Terri Blackstock's usually writes mystery and suspense stories. It was fun to read a different type of book by her. For Love of Money grabbed my heart and I instantly connected with her main characters. Brake Adcock is sitting in a restaurant talking to Julie Sheffield his waitress. She's wondering why he's ordered all this food and isn't eating any of it. After paying for his meal Brake realizes he doesn't have money for a tip. He's embarrassed. So he decides to give her half of his sweepstakes ticket and writes on the back "I owe you!" It's a shame he couldn't leave her a tip because he really liked her. The next day Julie and Blake's world change forever!
They've come into some money and soon discover both manage their finances very differently. Julie wants to save everything. Blake wants to share what he has with everyone because he can! This threatens their potential relationship.
Julies been hurt by men and has trust issues with them and with God for that matter. Julie's changed. She thinks, "I couldn't serve two masters. Because the Lord showed me I had changed. The money was making me miserable."
In that way it reminded me of and old movie "Brewsters Millions" He had to do something in order to get the real prize that was awarded him. Everyone around him thought he was crazy but he knew what he had to do. It didn't matter what others thought. These characters come to the same conclusion.
After the fun and excitements' over Julie and Blake settled into a new normal as they try to make sense of their lives and the future. Would they have the courage to do what it took to have peace in their hearts? Could they give love a chance?
The second story by Candace Calvert was titled The Recipe:
Aimee works at a hospital and has entered a vegan valentine bake off. She's not a vegan but feels by adopting one of her mother's favorite dessert recipes into Vegan she'd have a chance to win. Her mom was an amazing cook.
The winner gets top honors and full tuition at a local culinary school. She's made the finals and the completion was going to be filmed on Valentine's Day (which was her birthday) and the tenth anniversary of her mom's passing."Kitchen time with mom was the best."
Aimee meets Lucas and his grandmother, Margie. Lucas has been there for his grandmother and struggles with her living will. His grandfather passed a year ago and his grandmother has changed. She's said to him, "Right now, life on earth has lost its flavor and heaven is calling." How was he to process all that?
Lucas tells Aimee, "Well, if you ask me, Heaven's got the wrong number. I'd do everything I can to find some "flavor" my grandmother likes. If I have to hire Baskin-Robins to do a drive-by."
Both Aimee and Lucas take a hard look at their lives and what they are doing to honor the people they love. Reevaluating their purpose. God would give them the peace that passes all understanding to do the right thing.
This was again a fun story with characters I could connect with.
The Last story was by Susan May Warren. Hook, Line and Sinker.
I'm a huge Susan May Warren fan but I was not a fan of this story. It was a novella that I couldn't relate to; maybe because this author does an incredible job of having us get to know her characters, (which takes a few pages) and the community they live in (again takes more pages). Then the author usually has the reader delve into the problem. (again takes more pages) I was expecting more from this author because I've read other wonderful books by her.
All in all each story was fun, light-hearted and it made you think. What would I do in that situation? Each author included a recipe to make at home. That was fun too! This was a great collection of authors! I highly recommend reading these authors other books!
Disclosure of Material Connection: #AD Tyndale
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through The Book Club Network www.bookfun.org I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising"
Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins! www.bookfun.org
The Book Club Network blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com
Book Fun Magazine www.bookfunmagazine.com
They've come into some money and soon discover both manage their finances very differently. Julie wants to save everything. Blake wants to share what he has with everyone because he can! This threatens their potential relationship.
Julies been hurt by men and has trust issues with them and with God for that matter. Julie's changed. She thinks, "I couldn't serve two masters. Because the Lord showed me I had changed. The money was making me miserable."
In that way it reminded me of and old movie "Brewsters Millions" He had to do something in order to get the real prize that was awarded him. Everyone around him thought he was crazy but he knew what he had to do. It didn't matter what others thought. These characters come to the same conclusion.
After the fun and excitements' over Julie and Blake settled into a new normal as they try to make sense of their lives and the future. Would they have the courage to do what it took to have peace in their hearts? Could they give love a chance?
