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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
For walking in blind, I quickly found myself invested in this wedding hoopla novel!
When it comes to red flags, Preston was a neon sign. I wanted to yell for Lara to GET OUT far sooner than her friends and her minister did. As the reader, we get the front row seat to her controlling, red flagged relationship, but she can’t see it. Her friends do and do caution her, but she doesn’t see it yet.
The resolution at the end was fast. Without going into spoilers, I was relieved and also surprised. It’s set up in a way that doesn’t feel weird, but if it happened in real life, there’d be more than a few raised eyebrows.
I genuinely like Ty. His heart for his work was admirable even if he was mistaken (as he eventually figured out) about thinking two faiths could “work it out.”
Another thing that I appreciated was how Havig handled the “steamy romances” and the Christian woman discussion. It was a frank, honest conversation and one of the few books I’ve read that acknowledge this conversation.
I’ll confess I was lost a few times when it came to POVs, mostly because I read this in a migraine-hangover and the similar L-names had my mushy brain wrapped up in tulle, haha.
Now I absolutely NEED Mitchell & Breanna’s story because… MITCHELL & BREANNA 😍
What a delightful story! This book felt a lot more like some of Chautona Havig’s earlier books, with that slight twist that is hers alone, just enough depth to make you think, and a good story to go alongside.
I haven’t read many books that specifically dealt with the issue of interdenominational marriage. I know it’s done fairly often, but usually one spouse or the other joins the other church before the marriage. Personally, I believe this could be a big issue if not handled carefully—I expect most of us have a story or more to tell about ones that didn’t pan out so well. But what I appreciated in this book was the balance of “this is going to be hard” with “but God’s got it under control.” The struggles friends around Lara had when trying to decide how to voice their concerns felt all to real, and often those concerns can be shared in ways that make a person feel defensive. So the gentle truth shared here was a special encouragement.
In all, this wasn’t the deepest of novels—but just deep enough that I’d love to see this author write a story about the same topic post-marriage. I think that could be interesting, too! Still, it was an encouraging read, and a good one, overall.
Best quote:
“She needs a guy who is happy with her being who she is, instead of who he wants her to be.” —Lauren
Funniest quote:
“He kissed her goodnight with as much interest and passion as a rubber ducky in a kissing booth.”
Oh. And don’t miss one particular scene in chapter 18…it’s a gem! I laughed so hard!
I requested a free review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
I haven’t read many books that specifically dealt with the issue of interdenominational marriage. I know it’s done fairly often, but usually one spouse or the other joins the other church before the marriage. Personally, I believe this could be a big issue if not handled carefully—I expect most of us have a story or more to tell about ones that didn’t pan out so well. But what I appreciated in this book was the balance of “this is going to be hard” with “but God’s got it under control.” The struggles friends around Lara had when trying to decide how to voice their concerns felt all to real, and often those concerns can be shared in ways that make a person feel defensive. So the gentle truth shared here was a special encouragement.
In all, this wasn’t the deepest of novels—but just deep enough that I’d love to see this author write a story about the same topic post-marriage. I think that could be interesting, too! Still, it was an encouraging read, and a good one, overall.
Best quote:
“She needs a guy who is happy with her being who she is, instead of who he wants her to be.” —Lauren
Funniest quote:
“He kissed her goodnight with as much interest and passion as a rubber ducky in a kissing booth.”
Oh. And don’t miss one particular scene in chapter 18…it’s a gem! I laughed so hard!
I requested a free review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
I love reading Chautona Havig books, the characters are always interesting and never boring.
This book keeps up the tradition!
From the very first page to the end, I felt I was right there involved in these characters lives.
I wanted to be there for Lara and show her she didn’t need to let go of “her” wants for her wedding. I also wanted to find out just who this Preston is and what he was all about. He sort of gave me the creeps. Lara doesn’t seem to see the things which are changing as something she should be concerned about. Thankfully, she has a wonderful friend who is her pastor.
He has his concerns but doesn’t know what to do about them except pray and ask God for guidance. I loved the relationship between Ty and Lara and how their friendship grew.
I simply LOVED Lauren and her funny personality! What a fun character!
Chautona Havig writes in such a way the characters came to life, I felt I was right there with them.
The author has also written about a quaint town with many interesting qualities and people. The way it’s described will make you want to get in your car for a visit. Unfortunately, you’d have to leave your car parked somewhere else if you go to the town.
If you want to read a fun, sweet romance, with a bit of a mystery, which will leave you wanting to go to this quaint town of New Cheltenham to visit, then this is the book for you!
I received this book from the author for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book keeps up the tradition!
From the very first page to the end, I felt I was right there involved in these characters lives.
I wanted to be there for Lara and show her she didn’t need to let go of “her” wants for her wedding. I also wanted to find out just who this Preston is and what he was all about. He sort of gave me the creeps. Lara doesn’t seem to see the things which are changing as something she should be concerned about. Thankfully, she has a wonderful friend who is her pastor.
He has his concerns but doesn’t know what to do about them except pray and ask God for guidance. I loved the relationship between Ty and Lara and how their friendship grew.
I simply LOVED Lauren and her funny personality! What a fun character!
Chautona Havig writes in such a way the characters came to life, I felt I was right there with them.
The author has also written about a quaint town with many interesting qualities and people. The way it’s described will make you want to get in your car for a visit. Unfortunately, you’d have to leave your car parked somewhere else if you go to the town.
If you want to read a fun, sweet romance, with a bit of a mystery, which will leave you wanting to go to this quaint town of New Cheltenham to visit, then this is the book for you!
I received this book from the author for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I’m not sure what I think of this story. In some ways it was good. In other ways I was really bothered by things that were in it.
Things I liked:
Lara was really sweet and she was willing to do anything to make her fiancé happy.
Ty seemed like a good man. He was willing to spend his own money to make someone happy.
I liked reading more about some characters from another book.
Things I didn’t like:
Lara never was willing to stand up for herself until the very end and it really, really bugged me.
I didn’t really like the fact that Ty was counseling an engaged woman alone. No one else was even in the building much less in the room.
The fiancé was a jerk and no one seemed to care enough to say something.
No one mentioned the dangers of trying to marry someone of a different faith to Lara. Until the end. It was as though everyone thought it didn’t matter.
Only the 12-year-old girl was willing to say what was right and what she thought.
There were one time in the book when I had absolutely no idea who was talking or where they were for several pages. Other times it felt as though the story was written so quickly that information was just ignored or left out and I was jolted in my reading because of it.
Yes, the book did turn out right in the end, but I don’t think I’d read it again.
Things I liked:
Lara was really sweet and she was willing to do anything to make her fiancé happy.
Ty seemed like a good man. He was willing to spend his own money to make someone happy.
I liked reading more about some characters from another book.
Things I didn’t like:
Lara never was willing to stand up for herself until the very end and it really, really bugged me.
I didn’t really like the fact that Ty was counseling an engaged woman alone. No one else was even in the building much less in the room.
The fiancé was a jerk and no one seemed to care enough to say something.
No one mentioned the dangers of trying to marry someone of a different faith to Lara. Until the end. It was as though everyone thought it didn’t matter.
Only the 12-year-old girl was willing to say what was right and what she thought.
There were one time in the book when I had absolutely no idea who was talking or where they were for several pages. Other times it felt as though the story was written so quickly that information was just ignored or left out and I was jolted in my reading because of it.
Yes, the book did turn out right in the end, but I don’t think I’d read it again.