Jan Karon, author of the best-selling series of Mitford novels, is back with another that readers won't want to miss. Come Rain or Come Shine picks up where Karon's last novel left off—with the upcoming marriage of aspiring veterinarian Dooley Kavanagh and his longtime sweetheart, Lace Harper.

In true Mitford style, Dooley and Lace have decided to get married in a barn, on the farm they've just purchased for Dooley's vet practice. They want their wedding to be simple, so they're doing it potluck-style. Of course, nothing is ever as easy as it seems, and the threat of a torrential downpour and 60-mile-per-hour wind makes for a logistical nightmare, not to mention the already grueling task of shuttling guests to various locations on the 100-acre farm. But with seemingly inexhaustible help from those they hold most dear, the couple has vowed to savor every minute of it.

This beautiful novel examines a Southern tradition—the do-it-yourself, at-home wedding—in all of its intricacies, from the cast of characters who make the big day a reality and the new relationships that form in such intimate settings to the surprises that wedding guests will tell stories about for years to come. In this case, readers encounter two unexpected wedding guests, including the farm's first bull, Choo-Choo, who nearly crashes the wedding at the most inopportune moment.

Karon has a gift for breathing life into small moments that make readers both laugh and cry. In one moment, just days before the wedding, Dooley and Lace test the lights that they've strung up in the trees and exchange a heartfelt set of promises that are built on years of history. In another, the couple's good friend Harley vaults a fence at a near-sprint to get away from the horns of the almighty Choo-Choo.

Come Rain or Come Shine is about immeasurable love, the inevitability of change and the extraordinary power of ordinary moments. 

 

This article was originally published in the October 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In 2014, Karon published Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, her first book in nine years about the fictional town of Mitford and its Episcopal priest, Father Timothy Kavanagh. It spent 17 weeks on the New York Times best sellers list. Now Father Timothy's adopted son, Dooley, is about to get married.

Karon's 11th addition to her popular series (after Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good) tells the story of Dooley (Father Kavanagh's adopted son) and Lacey's wedding. Before the big knot is tied, however, Dooley must graduate from vet school, establish a herd of cattle, and take over Hal Owen's practice. At the same time, Lacey is busy with planning a simple country ceremony that is proving to be anything but simple. She must find the perfect dress and make arrangements on a limited budget. Even the potluck reception is full of pitfalls—what if everyone brings deviled eggs? Add a new bull, a windstorm, a four-year-old, and the search for appropriate wedding gifts into the mix, and you have another delightful novel. VERDICT In spite of a slightly slow start, the pace picks up as bridal hysteria hits Father Tim, Lacey, and the rest of the family. Readers will laugh and cry as they share the couple's big day and the unexpected events that make it especially memorable. Familiar characters, lots of love, some humor, and a few surprises make this essential for all Mitford fans. [See Prepub Alert, 3/23/15.]—Margaret Bentley, Shiawassee Dist. Lib., Owosso, MI