About the Book
Book: Tethered
Author: Eleanor Bertin
Genre: Christian Contemporary
Release date: July, 2020
Perfectionistic librarian Jacqui Penn is ripped up by the roots when she’s dumped by her longtime boyfriend. She is drawn two thousand miles west across Canada to the last place she ever thought could offer stability—the old homestead where her father grew up.
Renovating the derelict house soon becomes a personal battle as it stubbornly resists her efforts. While Jacqui struggles to renew the home, she spends time with the family Pops bitterly resented. Her hunger for roots grows stronger as she fights to discover the long-buried reasons her father fled the house as a beleaguered teen. But will she ever find the belonging she craves?
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About the Author
She studied Communications in college and returned to writing after raising and home-educating a family of seven children. The author of Lifelines, Unbound, Tethered, and the memoir, Pall of Silence about her late son, Paul, she lives in central Alberta with her husband and youngest son where, much like Jacqui, they are coaxing to life a century home.
More from Eleanor
Long before Jacqui came to be, I had the title Tethered, drawn from the first book in the Ties that Bind series, Lifelines. I was taken by the rope imagery that played so well into biblical themes of God drawing people to Himself. The second book, Unbound, deals with the way cables of guilt and fear can keep us in bondage to legalism.
But ropes have positive uses too. Tethered explores how ties of family and home provide the roots and grounding we all crave. Through each of the books, we see Anna, a widow of deep trust in God. She may seem insignificant, but her influence is powerful. Through her Jacqui, who’s been raised by Anna’s bitter brother, finds the foundation on which her family history is built, and makes it her own.
One of my favourite scenes in Tethered is where Anna teaches Jacqui to bake pie. It’s a piece lifted from my own life. My mother, now 94, was renowned for her pies, which she often gave to the bereaved or struggling. Like Anna, she generously taught her techniques and tips to the women of our family who carry on the tradition.
Here’s where Mom’s tips make all the difference. We don’t freeze whole pies. Instead, we freeze pie crusts already rolled out to size, layered between parchment paper, or better still, the plastic liners from cereal packaging cut to size. (Mom was “green” long before it was fashionable.) Making a batch of skins ahead of time saves space in the freezer compared to fully assembled pies, yields a fresher result when baked, and saves so much time. Whenever you want a pie, pull out a couple of the prepared crusts. While they quickly thaw, prepare your pie filling, assemble, and bake! Even our menfolk have been able to proudly say they baked a pie themselves.
Here is the recipe we use:
Pie Skins
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
In mixer, mix dry ingredients together. Then, a half cup at a time, cut in (with wire whips):
1 lb. lard (vegetable shortening will not give the desired flakiness)
Cut into flour mixture until crumbled to the size of peas. Do not overmix!
In a 2-cup measuring cup, beat:
2 eggs until frothy
Add: 2 Tablespoons vinegar
Add enough cold water to the liquid to make 1 cup. Then add to flour/lard mixture.
Using dough hooks, mix gently just until dough forms and will hold together. Again, do not overmix.
Divide dough into six or seven balls.
On each floured piece of cereal box plastic, roll out pastry from the center outward to just over 1/8-inch thickness. Keep flouring the rolling pin to prevent sticking.
Cut the crust to size of pie plate with ½ inch extra all around. Re-roll the scraps into the next ball of dough.
Freeze skins in a plastic pie keeper or even in a zippered plastic bag on a flat surface.
Bake pie on bottom rack of oven, 450F for 15 minutes, then 375F until golden brown (another 10-15 minutes). No pale, anemic pies for us!
Blog Stops
Texas Book-aholic, September 21
deb’s Book Review, September 22
Inklings and notions, September 23
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 24
Locks, Hooks and Books, September 25
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 26
lakesidelivingsite, September 27
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, September 28
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, September 29
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 30
Guild Master, October 1 (Author Interview)
Rebecca Tews, October 1
For Him and My Family, October 2
For the Love of Literature, October 3 (Author Interview)
Holly’s Book Corner, October 3
Pause for Tales, October 4
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Eleanor is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/21aad/tethered-celebration-tour-giveaway
My Review
Tethered is the third book from The Ties that Bind series by Eleanor Bertin. It is, also, the first book I have read by this author. Even though this is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone. I thought it was a good story of finding yourself and finding where you belong in life. I enjoyed getting to know Jacqui. I loved watching her grow throughout the book and wanted to keep reading to see where she would end up.
Tethered will be getting four and a half stars from me. I believe fans of clean romantic fiction will enjoy reading it. I am interested in reading the first two installments from The Ties that Bind series, Lifelines and Unbound, to see what happened prior to this one.
I received a paperback copy of Tethered from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
