Miss Clawdy's Cafe is owned by her daughters Cathy and Marty Andrews and one of their best friends Trixie Matthews. Cathy and Marty opened the cafe in their home in honor of their mother. When Trixie and her husband Andy divorced, she found him cheating, she became a partner in the cafe. The Blue Ribbon Jalapeno Society Jubilee is coming up and Violet Prescott, Cathy's fiance's mother wants another blue ribbon to hang in her home. Cathy like her mother before her grows the hottest jalapenos in Texas. There is to be a vote for a new member, Trixie and Cathy and Marty's Aunt Agnes are both in the running. Violet and Agnes do not get along at all and after the vote neither she or Trixie wins. The winner turns out to be Anna Ruth, who broke up Trixie's marriage. When Ethan pressures Cathy to sign a pre-nup she refuses and breaks their engagement. Then Cathy quits the Society and Violet gets very upset because she knows they will not win another blue ribbon without her.

This is an excellent book. I loved every bit of it. The relationships that Cathy, Marty and Trixie have along with their friend Jack, are heartwarming. Each of the main characters go through a life altering time. Cathy breaking her engagement and then finding true love. Marty in letting go of Andy and coming to grips with her mother's Alzheimer's. Marty in revealing that she is the erotic romance author that both Cathy and Marty love to read. Aunt Agnes is a funny yet endearing minor character and I also loved the sub story of Pastor Darla Jean helping abused women. This is Ms. Brown's first book in the women's fiction genre and I for one can not wait for the next installment. I'm sure I will be reading this one over and over again.

Book Summary

Bestelling author Carolyn Brown makes her first foray into women's fiction with this poignant and hilarious novel about four friends in Cadillac, Texas—where the best jalapeños in the world are grown.

Everything is calm in Cadillac, Texas until Aunt Agnes declares war on Violet Prescott, the president of the Blue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society, just in time for the annual jubilee. But after the festivities—and the hostilities—are over, it's four friends who are left standing, proving once again that friendship is forever.

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