Thursday, May 7, 2020

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Oh, Gracious! by Chautona Havig


About the Book


Book:  Oh, Gracious!
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre:  Christian fiction, contemporary Romance, woman’s fiction
Release Date: March 31, 2020

Life is too short to settle for just anyone.

Grace gave her whole heart to Jesus, but now he wants a part of it.

All she ever wanted was to be a homemaker.

Sure, she has a degree in physics.  Yes, she could have a lucrative job in Rockland, but Grace Buscher enjoys her life as a single homemaker. As they say, it’s her choice.

As a successful business owner, a handsome guy, and heir to a small fortune, it’s no wonder Nolan Burke is one of Rockland’s most eligible bachelors. The problem is, he hasn’t met anyone who isn’t looking for a “trophy husband.”

Don’t family-centered women exist anymore?

Grace isn’t exactly eye candy. Nolan is a bit blind. So when an “accidental meeting” forges an unlikely friendship, it becomes obvious to everyone that it’s likely to become more.

But is Grace ready to give up the life she loves for the man she loves?

Find out in this completely updated, revised, and improved version of Chautona Havig’s first novel, Noble Pursuits.

Click here to get your copy!


My Thoughts:


This was a sweet little (okay, big) romance with all the usual author Havig charm. Somehow she pulled off having a love story that is quite unlike others I've read, while also being so realistic it felt like I was watching mutual friends fall in love. The main characters were quite interesting- she is a professional homemaker... of her own home, and he is an eligible bachelor fleeing from forward women. Together, they become the best of friends.


The secondary characters are also fun, from the heroine's overprotective brother and his wife, to her pretty but shy friend, the annoying guy in church, and his nice brother, to the hero's father's business partner and family. It was fun watching them all interact with each other as they dealt with the ups and downs of life together.


Overall, this was a delightful read to watch a man realize there is more to women than the outside, and a woman learn that there are spiritual benefits in a temporal relationship.

I received a copy of this book from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

Reviewed by Jes


About the Author


Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More from Chautona


Wow, My Beloved First Book Was a Hot Mess

On my blog, I sometimes answer readers’ questions, and one of the earliest ones was, “Since you zip out your books so fast, do you ever later wish you had done something differently with them?”

My answer today is the same as back then—usually.  No.  Yes, I sometimes regret not being able to tell a supporting character’s story because the book has given away that person’s past and/or future.  Still, most of the time, I tell the story as I want it.

But in that post about “regrets,” I said that as I learn, I definitely wish to improve sentences here, and others there.  I did this already with Argosy Junction, the second book that I published. The first two or three books were experiments where I made many serious mistakes.  Took bad advice. Didn’t know the right things to research. All the mistake-ness.

Total transparency here. I chose Argosy Junction to revise first because I made fewer mistakes on it.  Still lots, but not as many as my first book, Noble Pursuits.

Bad editing advice, horrible cover design (twice), and just basic writing craft stuff that I didn’t know when I started this whole journey all culminated in a book I both loved (the story) and hated (the final result). Many reviewers said the same thing, too.  That poor book has the worst reviews of all of my books combined.

And for good reason.

But it’s a good story—one I love, as I said—and it has some strong fans.  Some readers were able to look past the problems and see the heart of what I tried to do with it.  And that was a beautiful thing.  Those readers, actually, are the ones I’ve rewritten this book for.

Yes, I rewrote Noble Pursuits. While every sentence isn’t completely rewritten, enough are that I considered it a new book, not just a revised one.

A few readers have panicked to see the title changed, the story rewritten. They’ve asked if I took out this or even that.  I took out and added nothing that 99.9% of readers would ever notice. And it’s a better book for it.

I am updating the original Noble Pursuits file with the new text.  I’m doing this in hopes that those who already own that book can go into their digital content on Amazon and get the updated version.  I don’t know if it will work, but I pray it does.

Meanwhile, for those who’ve asked why they can’t buy the first book on my Suggested Reading Order list,  well… now you can!

Oh, Gracious! has been a long time coming, but she’s here with a new title, rewritten content, and even a lovely new cover by the brilliantly talented Perry Elizabeth. It took what seems like forever to settle on a title, but we finally did. Why we chose Oh, Gracious! however, is a story for another day.

Blog Stops

Among the Reads, April 24
Wishful Endings, April 24
Cultivating us, April 29
Emily Yager, May 4
Artistic Nobody, May 7 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Giveaway


To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away the grand prize package of one paperback copy of each of the 3 fully revised novels: Oh, Gracious, Argosy Junction, and Thirty Days Hath…!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for taking the time to read and review. I appreciate it. :)

    ReplyDelete