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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
That was really good! Love, loss, redemption and faith--though not preachy. Made me cry too which was totally unexpected.
The Wedding Chapel entranced me from the very beginning. The dual timeline added an element of intrigue that kept me turning the pages and inhaling the words as quickly as possible. I especially loved the fact that readers get to see the story from various perspectives as the focus alternates between the four main characters. To me, this kept the plot flowing and the emotional investment strong.
As always, Rachel Hauck writes with grace and heart, her words flowing masterfully across the pages. The vivid characters felt like real people, and I was sad to say goodbye to them when the story concluded. I could have easily set up camp there in Heart’s Bend for quite some time, and that’s in large part a result of Hauck’s talent for descriptive phrasing and depth. The town, the plot and the people wrapped around me like a hand-stitched quilt and refused to let go.
A fellow reviewer mentioned that she felt sin was "excused, justified, and even glorified" in The Wedding Chapel but I personally saw none of that here. What I saw was a family torn apart and devastated by sin. I saw broken hearts and wasted lives and needless pain. One small decision that could have been justified as only affecting two people rippled out and tangled countless people in its destruction. Some innocent. Some not so innocent.
Tucked away between the family history mystery and the wedding chapel is the even more important theme of love. Not just romance. But true love, the kind that lasts for sixty years even when rejected time and time again. The kind that sticks it out when the marriage falters or veers off course. The kind of love that confronts painful secrets and difficult truth and still forgives. The kind of love that accepts the abandoned, the orphaned, the hard-to-love and models the Divine picture of adoption – without manipulation or agenda. In today’s world, this reminder is all the more important and vital, and Rachel Hauck paints it beautifully.
I could not help but think as I read The Wedding Chapel that it would make the perfect book club read – or a Hallmark movie. It has all the right elements: emotional tug, compelling characters, an enduring story, and romance (of course). I would easily recommend it to fans of Kate Morton, Katie Ganshert, Susan Meissner or any of Hauck’s previous novels, for that matter. This is a wonderfully uplifting and incredibly engrossing story that will remind you of the power of secrets and restoration … and how the Truth (and the love of a Father) will set you free.
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)
As always, Rachel Hauck writes with grace and heart, her words flowing masterfully across the pages. The vivid characters felt like real people, and I was sad to say goodbye to them when the story concluded. I could have easily set up camp there in Heart’s Bend for quite some time, and that’s in large part a result of Hauck’s talent for descriptive phrasing and depth. The town, the plot and the people wrapped around me like a hand-stitched quilt and refused to let go.
A fellow reviewer mentioned that she felt sin was "excused, justified, and even glorified" in The Wedding Chapel but I personally saw none of that here. What I saw was a family torn apart and devastated by sin. I saw broken hearts and wasted lives and needless pain. One small decision that could have been justified as only affecting two people rippled out and tangled countless people in its destruction. Some innocent. Some not so innocent.
Tucked away between the family history mystery and the wedding chapel is the even more important theme of love. Not just romance. But true love, the kind that lasts for sixty years even when rejected time and time again. The kind that sticks it out when the marriage falters or veers off course. The kind of love that confronts painful secrets and difficult truth and still forgives. The kind of love that accepts the abandoned, the orphaned, the hard-to-love and models the Divine picture of adoption – without manipulation or agenda. In today’s world, this reminder is all the more important and vital, and Rachel Hauck paints it beautifully.
I could not help but think as I read The Wedding Chapel that it would make the perfect book club read – or a Hallmark movie. It has all the right elements: emotional tug, compelling characters, an enduring story, and romance (of course). I would easily recommend it to fans of Kate Morton, Katie Ganshert, Susan Meissner or any of Hauck’s previous novels, for that matter. This is a wonderfully uplifting and incredibly engrossing story that will remind you of the power of secrets and restoration … and how the Truth (and the love of a Father) will set you free.
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)
I loved it. I couldn't put it down once I started. At first the different narrations were a bit confusing, but then they grabbed you and you just couldn't stop reading.
I read the Wedding Dress and really enjoyed it. Seeing that this was a sequel I was excited to read it. This did not have the magic of the Wedding Dress. The story was okay, but was lacking the heart and felt forced. Why would anyone, especially those with strong Christian beliefs, get married with the idea of if it doesn't work we can just end it? Usually, Christians have strong feelings that marriage isn't something that you throw away. I also don't like the idea that a mistake done in the past destroys the marriages of those not even born yet.
Second in the series, and while a very enjoyable read, I didn't get into this one *quite* as much as the third book. I inadvertently read the third in the series first (The Wedding Shop), quite a while ago from my library, so I was very excited to find the first and second in this series available thru Hoopla at my library. This one follows the story of Collette and Peg, sisters orphaned in World War II in England, as they come to live with relatives in Hearts Bend Tennessee. Jimmy, later Coach, and Colette's story unfolds along with present day Taylor and Jack, and as before in the first book, I really enjoy the unfolding of their timelines and stories, as they cross and join together at the end. Looking forward to reading more by Rachel Hauck in the future :)
This is an enjoyable read with lots of twists and turns. I gave it 3 1/2 stars. I listened to the audiobook version of the book and liked the narrator. It's billed as a Christian romance, but there really isn't much religion in it. There is more of a supernatural element rather than a religious element to it.
