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Captivating characters take a chance on love
A book review written by Alexis A. Goring
Bestselling romance authors Terri Blackstock, Candace Calvert and Susan May Warren joined creative forces to produce a novel-length anthology containing three short stories, each story penned by one of the authors. The book is called Chance of Loving You.
The first feature about Chance of Loving You that immediately caught my eye and garnered my interest was the cover! It is so beautiful, mesmerizing and whimsical all at once! I love how a lovely couple stands in the center of a city street lined by buildings and illuminated by night lights. The lady is wearing a flowing dress and high heels that look like they went dancing for their date. She looks up at her man adoringly with her arms looped around his neck while he, dressed casually, stares deep into her eyes.
The cover, I admit, is what made me want to read and review this book and I am SO glad I did! Here’s a breakdown of what I thought of each of the three stories that compose Chance of Loving You:
“For the Love of Money” by Terri Blackstock
I give this story an A+ for humor and creativity! It is the most vivid of the three stories in Chance of Loving You. The story starts late at night inside a café with a scene between a man is who is totally devastated and a waitress with a caring heart and listening ear. The author Terri Blackstock did a wonderful job of making the reader care about her two main characters conversing in the café from the moment they start talking.
“For the Love of Money” is about Julie, a waitress who dreams of launching her own design firm and a man who is mourning the death of his dream. Julie meets this man during her shift at the café and is immediately drawn into a conversation with him, wanting to know more about this man whose story—and his good looks—had her at hello.
The author did a delightful job of using something as simple as a lottery ticket within a box of Valentine’s Day chocolates to start the action and take the characters on a whirlwind journey that leads to millionaire status, romance, heartbreak and restoration.
The story is so good! I loved every page of it though at first, I wondered how the author was going to pull such a random storyline off but to my relief, Terri did not disappoint. She is a master storyteller.
“The Recipe” by Candace Calvert
I loved this story! It was one of my favorites because it incorporated my love for food, family and romance. Candace Calvert weaves a beautiful tale full of surprises and heartwarming moments.
“The Recipe” is about hospital dietary assistant Aimee who believes baking is her calling and is hoping to win the Vegan Valentine Bake-Off . But as she cares for one of her patients who happens to be the elderly grandma of a very handsome crime scene photographer, Aimee starts to question if her passion for baking and determination to win that contest, is all she wants in life.
Perhaps Aimee learns that there’s more to life than working your dream job. Maybe she learns that you need to make time for finding and keeping true love. You’ll have to read the story to find out what Aimee determines!
Candace Calvert tells the story in such creative and sweet style that leaves you wanting to read more books by this author. I believe “The Recipe” is the first of what will be many of my favorite books by Calvert!
“Hook, Line & Sinker” by Susan May Warren
My least favorite story because it moved too fast and there wasn’t much room for backstory or character development. I would love to read more books by Susan May Warren because I heard she’s one of the best storytellers. But “Hook, Line & Sinker” was not very impressive.
The story is about graduate student Abigail who decides to enter a fishing contest. She’s competing against a handsome young man who is connected to a sad part of her past. Abigail is very defensive to this gentleman and first but you can tell he cares about her and wants her forgiveness. Susan does a good job of bringing about understanding, restoration and hope for these two characters but it’s not enough to make me love the story.
The author knows how to write a story but it was disappointing because I thought “Hook, Line & Sinker” would be one of my favorite stories ever because of the caliber and reputation of the author. But for me, it wasn’t.
However, I do plan on reading more books by Susan May Warren because given her reputation, I know she must have many wonderful books on the market, ones I will love and write glowing reviews about but this particular story was not one of her best—just my honest opinion. I’m sure there are other readers who disagree and would love this story.
Overall, I would give Chance of Loving You a solid “A” or “four stars” out of five (stars) for a fantastic fictional story world filled with captivating characters and intriguing plots that draw you in from the first page of the book and keep you reading until you reach “The end.”
Bravo!
*Tyndale PR sent a complimentary copy of Chance of Loving You to Alexis in exchange for an honest review.
