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29 April 2011

Contemporary Book Review - Friend on Friday!

Review: Save the Date Save the Date
by Jenny B. Jones http://www.jennybjones.com/

Reviewed by: Charlene Quiram http://www.keytreecreations.com/
Format: E-book

Publisher: Thomas Nelson



Do you want to read a book that is fun, fun, fun while delivering a powerful punch about forgiveness and reconciliation? Jenny B. Jones delivers LOL humor with Lucy Wiltshire on almost every page of Save the Date, her latest novel. Lucy is witty, klutzy, noble, haunted, and hilarious when she fakes an engagement to the rich and arrogant pro-football player-turned-senatorial candidate, Alex Sinclair in order to save the struggling woman’s shelter she’s sunk her heart and soul into.

You’ll love how Lucy sucks you into a whirlwind of emotions—panic when it looks like both her dream and the homeless girls she’s grown to love will be thrown back to the streets; conflict as she wrestles with God about a solution; mortification when the answer she opts for flings her so far out of her comfort zone she’d be better off on an alien planet in one her beloved Sci-Fi flicks, and confusion when she finds herself drawn to the man that couldn’t be more wrong for her.

Jones is known for her sassy YA (Young Adult) books, but Save the Date is a great cross-over book with its twenty-something characters and more mature issues.



Faves:

 Jones has a gift for creating terse-but humorous dialogue with the key characters—especially Alex with Lucy and Clare with Julian

 She illustrates key biblical concepts such as forgiveness, the importance of relationships over work, and our own self-worth without being preachy

 Alex is steaming hot

 She mentions Bono on page 223 (Anyone who likes Bono enough to write him into her novel—gets my endorsement)



Fails:

  • At first, I had a hard time believing that Alex Sinclair was the kind of God-fearing man her turned out to be—only because of how much Lucy prejudiced me against him in the beginning. Not a complete fail—because eventually you see why he’s changed and he becomes more believable if almost too-good-to-be true.

  •  In this same vein, I had a hard time swallowing the wicked witch transforming into a fairy godmother, but, of course, with Him, anything is possible.



At the beach on spring break, on a coffee break, on a couch break, give yourself a break and read Save the Date. I dare you not to break out laughing.


Charlene Quiram is a writer from Williamsburg, Virginia.  She is a member of Tidewater Christian Fiction Writers. Charlene has a special interest in Russia, having adopted two Ukraine children, now teens.

12 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for doing this review, Charlene! I enjoyed reading it and it is so full of your personality, which I love. Hugs!

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  2. Hi, Charlene, what a wonderful review! Oh, that I could write them like that! I read about this book on another blog, and since the reviewer was young I assumed that is why she enjoyed it so much. However, after reading your review, as well, I believe this would be such a fun book to relax with out in my flower garden, or as you said, at the beach. The cover is great! Love it! Thank you for the great review. One author posed the question, "Do book reviews do any good?" My answer to that is absolutely! This book will find it's way on my bookshelf in the near future! I need a good laugh.:-)

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  3. wow! what an enthusiastic review :) definitely makes me want to read the book.

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  4. This is a great review!
    Diana, you are doing a great job on your reviews too! I always enjoy reading them.

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  5. That's so kind of you, Marian. Thank you! Don't you love the cover on this book?....too cute!

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  6. Just added my 60th follower. Yay! Welcome to Joy Hannabus! Going to Random.org in the morning!

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  7. Congrats to Anne! Send me your snail mail address so I can get your box off to you! And I have a copy of Roger Bruner's Found in Translation as a thank you gift for Charlene. Thanks for coming by and thanks for the review, Charlene!

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  8. Congrats, Anne! Happy reading! Carrie's goody boxes are wonderful!!!

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  9. The review was my pleasure, Carrie! Diane, I do think you'll laugh a lot at the predicaments this protagonist finds herself in(--and echoing your friend, I'm sure your reviews are great.)

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  10. What a wonderful review, Charlene. Thank you so much. Totally blessed me. : )

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  11. Looks like a wonderful read! would love to have the book
    Blessings.....Joy
    ibjoy1953{at]yahoo[dot]com

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