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3.5 stars (rating shown may vary depending on whether site allows half star ratings)--it wasn't on the high side of the 3.5 so on sites that don't allow half star ratings, it will show as a 3.

A friend sent me this book in a box of books she'd finished. I am a crafter, though I long ago went through most of my past crafting fads (cross stitch, ribbon embroidery, etc.) and donated or repurposed the items. (The tiny details of cross stitch became too difficult to follow with my eyesight at the time.) But still, I connected on some level with the two women at the beginning who had unfinished projects and created the UFO group. I liked the camaraderie that developed in the group(s). I'm not sure if the splitting off of groups would have happened so quickly in real life--definitely so for the morning/evening ones I think since I have seen that happen with other groups when women don't want to or can't drive at night. The book also ties in an idea that we humans are also unfinished projects that only God can complete.

The cover image on my copy seems to be a compilation of things from the book--or perhaps a future event after Roxie's marriage--rather than something that happened in the book. Also, one of the women has either a canvas (painting) or a framed something--I don't remember any of the main characters painting.

I sympathized with Addy who struggled with knitting and crocheting. I have a friend who can crochet beautiful items while I struggle with simple stitches and keeping the tension constant. I sometimes envy her the portability of her projects. Scrapbooking and card making doesn't lend itself to easy portability. Everyone has a skill set and will do well at certain things and not so well at others.

I think several of the characters were struggling with feeling "useful" after changes in their lives: MJ I think was recently retired and it sounded like she wanted/needed something in her life--and perhaps Amalia as well. Though perhaps the early-in-the-book characterization of Amalia was merely to set up that she would go to Ginny's as part of her nature.

I was a bit shocked by the death of one of the characters--though I suspected it long before he was found. It was a natural/medical death, not a murder or suspicious death. I thought the author did a good job showing the shock and grief that occur after something like that happens--not just for the spouse but for other members of the family as well.

I enjoyed the friendships that played out in this book. I didn't like the romances as much--seemed like we had at least 3 that got together, 2 sets that got married fairly quickly and another that was engaged after a year of dating (though they had known of each other during high school). As is my usual complaint with most romance books, I'm not sure that the compressed time to get to know each other before taking the step to marry is one to emulate in real life if you're planning to marry "'til death do us part" ( )

Half Finished is not quite what I expected from Lauraine Snelling. It is a sweet, heartwarming story geared toward a mature audience. It is a story about a group of people (women and men) who come together to help each other. It starts with an idea to get unfinished projects completed and develops into so much more. It is nicely written with a gentle pace, but there was a great deal of repetition. There are a variety of characters (too many) with MJ, Roxie, Ginny and Amalia being the featured ones. I wish the author had taken the time to establish the main characters. We are given scant information on them. Finding their last names was a challenge. There is conversation, eating, drinking coffee & tea, walking dogs, finishing projects, cooking, and friendship (day to day activities). It develops into friends helping friends through good times and bad. One of the members suffers a terrible loss and we see how the others rally to help her. God used the group to touch so many lives. Two of the most memorable phrases from Half Finished are “grab your moments, every moment you can and be thankful” because “life changes in an instant and we have no control over it”. Half Finished is a positive novel that features friendship, helping others, having faith and encouragement. It is amazing what can be accomplished when you have positive reinforcement and good friends. I liked that the author included an epilogue so we could see the changes wrought by this creation of the UFO group. Half Finished is a relaxing, upbeat novel. ( )