The second story by Candace Calvert was titled The Recipe:
Aimee works at a hospital and has entered a vegan valentine bake off. She's not a vegan but feels by adopting one of her mother's favorite dessert recipes into Vegan she'd have a chance to win. Her mom was an amazing cook.
The winner gets top honors and full tuition at a local culinary school. She's made the finals and the completion was going to be filmed on Valentine's Day (which was her birthday) and the tenth anniversary of her mom's passing."Kitchen time with mom was the best."
Aimee meets Lucas and his grandmother, Margie. Lucas has been there for his grandmother and struggles with her living will. His grandfather passed a year ago and his grandmother has changed. She's said to him, "Right now, life on earth has lost its flavor and heaven is calling." How was he to process all that?
Lucas tells Aimee, "Well, if you ask me, Heaven's got the wrong number. I'd do everything I can to find some "flavor" my grandmother likes. If I have to hire Baskin-Robins to do a drive-by."
Both Aimee and Lucas take a hard look at their lives and what they are doing to honor the people they love. Reevaluating their purpose. God would give them the peace that passes all understanding to do the right thing.
This was again a fun story with characters I could connect with.
The Last story was by Susan May Warren. Hook, Line and Sinker.
I'm a huge Susan May Warren fan but I was not a fan of this story. It was a novella that I couldn't relate to; maybe because this author does an incredible job of having us get to know her characters, (which takes a few pages) and the community they live in (again takes more pages). Then the author usually has the reader delve into the problem. (again takes more pages) I was expecting more from this author because I've read other wonderful books by her.
All in all each story was fun, light-hearted and it made you think. What would I do in that situation? Each author included a recipe to make at home. That was fun too! This was a great collection of authors! I highly recommend reading these authors other books!
Disclosure of Material Connection: #AD Tyndale
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through The Book Club Network www.bookfun.org I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising"
Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins! www.bookfun.org
The Book Club Network blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com
Book Fun Magazine www.bookfunmagazine.com
This is a short story collection by three popular Christian fiction authors: Terri Blackstock, Candace Calvert and Susan May Warren. All three stories are short, light reads with a romantic storyline. I enjoyed all three, but was disappointed that two of them had been previously published, so only the middle story by Candace Calvert was new material.
For Love of Money by Terri Blackstock (4 stars): This was my favorite story out of the three novellas. It tackles the question, What would you do if you won a huge sweepstakes? Now that is not to say that anyone actually won money (no spoilers you have to read it for yourself), but it is an interesting story about how people deal with that question. I enjoyed watching Julie become more confident in herself and her talent as well as discovering what type of man Blake actually was.
The Recipe by Candace Calvert (3 1/2 stars): This was a sweet story. It did take me some time to get invested in Aimee and Lucas' story. Because of that, the story seemed too short to me. However, I did like the ending where the kindness and selflessness of the characters shined through.
Hook, Line & Sinker by Susan May Warren (3 stars): I typically like this author's writing and I think this story was well written. I just could not connect to Abigail and Ross. It might have been the fishing angle, as I found that I was not that interested in their fishing expedition.
The Recipe by Candace Calvert (3 1/2 stars): This was a sweet story. It did take me some time to get invested in Aimee and Lucas' story. Because of that, the story seemed too short to me. However, I did like the ending where the kindness and selflessness of the characters shined through.
Hook, Line & Sinker by Susan May Warren (3 stars): I typically like this author's writing and I think this story was well written. I just could not connect to Abigail and Ross. It might have been the fishing angle, as I found that I was not that interested in their fishing expedition.
Novella collection by three popular authors
Terri Blackstock pens a winner titled For Love of Money. Blake Adcock spends a rainy Valentine's Day sitting in a restaurant in the section Julie Sheffield is waitressing. Blake doesn't have enough money for Julie's tip, so he leaves an IOU written on half of a sweepstakes ticket with the drawing to be held the next day. Their ticket is the winning ticket.
Ms. Blackstock packed a lot into a short 138-page novella. During the first part of the story, I felt it was a bit unrealistic and overblown, and I didn't really like Blake. I was tempted to stop reading. But if I had, I would have missed some very thought-provoking messages in this story. What would I do with a large windfall of money? How would my life and attitudes change? Would my spending habits and philosophies change? I was very impressed with how the story wrapped up, and I'm glad I finished the story instead of just skipping ahead to the next novella.