Captivating characters take a chance on love
A book review written by Alexis A. Goring
Bestselling romance authors Terri Blackstock, Candace Calvert and Susan May Warren joined creative forces to produce a novel-length anthology containing three short stories, each story penned by one of the authors. The book is called Chance of Loving You.
The first feature about Chance of Loving You that immediately caught my eye and garnered my interest was the cover! It is so beautiful, mesmerizing and whimsical all at once! I love how a lovely couple stands in the center of a city street lined by buildings and illuminated by night lights. The lady is wearing a flowing dress and high heels that look like they went dancing for their date. She looks up at her man adoringly with her arms looped around his neck while he, dressed casually, stares deep into her eyes.
The cover, I admit, is what made me want to read and review this book and I am SO glad I did! Here’s a breakdown of what I thought of each of the three stories that compose Chance of Loving You:
“For the Love of Money” by Terri Blackstock
I give this story an A+ for humor and creativity! It is the most vivid of the three stories in Chance of Loving You. The story starts late at night inside a café with a scene between a man is who is totally devastated and a waitress with a caring heart and listening ear. The author Terri Blackstock did a wonderful job of making the reader care about her two main characters conversing in the café from the moment they start talking.
“For the Love of Money” is about Julie, a waitress who dreams of launching her own design firm and a man who is mourning the death of his dream. Julie meets this man during her shift at the café and is immediately drawn into a conversation with him, wanting to know more about this man whose story—and his good looks—had her at hello.
The author did a delightful job of using something as simple as a lottery ticket within a box of Valentine’s Day chocolates to start the action and take the characters on a whirlwind journey that leads to millionaire status, romance, heartbreak and restoration.
The story is so good! I loved every page of it though at first, I wondered how the author was going to pull such a random storyline off but to my relief, Terri did not disappoint. She is a master storyteller.
“The Recipe” by Candace Calvert
I loved this story! It was one of my favorites because it incorporated my love for food, family and romance. Candace Calvert weaves a beautiful tale full of surprises and heartwarming moments.
“The Recipe” is about hospital dietary assistant Aimee who believes baking is her calling and is hoping to win the Vegan Valentine Bake-Off . But as she cares for one of her patients who happens to be the elderly grandma of a very handsome crime scene photographer, Aimee starts to question if her passion for baking and determination to win that contest, is all she wants in life.
Perhaps Aimee learns that there’s more to life than working your dream job. Maybe she learns that you need to make time for finding and keeping true love. You’ll have to read the story to find out what Aimee determines!
Candace Calvert tells the story in such creative and sweet style that leaves you wanting to read more books by this author. I believe “The Recipe” is the first of what will be many of my favorite books by Calvert!
“Hook, Line & Sinker” by Susan May Warren
My least favorite story because it moved too fast and there wasn’t much room for backstory or character development. I would love to read more books by Susan May Warren because I heard she’s one of the best storytellers. But “Hook, Line & Sinker” was not very impressive.
The story is about graduate student Abigail who decides to enter a fishing contest. She’s competing against a handsome young man who is connected to a sad part of her past. Abigail is very defensive to this gentleman and first but you can tell he cares about her and wants her forgiveness. Susan does a good job of bringing about understanding, restoration and hope for these two characters but it’s not enough to make me love the story.
The author knows how to write a story but it was disappointing because I thought “Hook, Line & Sinker” would be one of my favorite stories ever because of the caliber and reputation of the author. But for me, it wasn’t.
However, I do plan on reading more books by Susan May Warren because given her reputation, I know she must have many wonderful books on the market, ones I will love and write glowing reviews about but this particular story was not one of her best—just my honest opinion. I’m sure there are other readers who disagree and would love this story.
Overall, I would give Chance of Loving You a solid “A” or “four stars” out of five (stars) for a fantastic fictional story world filled with captivating characters and intriguing plots that draw you in from the first page of the book and keep you reading until you reach “The end.”
Bravo!
*Tyndale PR sent a complimentary copy of Chance of Loving You to Alexis in exchange for an honest review.
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