Good things these books work as stand alones cause I'm totally reading them backward. In any case, I was still absolutely charmed by this book, the characters and Hauck's writing. This second book seemed to jump between characters a lot more than the 3rd did. This wasn't a bad thing really, the switches were clearly marked...in some chapters it just seemed like a lot. My only real complaint about this book is that God's presence felt a lot more forced than it did in the 3rd book.
When a wedding chapel in a rural Tennessee town no one knows about is discovered by an architecture magazine, the secrets it holds begin to be revealed. Sixty years prior, a man in love built the chapel for the woman he intended to marry. Then he was sent away to war and forces intervened to keep them apart. Now the chapel is the gateway to love rekindled for two couples who are bound by more than they know.
The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck is an endearing story set across decades, with similarities to the popular Nicholas Sparks book The Notebook (but so much better, in my opinion). (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my review.)
Hauck delivers in-depth characters in retired football hall of famer Jimmy Westbrook and soap opera star Colette Greer, now both in their 80s, whose lives have been separated by misunderstanding and unforgiveness. And the spontaneous and fledgling love between Taylor Branson and Jack Forester, who reconnected in New York after growing up in the same Tennessee town, is gut-wrenchingly realistic. I was drawn into each character's point of view individually, and was moved by the journey each one takes to heal from past hurts.
Hauck weaves the storylines seamlessly and creates the right amount of drama to keep the pages turning. This story of hope, love, forgiveness and reconciliation is a must-read for romance readers.
The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck is an endearing story set across decades, with similarities to the popular Nicholas Sparks book The Notebook (but so much better, in my opinion). (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my review.)
Hauck delivers in-depth characters in retired football hall of famer Jimmy Westbrook and soap opera star Colette Greer, now both in their 80s, whose lives have been separated by misunderstanding and unforgiveness. And the spontaneous and fledgling love between Taylor Branson and Jack Forester, who reconnected in New York after growing up in the same Tennessee town, is gut-wrenchingly realistic. I was drawn into each character's point of view individually, and was moved by the journey each one takes to heal from past hurts.
Hauck weaves the storylines seamlessly and creates the right amount of drama to keep the pages turning. This story of hope, love, forgiveness and reconciliation is a must-read for romance readers.
A few weeks ago I won this book and was anxiously awaiting it in the mail. One of my closest friends is getting married so all we are looking at is wedding dresses and planning and such. I thought this was a beautiful story with heaps of history. I love reading books that have an enthralling plot and I loved this novel so much that I passed it on to my friend who is getting married. It seemed appropriate.
From beginning to end, I was completely engaged in The Wedding Chapel. When I realized it would be a dual timeline story, I became a bit uneasy—often in these stories, I care far more for one timeline than the other. Not the case here, possibly because Jimmy's and Colette's stories ran through both timelines, providing a unifying factor. Plus, the stories were just so good!
Somehow, though the main characters were not always likable, I was very invested in each of their stories, and I never minded the shift from one character's point of view to another's. While I enjoyed each of the four main characters, I especially loved Jack's story (though he received less page time than some of the others). His journey, which led him to the father's love he so craved, also represented the strongest faith thread of the novel.
Hauck wove multiple twists and turns into this engaging story—the kinds of twists that I didn't fully anticipate, yet they made perfect sense once revealed and caused the story to take on new meaning.
While Hauck's recent releases (the Royal Wedding series, which I loved) have been a bit on the fluffy side, The Wedding Chapel has much in common with her wonderful The Wedding Dress. There's a depth and realism to The Wedding Chapel that I found wholly satisfying. This is a beautifully romantic and compelling novel about secrets, sin's consequences, family, and redemption that will stick with you beyond the final page.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Somehow, though the main characters were not always likable, I was very invested in each of their stories, and I never minded the shift from one character's point of view to another's. While I enjoyed each of the four main characters, I especially loved Jack's story (though he received less page time than some of the others). His journey, which led him to the father's love he so craved, also represented the strongest faith thread of the novel.
Hauck wove multiple twists and turns into this engaging story—the kinds of twists that I didn't fully anticipate, yet they made perfect sense once revealed and caused the story to take on new meaning.
While Hauck's recent releases (the Royal Wedding series, which I loved) have been a bit on the fluffy side, The Wedding Chapel has much in common with her wonderful The Wedding Dress. There's a depth and realism to The Wedding Chapel that I found wholly satisfying. This is a beautifully romantic and compelling novel about secrets, sin's consequences, family, and redemption that will stick with you beyond the final page.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.