Rising of a New Day (Bellingwood) Paperback – April 23, 2021

As usual rereading the series for about the 4th time I really feel that I am meeting old friends again

It has been a while since I read about Polly and Henry and all their kids in Bellingwood. It was great to check in with this wonderful chaotic family and town!!

When you begin reading this series, you become a part of Bellingwood. A town with people you love and characters whose lives you love to follow!You can not wait to find out what is going to happen next.

Maybe I was just expecting this one to be special because of our wonderful authors travails and that she’s back with us(🙏). However it’s not just special, it’s supercalifragilisticexpealidocious. We get the full array of Polly and Henry’s superpowers. She finds a body, of course, and contributes to the snagging of the doer. Henry continues to be the Dad we all would love to have had and to give to our kids. We visit all our favorite Bellingwooders and chat with them. I LOVED IT!!! Thank you Diane for taking us back to our favorite town. Thank you to Diane’s wonderful support group for helping her perfect this book. Last but not least thank you God , for allowing Diane to come back to us.We would miss her light in this world if she wasn’t in it. 💝🍾🥂

I can't wait to see what stories the next book brings. All the adventures and all the Love. Who will be the next person to meet.

It is rare to read a series as long as this and continue to enjoy every single book. It is such a joy to spend time with this loving family and all their friends. It is like curling up in front of a fire with a warm blanket. This one cotinues to show the growth and progress of the family while continuing to explore the grim realities of family trauma and violence. But as Polly promises, "We want you to know that you are safe and loved." Who doesn't want that?

I love how Polly takes care of her friends and family. She makes it all seem easy even when life gets in the way.

Late last year I heard that one of my favorite writers was in hospital, not expected to survive. I cried for days, along with praying, but thankfully, she survived that event. I’m so glad that this book came out, and so happy that she’s back to her old writing self. This book did not disappoint in any way! Everyone’s growing up, and her treatment of sensitive subjects (women’s shelters, gay bars, racism etc) is very human and well written. I look forward to my quarterly visits to Bellingwood, it is like home to me.

I have found that once I start one of these books, I have to finish it. This has sometimes involved staying up til stupid o'clock, knowing I have to be up at 5.30 am, and subsequently dragging through the work day. Luckily I found the email telling me this one was available early enough that I could finish it at a reasonable hour. I'd promised myself no buying books until I'd read the ones already on my kindle, but I broke my promise for this one. Due to the author's illness this book was delayed: I'm so glad she's recovered - health and a long life to you, Diane - and is back to producing her wonderful takes of Polly, her family, friends and home town. They're well written, with well-crafted characters and stories so that you really feel you know these people, and you learn more about some of them too, plus you get to watch them grow and mature. I find I'm hoping the next book answers some of the questions this one had me asking, like: what is up with Molly? And is there something happening with Jack and Jessie? I'll have to wait and see, but I will be buying the next book as soon as it comes out.

Polly and her extended family feel so real to me, I find it hard sometimes to realise they are a figment of Diane's Diane's wonderful brain. This book is no exception, from the very moving 1st chapter, that was obviously written after her serious illness, to the end were we get to say a very happy goodbye to Wyatt, the book has been such a joy to read.I love the interactions between the characters, that are all getting more rounded everytime another book comes out. The community spirt that is always there, people helping out friends and strangers just because. How Polly's love is producing amazing children, all still struggling with not so perfect beginning, but feeling loved and secure enough to reach out and help others.Yes, there was another body and Polly helped catch the killer once again, it's a small part of this amazing few weeks in Polly's life, but it's really important because it's what brought me into the Bellingwood family, 33 books, so many vinaigrette ago, and a big extended family on Facebook

Thank you Diane for another wonderful story of the life of Polly,Henry and family..long awaited but great news that you are recovering nicely and we can all b e thankful that we will have you and Polly for a long time yet. God bless!

Love this series

Another great book in the series. Can't wait for the next one