story of the author's Carolina Chronicles. I can't wait to read the rest of the stories!

Finish Time: 6ish nights. Another book that got me through my move. And a great one to do so. This book had it all and was really a great read and as I started writing my review – realized it would be only my 2nd 5 bone review of the year! I really liked it! Meet Tandi. A newly single mom, running away from an awful past with her 2 kids, not knowing where her next paycheck is coming from, just trying to get by and figure out who she is. She rents a cottage in on Hatteras Island (which sounds beautiful!), quickly goes through what money she received from her divorce, and scrambles to figure out what is next. The cottage or bungalow, as a few call it, is owned by a woman, Iola Anne Poole, who we never meet in person in the book, but really the story is just as much about her as it is Tandi. Tandi never met her landlord, but when she needed her one day, she ventured over to the “main house” on her property, where Iola lives, only to find her passed away. Panicked and afraid of what will happen next, Tandi does the right thing and calls the police, but it was a weird struggle for me whether to trust her or not. Throughout the book we learn more about Tandi’s past, and it comes to make sense, but I could never tell if she would do the right thing, or had the right intentions. She does have a big heart, but she is also getting pretty desperate, so who knows what that will drive someone to do. So it took me some time to trust her (not that I have to trust my main characters) but I guess as any relationship, that was all part of it and I felt made for a great story. In fear of losing her house and on edge, Tandi is approached by the church, who has taken control of the property, to clean it out in exchange for staying in her bungalow. And as she starts sorting through Iola’s things, she discovers more than she bargained for, but in a good way. Iola didn’t have the best reputation on Hatteras Island, most thought she deceived an old man into getting control of her estate. But like most rumors, no one had all the details, and Tandi made it her mission (after much thought) to bring out Iola’s story. Which was truly fascinating. Oh and I should probably mention the prayer boxes in the title. That is how Tandi learned everything about Iola. From a young age, not having a confidant, Iola begins writing letters to her father, which Tandi learned (a bit slower than I did) is the Almighty Father in heaven, so they are not letters, but prayers. Through joy and tears, Tandi is transported into Iola’s past and learns so much more about this woman who had an amazingly big heart, but preferred to remain in the background. I’ve already rambled on a lot and feel I haven’t even touched the story. Throw in a (not so appreciative) boyfriend, a terrifying ex-husband, nosy townspeople, her sister, that cute dorky guy from church, her kids, a sea shell stop, the handy-woman hidden inside her, and an open heart for the Lord, really this story had it all. Really it does. You won’t be disappointed – check it out!

Tandi Reese needs a hiding place, but she never expected it to come in the form of Iola Anne Poole's rambling mansion on the Outer Banks. Yet when tasked with cleaning out Iola's house after the older woman dies, Tandi discovers a story that will lead her to stability, faith, and new hope. Tandi is a complex and engaging protagonist and narrator. Much like a real person, there are things to like about her, such as her intelligence and resilience, and things you hope will change, such as her hands-off parenting and tendency to glom onto men who do anything but appreciate and love her. Perhaps that's why it's so gratifying to see her form a sisterhood with the Seashell Shop women, get to know Paul Chastain, and build a life on Hatteras after the definition of a troubled life. Iola, for her part, is a compelling deuterotagonist. In fact, she made me wish Lisa Wingate wrote historical fiction, because her story is just as interesting as Tandi's. Her prayer box letters are touching and filled with deep faith, despite her own travails, such as being banished to a convent school for her mixed-race heritage. Because Iola's part of the novel is epistolary and not as consistent as Tandi's, I felt like I missed out on getting to know this character, but it wasn't a turn-off because the historical and contemporary stories mesh together well. Lisa rounds out her story with other well-drawn characters such as Paul, a man who doesn't fit the stereotype of a romantic hero but is the kind of guy Tandi needs, and Zoey, a daughter who is deciding whether to follow her mom's path or believe she can be and do better. Finally, I like that the Christian element of The Prayer Box, while present, is not overpowering. You can safely presume Tandi will find faith, but her journey feels authentic, not clichéd. Saying the Sinner's Prayer and going to church, Lisa hints, won't fix everything for Tandi. What will, is finding God--and Christ in Him--and believing who He says she is and always was. I love how Iola, through her prayer box, had an opportunity to teach Tandi this.

Beautiful sorry of redemption and hope. Love Lisa Wingate's novels. I absolutely love Lisa Wingate’s novels! I started with Tending Roses and have read and enjoyed each and every one of her books. I enjoy Lisa’s writing style, character development, unique story lines and the fact that there is always personal growth, reconciliation and redemption in her novels. Lisa always finds an interesting premise, location or historical reference that leads me to do further research on the topic presented. I also like that her books are written in series which gives me an opportunity to get to know the characters better as the story lines develop and to see how they are progressing or what they are up to once they aren’t the focal point of the current story. While I don’t always like the personalities of the characters (I’m sure that’s Lisa’s intent) at the onset, I do grow to love them and understand and appreciate their individual challenges and personalities as the story unfolds. I have sometimes felt uncomfortable as I was being taught lessons I needed to learn about how others might be challenged or struggling in their lives and the scenarios are realistic enough that you can certainly apply them to real life situations. At the end of the book, I am always loath to leave them and feel as if they are real people that I’ve grown to know and care about. I have been inspired by Lisa’s wisdom, challenged to become a better person, laughed, cried and fallen in love with the people and localities she writes about. I feel I am a better person for having read these books and always appreciate the measure of grace she brings to her writing. Each book leaves a great impression on me and my heart is full for a long time after the last page is turned. It is important to me that Lisa somehow manages to do all of this without feeling the need to use graphic language or sex scenes as I do not find that these add anything to a story. Don’t think that her books aren’t entertaining! Lisa adds wit to go along with the wisdom! There is always a little bit of romance, too! I hope you will take the time to pick up one of Lisa’s books. You won’t be disappointed.

I love this book. Lisa Wingate’s exquisite prose drew me in from the first paragraph as she paints in delicate watercolours this brief period of time in the life of Tandi Jo. I love the complexity of the characters and the myriad little surprises throughout the book. This is a story of redemption, of forgiveness, and of faith. I loved Tandi Jo’s transformation as she immersed herself in Iola’s secrets. Her new faith was tested time and time again, and that realism enhanced my appreciation. This is a book I will read again and again. The Prayer Box is worthy of five stars, and that is what I award it.

A great story. I shall be looking out for more of Lisa Wingate's stories. I had great difficulty putting it down once I started it. I would recommend it highly as suitable for all age groups. Like all good books I will be returning to it again in the future. It is well written, the story flows well, the characters are credible and it keeps your interest right up to the last page. God bless you.

It's nothing life changing but it was a good read and it was free so that was fine. It was written well and I would recommend it as a light read.

I loved this book, and it has encouraged me to get my own prayer box. A beautiful book, showing issues many people face. Well worth reading.

I absolutely loved this book and will recommend it to anyone in need of a positive approach to the complexities of life. A contemporary story, everyday yet unique problems, showing what really matters and how it's worth fighting for.