Teresa Reviews Beth Vogt's "Wish You Were Here"

Wish You Were Here by Beth Vogt

Howard Publishing, 2012
4.5 Stars****

In this fun tale of “nothing like waiting ’til the wedding to realize I don’t want to marry you” Beth K. Vogt takes us on an exciting, albeit sometimes, upsetting adventure in the life of Allison Denman.

Allison Denman for years has wanted nothing out of life but to feel she is worthy of love. As a small girl something happened to Allison that has had devastating and lasting effects on the way she sees herself. She just wants someone to love her and make her feel safe. So when in high school Allison meets Seth Rayner she thinks her dreams have come true. But is he exactly what Allison needs or is she missing what God really wants for her life? Allison convinces herself Seth is safe and safe is what she wants, so when Seth asks her to marry him, she says yes.

Since a young man Seth has always played by the rules, he never caused his parents any worries, he went to the college his father picked out and now he is in line to become the owner of the family business. But if Seth is so perfect why does Allison have all these doubts days before the wedding?

When Seth’s older brother, Daniel shows up at Allison’s door five days before the wedding to help her move, Allison thinks nothing of it. There’s nothing to be concerned about, Daniel is like her big brother too since she has known him just as long as she has known Seth. Just because he is so ruggedly handsome and lives an adventurous life and her heart does funny things when he is near, it doesn’t mean anything. When Daniel goes to leave after helping Allison, somehow he finds himself kissing her. What is he thinking? What is Allison thinking? What could possibly come of this? Nothing good if Seth finds out.

On the morning of their wedding Allison is trying so hard to be in a happy mood but somehow nothing is working. She has to go through with this, Seth has planned the perfect wedding she can't ruin it by not showing up. As Allison is walking down the aisle to marry Seth she is still torn by doing what is expected of her and what her heart feels is the right thing to do. Can she do this, can she marry Seth or does God have something much better in store for her life? 

Beth took a “runaway bride” story and added a lot of depth, it was what I expected and even more. Beth takes us through a lot of Allison’s emotions during this conflicting time in her life; she even has to deal with an issue she thought she had overcome as a teen. When I was given a copy of this book to read I honestly thought this would be a quick, quirky, fun read that I would blow through in a couple of days. Boy was I wrong! Thanks Beth! I can't wait to read more of your work!

You can find this terrific book by Beth at Amazon, CBD, Books A Million, and other stores.


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