Candace Calvert stirs up love in The Recipe. Aimee Curran works in the hospital dietary department but dreams of enrolling in a culinary institute. Utilizing a recipe she inherited from her mother, she hopes to win a bake-off competition with the prize of full tuition to the institute. Lucas Marchal visits his grandmother daily at the hospital, trying to coax her to eat so she can regain her health. Following an unfortunate accident with another hospital worker, Aimee "volunteers" an hour each evening to "relieve" the other worker in aiding hospital patients with their meals.
This is a fun story with gentle reminders to look beneath the surface others present to the world and find the value within. Also, health isn't just about the physical condition, it also encompasses a person's emotional and mental state.
Susan May Warren reels us in with Hook, Line & Sinker. Abigail Cushman and Scotty Springer were fellow classmates and friends. Over the years, Abby hung out at Scotty's house with him and his younger brother Ross. Now Ross is a college senior in danger of failing class, Abby is a graduate student noted as an all-brains-no-fun girl, and Scotty is dead. Both Abby and Ross are active in college campus ministry clubs, so when an opportunity to raise funds is announced, they both sign up. Unfortunately for Abby, it is a fishing contest and she knows nothing about fishing.
This short tale of missed opportunities and resulting regrets will leave you pondering. What could I have done differently? Is this information accurate, or is it just someone's opinion or assumption? It's also a great reminder that life is short so you should make the most of the time you have.
Chance of Loving You is an enjoyable collection of sweet, romantic, short stories. Each short story is followed by a delicious-looking recipe. Try this book (and the recipes)!
I received a copy of this book through The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.
Terri Blackstock pens a winner titled For Love of Money. Blake Adcock spends a rainy Valentine's Day sitting in a restaurant in the section Julie Sheffield is waitressing. Blake doesn't have enough money for Julie's tip, so he leaves an IOU written on half of a sweepstakes ticket with the drawing to be held the next day. Their ticket is the winning ticket.
Ms. Blackstock packed a lot into a short 138-page novella. During the first part of the story, I felt it was a bit unrealistic and overblown, and I didn't really like Blake. I was tempted to stop reading. But if I had, I would have missed some very thought-provoking messages in this story. What would I do with a large windfall of money? How would my life and attitudes change? Would my spending habits and philosophies change? I was very impressed with how the story wrapped up, and I'm glad I finished the story instead of just skipping ahead to the next novella.
Candace Calvert stirs up love in The Recipe. Aimee Curran works in the hospital dietary department but dreams of enrolling in a culinary institute. Utilizing a recipe she inherited from her mother, she hopes to win a bake-off competition with the prize of full tuition to the institute. Lucas Marchal visits his grandmother daily at the hospital, trying to coax her to eat so she can regain her health. Following an unfortunate accident with another hospital worker, Aimee "volunteers" an hour each evening to "relieve" the other worker in aiding hospital patients with their meals.
This is a fun story with gentle reminders to look beneath the surface others present to the world and find the value within. Also, health isn't just about the physical condition, it also encompasses a person's emotional and mental state.
Susan May Warren reels us in with Hook, Line & Sinker. Abigail Cushman and Scotty Springer were fellow classmates and friends. Over the years, Abby hung out at Scotty's house with him and his younger brother Ross. Now Ross is a college senior in danger of failing class, Abby is a graduate student noted as an all-brains-no-fun girl, and Scotty is dead. Both Abby and Ross are active in college campus ministry clubs, so when an opportunity to raise funds is announced, they both sign up. Unfortunately for Abby, it is a fishing contest and she knows nothing about fishing.
This short tale of missed opportunities and resulting regrets will leave you pondering. What could I have done differently? Is this information accurate, or is it just someone's opinion or assumption? It's also a great reminder that life is short so you should make the most of the time you have.
Chance of Loving You is an enjoyable collection of sweet, romantic, short stories. Each short story is followed by a delicious-looking recipe. Try this book (and the recipes)!
I received a copy of this book through The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.
