Book Review: The Wedding Chapel

A book was given for review for my honest opinion. No other compensation was given.

About the book:

For sixty years, a wedding chapel sat silent, waiting for love. But times have changed and the hour has come when it just might be too late.

Retired hall-of-fame football coach Jimmy "Coach" Westbrook never imagined anything would come of his labor of love---the wedding chapel he built for Collette Greer, the woman he fell for back in '49. But now an offer has come to turn the chapel into what it was meant to be---a place for love---and Jimmy sees no reason to hang onto his dream any longer.

Photographer Taylor Branson is trying to make a life for herself in New York. Leaving her hometown of Heart's Bend, Tennessee, she put a lot of things behind her, including her family's abysmal marriage rate. But love surprises her when she falls head-over-heels for Jack Forester, a top ad man. Their whirlwind romance results in an elopement, and a mountain of doubt. Jack, while genuine in his love for Taylor, can never seem to overcome his own demons to find the words of his heart.

When Taylor takes an assignment in Heart's Bend, the job does more than send her back to her hometown, but into a world of family secrets buried beneath the sands of time.

When Taylor's journey intersects with Coach's, they rediscover the heartbeat of their dreams and that the love they long to hold is right in front of them. And worth every waiting moment.

About the author:

Rachel Hauck is an award-winning, best selling author of critically acclaimed novels such as The Wedding Dress, Love Starts with Elle, and Once Upon A Prince. She also penned the Songbird Novels with multi-platinum recording artist, Sara Evans. Booklist named their novel, Softly and Tenderly, one of 2011 Top Ten Inspirationals. She serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers and is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, and conference speaker. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pets.

My Opinion

I have absolutely LOVED every single book from Rachel Hauck! So I was so excited to read her new book, The Wedding Chapel. I was immediately drawn into the story line. However, there are a lot of characters to keep track of in this book and they are switch off telling their stories throughout the book. So, you do have to stay on top of remembering who is who and what all their stories are to really understand the book. It did seem to get too much at some points but overall I really loved the story line, the characters and their stories and the ending! :)

Overall, it wasn't my favorite book of Hauck's but still overall a great book! I can't wait to read more from Rachel Hauck in the future!

Buy It:

You can purchase The Wedding Chapel for $11.95 from Amazon.com

Is sixty years too long to wait for love? Two stories of romance, one in 1949 and one in the modern day, meet in Rachel Hauck's The Wedding Chapel. When Taylor Branson takes an assignment in Heart’s Bend, the job does more than send her back to her hometown, but into a world of family secrets buried beneath the sands of time. When Taylor’s journey intersects with Jimmy “Coach” Westbrook's, they rediscover the heartbeat of their dreams and that the love they long to hold is right in front of them. And worth every waiting moment.

Join Rachel in celebrating the release of The Wedding Chapel by entering to win a copy and a $100 cash card—perfect for finishing up your Christmas gift shopping!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of The Wedding Chapel
• A $100 cash card

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on December 31st. The winner will be announced January 4th on Rachel's blog.

*Disclosure - This book was given for review for my honest opinion. No other compensation was given.*

Book Review: The Offering

About The Offering:

From bestselling author Angela Hunt, the heart-wrenching story of a young mother who unknowingly gave away her own child after serving as a surrrogate for a childless couple.

After growing up as an only child, Amanda Lisandra wants a big family. But since she and her soldier husband can't afford to have more children right away, Mandy decides to earn money as a gestational carrier for a childless couple. She loves being pregnant, and while carrying the child she dreams of having her own son and maybe another daughter. . .

Just when the nearly perfect pregnancy is about to conclude, unexpected tragedy enters Mandy's world and leaves her reeling. Devastated by grief, she surrenders the child she was carrying and struggles to regain her emotional equilibrium.

Two years later she studies a photograph of the baby she bore and wonders if the unthinkable has happened---could she have inadvertently given away her own biological child? Over the next few months Mandy struggles to decide between the desires of her grief-stricken heart and what's best for the little boy she has never known.

Meet Angela:

With over four million copies of her books sold worldwide, Angela Hunt is the bestselling author of more than one hundred books, including "The Nativity Story". Hunt is one of the most sought-after collaborators in the publishing industry. Her nonfiction book "Don't Bet Against Me", written with Deanna Favre, spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Angela's novel "The Note" (with sales of over 141,000) was filmed as the Hallmark Channel's Christmas movie for 2007 and proved to be the highest rated television movie in the channel's history. Angela's novels have won or been no minated for several prestigious industry awards, including the RITA, the Christy Award, the ECPA Christian Book Award, and the Holt Medallion. She often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers' conferences, and she served as the keynote speaker at the 2008 American Christian Fiction Writers' national conference. She and her husband make their home in Florida with mastiffs. In 2001, one of her dogs was featured on Live with Regis and Kelly as the second-largest dog in America.

Learn more at http://www.angelahuntbooks.com

My Opinion

This book is definitely a complex book. It is a well written mix of ethics, heartbreak, infertility, controversy, surrogacy, adoption and so much more. You will definitely go through almost every emotion reading this book and it will stick with you the same way it has stuck with me days after reading it!

