BOOK REVIEW- HOME TO CEDAR BRANCH

After a betrayal ends in tragedy, Katy seeks refuge from her abusive husband, Hank, in her quiet hometown of Cedar Branch, North Carolina. Taking up residence on the old family farm and landing a job at the local Quaker Café, she hopes to leave her troubled past behind.At the café, Katy finds allies, kind people willing to protect her and offer advice. There’s the gracious owner who insists that manners prevail, the no-nonsense cook who tackles life with a cast iron frying pan, a Yankee transplant who doesn’t bow to convention, and a shrewd Southern lawyer who sees a chance for Katy to profit from her predicament. But when Hank discovers her whereabouts, Katy’s newfound peace is broken. As a heated standoff involving Hank, local and federal law enforcement, and the media ensues, how far will the Cedar Branch community go to avert violence and save lives? AMAZON

I have mixed feelings on this one; some parts I liked better than others.  It could have also been subtitled: Katy grows a backbone. Of course she had other people helping her do that too. You also have to remember she was coming out of an abusive relationship, where she had been ground down for years. I loved the cook, Teensy a. t the diner. Now there was someone with attitude who also helped Katy see things differently, and she had her own story too. There were plenty of interesting people in the community who made really good additional characters.  I think most of the people's personalities were pretty well fleshed out. 
Katy's husband was a creep but his brother Ray was an even worse. But wait, there is more to the story than you think when it comes to the two brothers. In the beginning I wasn't sure I was going to like Katy because of her early actions in the story. But that changed as time went on, she made a huge mistake but there was more to her than that. Her brother Sam, began to play a bigger part of the story and he was an excellent addition. Of course Savannah and Dusty were pulled in because they were the children of Hank and Katy and their emotions, hopes and challenges entered in as well. Once Hank escapes, things really begin to speed up and I began to like the story better. Add in the Quaker's non-violence stance and their seeing Hank as a valuable person no matter what he had done and that was a plus as well.
I liked how it was carefully explained that they were Quakers not to be confused with the Amish. Also the style of their kind of worship, silently waiting upon the Lord. Silence vs much speaking and noise. They only spoke when they felt moved.
There is also a few discussion questions at the end of the book. 

I just wanted to mention a couple of things that were unusual:
The Toilet Seat Caper- was a funny, original, unexpected idea. 
The judge in the murder case against Hank was a bit bizarre, a classics quoting man. Which he did while sitting in the courtroom presiding over the case. Odd but he usually picked fitting quotes for the most part. 

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.