“Smitten” by Collen Coble, Diann Hunt, Kristin Billerbeck & Denise Hunter

When I heard that Thomas Nelson was going to publish “Smitten” I’m pretty sure I jumped up & down.   At least I did in my head.  Not only did it sound like a fabulous, snuggle-up-on-a-rainy-day kind of book, it also has collaborated four of the best authors in today’s Christian fiction market.

“Smitten” is a fictional town set in Vermont.  It is like any typical small town in America, struggling with what seems to be the common theme everywhere nowadays: the economy.  Their largest employer has bit the dust and the town is on its way to extinction.   Four gal pals, Natalie, Julia, Shelby & Reese, concoct a plan to give the town a new image by creating it to be the romance capital of America.

 

“Smitten” was a really fun book to read.  It’s easy reading and you can take it one novella at a time.  The book is divided up into the four novellas, about 100 pages each, and each author developed their character to reflect their real life personalities.  I loved that we got an idea of what the author’s are like in real life as these ladies are some of my absolute favorites.

My only complaint about the book is that since they are novellas, the storyline between the characters progress rather quickly.  I would have loved to have seen full novels on each of these ladies, but then the initial concept of “Smitten” would be out the window.  The GREAT news is that there is a second book on “Smitten” that we be published soon!

I received a copy of “Smitten” from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, in exchange for my honest review.

“Longing” by Karen Kingsbury

When I finished Longing, I felt let down. Does anyone else feel like this series is just DRAGGING on?? But phew, we only have one more book to go… unless Karen Kingsbury makes another series to add on to this series that was added on to that series that goes with that other series. Follow? Yeah, me neither.

Okay, annoyances aside, I love Karen Kingsbury. I think she write stories that deal with real emotions and we all can relate to her characters. That’s one thing I loved about her Redemption, First Born & Sunrise series. The Above the Line series was just kind of weird but you had to read that to get to the Bailey Flanigan series. But I feel very let down with this current series.

During the last part of the Sunrise series and the Above the Line series, I really started to love the characters of Bailey and Cody. Imagine how happy I was (and you too, probably) when I heard that she was giving Bailey her own series. I was really excited and have read each of them faithfully as they’ve released.

But like another reviewer posted, I can’t help but think that she is swaying her writing in favor or the real life story with her own daughter, Kelsey, who just got engaged to Kyle Kupecky, who is a member of Anthem Lights (whose band was plugged in the book(and it’s also plugged numerous times on her FB page… Thanks, Karen…. I think.)) PLUS, Karen had Kyle pose as Brandon on the cover of Longing and in the trailer of the book. It all just seems a little too coincidental, don’t you think? And to add to all of that frustration, Brandon’s character is way too needy and kind of creepy. And I think Bailey is swayed just a little too easily by him. (Note to Karen: I don’t think your future son-in-law will be offended if you have Bailey end up with Cody instead of Brandon… Their relationship won’t be doomed if you do.)

BUT regardless, I have been sucked in and I will be reading #4 in the Bailey Flanigan series. I know I’m not the only one frustrated with the ending of Longing. I just hope I don’t throw “Loving” up against the wall when I’m finished with it. Karen, it’s in your hands… or pen….

Crossroads of Grace series by Allison Pittman

I really love Allison Pittman’s writing. She has the ability to captivate her readers with her attention to detail and depth of characters. The first of her novels that I read was “For Time and Eternity” which is part of her Sister Wives series, which did not disappoint.

After reading both books in the Sister Wives series, I started the Crossroads of Grace series. The first in the series, “Ten Thousand Charms”, is really similar to Francine River’s “Redeeming Love”. I don’t think it was as epic as River’s, but good nonetheless.

That being said, “Speak Through the Wind” & “With Endless Sight” were not my favorite of hers. While I was excited to read about Sadie(Kassandra) & Biddy (Belinda) after having met her in the first book of the series (Ten Thousand Charms) I didn’t find myself pulled into these novels the same way that I’ve been with Pittman’s other books.

In “Speak Through the Wind”, I felt like the book focused so much on Sadie’s plight (how she got out of it, then back into it, out again, in again) that I was emotionally exhausted with the first 80% of the text. Then, the part I wanted to read, the part about REDEMPTION & FORGIVENESS, was just a small rushed snippet towards the very end of the book.

The same can go for “With Endless Sight”. Belinda was BY FAR the most lovable out of the three heroines in the series, but in some way, when you know what is going to happen to her (from the 2 novels previous) it just makes the story not as interesting. I felt like the novel ended abruptly and I was left with just an “okay….” feeling.

Regardless, I will continue to read Pittman’s novels as she releases them. She really is a talented author and I HIGHLY recommend her Sister Wives series.