Originally Published: 10-15-2019
A Rainbow Above Us is the 8th book in the Blessings, Georgia Series by Sharon Sala.
Book Summary
This story is a great addition to this series, albeit a poignant one.
It’s the back story of the main character that touches your heart and makes you shake your head at the audacity of some people.
If you remember back in book 7, Hurricane Fanny has come and gone but nothing is as it was. Many were left with nothing, while others were not touched.
When Bowie James finds out that his Aunt Ella and his grandmother, Pearl are without a home because of the hurricane, he drops everything to come help.
Even though he never planned in setting foot in Blessings ever again.
This is where we find out his back story. And it’s not a happy one.
Bowie’s mother, Billie Jo, was a teenager when she was beaten and raped. Bowie is the child of that. Randall Boone was never charged or convicted. And his mother was driven out of town when Bowie started looking like Randall’s own father.
You see, there’s a family feud in the Boone family that has spanned several generations and Billie Jo was caught in the middle of it.
So when Bowie comes back to Blessings and he’s the spitting image of Judson Boone, Randall’s father, he stirs up trouble without lifting a finger.
As soon as he hits town, Jud sends his other boys, Emmitt and Melvin to convince him to leave (Randall overdosed years before). When that doesn’t work, his grandson, Junior, gets involved.
But it’s when the women in the family find out that Judson, along with his boys, Randall, Emmitt and Melvin lied about the rape, telling them that Bowie’s mother had lied about everything, that their world starts to fall apart.
You see, Bowie is a doppelganger for Judson. So how could Billie Jo have lied.
Cora Boone kicks Jud out. Nellie leaves Mel when she finds out he was part of it. And Tiny and Emmitt end up moving away.
So the back story plays a huge part of the storyline of the whole book. This brings in many interesting and some funny and some sad scenes that add to the story while portraying who and what Bowie has become.
But the story is about Bowie. And how he heals coming back to Blessings.
It’s also about Rowan Harper. She lost everything, including her father in Hurricane Fanny. And Ella and Pearl have adopted her and given her sanctuary.
When Bowie shows up with his house on wheels, she’s invited along with “his girls” to come and live in this awesome motorhome that he uses as his home when he’s traveling doing jobs.
He’s a contractor and builder and has come back to Blessings to rebuild Pearl’s and Ella’s home for them.
And it’s while they all stay in this home on wheels that Bowie and Rowan get to know each other.
As Bowie opens his heart again to family, that includes Rowan. And love blossoms between them.
Rowan was sheltered by her father. She has no experience with men because her father manipulated and forced away any that came calling.
As Rowan learns how far her father went, she’s left feeling lost and completely alone.
So this book is about both of them healing, in different ways, but together. As their world is finally coming together, the Boone family’s world is coming apart.
This is an awe-inspiring story that started with such tragedy. Definitely a story worth reading.
This now takes us to book 9, The Way Back to You.
