Looking for Me. Finished 5-19-13, rating 4.5/5, 354 pages, ON SALE MAY 28, 2013

I was a little hesitant when author Beth Hoffman offered to send me her new book.  I loved her first, Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt, so much and I’ve also grown to be a fan of Beth Hoffman the person, so I was afraid of what would happen if I didn’t like it, if I would be disappointed.  I needn’t have worried since Teddi, while not quite as endearing to me as Cee Cee, is great heroine.

Teddi grew up on a Kentucky farm with her parents, brother, and grandmother.  She was close to her loving father and her nature loving brother, but her relationship with her mother was prickly on a good day.  Especially after Teddi takes off after graduation and her brother goes missing.  Teddi makes a life in Charleston restoring furniture, but she is always drawn home where her brother’s disappearance still haunts her.

Teddi was refreshing.  She knew what she wanted to do from a young age and went after it, and in the process found a new family for herself.  I loved the fact that she was so determined in her goal to own an antique shop and she wasn’t distracted.  She was a successful woman who didn’t lament the lack of a man in her life, instead she lamented the fact that she was so happy without one.  Like most women, the relationship with her mother was a central to her life, and wanting to make her proud was something Teddi was hoping for. That storyline was such a strong one for me and I was rooting for Teddi and her mother.  As for her brother, he was an odd duck and I had a hard time loving him as much as Teddi, but he had a sweet relationship with his sister.

Beth Hoffman knows how to make me feel the southern atmosphere which is no small feat since she grew up not far from where I am in northeast Ohio.  I am especially grateful for her Buckeye roots since that means she always makes a stop here and I will get to see her on June 1st.  I had such a blast meeting her on the last book tour with fellow blogger Bonnie.  Beth is such a warm soul and I think this book showcases that.