That is definitely the mark of a great author: Angela Hunt has a great way of writing and an original storyline: one like I have never read before or even thought about much! Now I will never think the same about any of the issues discussed in this book because of her!

If you like a book that makes you think or can even change your life or the way you think about certain issues, pick up a copy of The Offering today!

Check out what other reviewers thought here!

Buy It: You can purchase The Offering for $11.92 from Amazon.com

Angela Hunt is celebrating the release of The Offering with a Nook HD Giveaway and an Author Chat Party on Facebook {6/5}.

One winner will receive:

• A Nook HD
  
• The Offering by Angela Hunt 
  

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 4th. Winner will be announced at the "The Offering" Facebook Author Chat Party on June 5th. Connect with Angela for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Angela will also share an exclusive look at her next book and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of The Offering and join Angela on the evening of June 5th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 5th!

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* Disclosure - This book was given for review for my honest opinion. No other compensation was given.*

The Best Man

About the Book: 

Faith Holland left her hometown after being jilted at the altar. Now a little older and wiser, she’s ready to return to the Blue Heron Winery, her family’s vineyard, to confront the ghosts of her past, and maybe enjoy a glass of red. After all there’s some great scenery there…Like Levi Cooper, the local police chief—and best friend of her former fiancé. There’s a lot about Levi that Faith never noticed, and it’s not just those deep green eyes. The only catch is she’s having a hard time forgetting that he helped ruin her wedding all those years ago. If she can find a minute amidst all her family drama to stop and smell the rosé, she just might find a reason to stay at Blue Heron, and finish that walk down the aisle.

Excerpt from The Best Man:

The server came and whisked away their dinner plates, setting down coffee, cream and sugar. ‘Did you see anything you liked on the dessert menu?’ he asked smiling at them. Because really, they were an adorable couple. ‘ How about the mango crème brulee?’ Clint said. ‘I don’t know if I’ll survive watching you eat it, but what a way to go.’

                Hello! Tingling at a 6.8 on the Richter scale. ‘The crème brulee sounds great,’ Faith said and the waiter sped away.

                Clint slid a little closer, putting his arm around Faith’s shoulders. ‘You look amazing in that dress,’ he murmured, trailing a finger down the neckline. ‘What are the odds of me getting you out of it later on?’ He dropped a kiss on the side of her neck.       

                Oh, melt! Another kiss. ‘The odds are getting better.’ She breathed.

                ‘I really like you Faith,’ he whispered, nuzzling her ear, causing her entire side to electrify.

                ‘I like you too,’ she said and looked into his pretty brown eyes. His finger slid lower, and she could feel her skin heating up, getting blotchy, no doubt, the curse of the redhead. What the heck. She turned her face and kissed him on the lips, a soft, sweet, lingering kiss.

                ‘Sorry to interrupt, lovebirds,’ said the waiter. ‘Don’t mind me.’ He set the dessert on the table with a knowing smile.

                ‘This!’

                The bark made all three of them jump. Clint’s elbow hit her glass, the wine spilling onto the tablecloth.

                ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Faith said. ‘I do stuff like that all the time.’

                Clint wasn’t looking at the wine.

                A woman stood in front of their booth, a beautiful little boy dangling from her hands as she held him out in front of her. 

And check out this great Guest Post from the Author Kristan Higgins:

Where do you find inspiration for your writing? Other books and authors, long walks, meditation?

I think the primary form of inspiration for me is eavesdropping! I love hearing people’s stories, and eavesdropping is a family skill. Every person has a great story, whether it’s tumultuous or sweetly simple. Wherever I am—the train, the bakery, a ball game, the kids’ school—I inevitably end up asking personal questions. “How’d you meet your spouse?” “Five kids? Wow! Do you come from a big family?” “Why did you decide to move here?” I think curiosity about people is the best quality a writer can have. Nosiness, we might call it.

Every person has some kind of coping mechanism that both helps and hinders them in dealing with challenges. Remember Scarlett O’Hara? “I can’t think about that today. I’ll think about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.” That way of thinking allowed her to get through some incredibly difficult times…and it kept her from seeing a lot of what happened around her, sometimes to her detriment. I love exploring that kind of thing.

Taking a long walk alone is a great way for me to solidify story lines and conflicts. I talk to myself a lot…constantly muttering, laughing or weeping (sometimes all three at once). My family’s used to it by now, as are some of the neighbors. I don’t get the concerned glances and phone calls I once did. ; )

Definitely, I get inspiration from other books, movies, TV shows. I love stories, in whatever form they’re told. Sometimes I’ll read or see something and say, “You know, I would’ve handled that differently. That was a little too easy.” And I’ll get thinking about it, twist it and turn it, and every once in a while, that becomes a story. And sometimes, I’ll read something so perfect that I’ll think, “I wish I wrote that.” That’s the kind of book I carry around in my heart for a good long time, and the kind that makes me want to be a better writer.

As for other types of inspiration, there’s always falling in love! That never hurts when you write romance. Granted, in real life, I have the greatest husband, and we’re very happy together. But part of my job requires me to fall for some other guy about two times a year, and that can happen from a picture, or a sentence, or a story on the news. Celebrity crushes come in very hand at times like this.

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* Disclosure - This book was given for review. No other compensation was given.*