Smitten - By Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter, & Diann Hunt

 

Published by Thomas Nelson

Average Blogger Rating:4.51 Stars

Book Description

Four friends devise a plan to turn Smitten, Vermont, into the country's premier romantic getaway-and each finds her own true love along the way.

With Smitten Lumber closing, residents wonder if their town can stay afloat. Then four friends and local business owners-Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese--decide the town is worth saving. How will they do it? They'll turn Smitten into a honeymoon destination!

As Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese work to save the town, each discovers romance in her own life. Meanwhile, the faith of a little child reminds the whole town what it means to have real faith in the God who is the always and forever Love.

Discover a novel written by four of Christian fiction's most popular romance novelists- friends in real life who've drawn an amazing story of four friends! Includes a Reading Group Guide as well as "Conversation over Coffee with the Authors".

MY REVIEW

i found this a very fun read...actually this is written like one book - it is just that each season and each main character is written by a different author. What makes this work extremely well is the fact that the authors are best friends, and according to them can finish each others sentences. Want to get to know these authors better? well, each author loosely based her main character on herself, the operative word being loosely.  This novel really invites the reader to feel the friendships that the girls enjoy - from one season to another.  Together they have a plan - to save their town, but first they must convince the residents (in particularly the men in their lives that not only is the plan good, it will work! A few anxious moments as the reader wonders if things will work out all around, many chuckles as the characters mess things up for themselves and you have a wonderful novel.

i actually checked the start of the book to see if some of these novels were a continuation from other novels, that is how comfortable i was with the characters right from page one. The story (stories) flowed with out pause from one story or season into another. i have never read a novel that took novellas and welded them together so seamlessly, unless they were written by one author. 

i was disappointed that there were a few loose ends not tied up, and that the sequel to this one does not come out until December 2012. In every other way it met my expectations.


i received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers through their program Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review. i was not required to give a postive review.

Lonestar Angel - Colleen Coble

Eden's hope is rekindled when Clay delivers astounding news: their daughter has been found.
Five years ago Eden and Clay Larson's baby was stolen and never found. Eden blamed herself, Clay lost himself in work. Their young and rocky marriage ended. Or so Eden thought.
Now Eden's moved to a new town. She's found faith and is trying to rebuild her life. She's even dating again-a sweet guy who plans to marry her someday. But then Clay arrives out of the blue and delivers shocking news: they're still married. What's more, Clay has been searching for Brianna all this time. And he believes he's found her: their daughter is in Bluebird, Texas, at a youth ranch.
Lonestar Angel by Colleen Coble

To say i devoured this novel would be stating it mildly. From an upscale restaurant in Charlie Creek, to the desert of Texas, Colleen had me sitting on the edge of the seat the whole way! This book is Intense, to say the least.

Her vivid descriptions have the reader seeing the allusive roadrunner, the beautiful sunsets and sunrises that only the desert can provide, the cacti and their flowers, tasting  the dust , hearing the happy squeals of  little girls, smelling the chilli cooking.  I felt the fear towards the rattler that gave no warning, the uncertainty of tarantulas, and the anguish of seeing abused horses. The challenges of counsellors dealing with children in foster homes are huge, and this is brought out in a very enlightening and positive way.

Many times i had to put the book down and leave it, just to bring myself back into the reality of life in my own living room as opposed to the Bluebird Ranch, only to be drawn back to the story to find out what happened next. And just when i thought i knew where the story was heading, someone or something happened to make it all change direction again.

Once again, Colleen has lived up to my expectations of her writing.