🧬👶🏻🧸💞 "Formula for a Perfect Life" 💞🧸👶🏻🧬 (2020) - Book Tour & Review #FPLPrism
Formula for a Perfect LifeBy Christy Hayes
Christian New Adult Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 323 Pages
March 30th 2020
Two practical strangers. One fateful night. Two pink lines.
College senior and obsessive romantic Kayla Cummings' dreams of a storybook life are spun off course by an unplanned pregnancy after a one-night stand with her secret crush. Devastated, Kayla turns to her roommates and best friends for advice. No matter what she decides, no matter how deeply embarrassed, she has to tell the father.
Ben Strickland's future is written in stone as long as he gets a decent score on the Law School Admission Test. Feeling pressure from all sides, Ben struggles to juggle his upcoming finals, another shot at the LSAT, and his needy girlfriend Darcy. When the girl he spent a memorable night with weeks ago shows up at his doorstep pregnant, his already chaotic life spins out of control.
With the clock ticking, decisions to make, and a boatload of people to disappoint, Ben and Kayla embark on a journey neither anticipated a journey where falling in love might be the biggest surprise of all. But when old hurts and buried secrets pose a greater threat to their future than impending parenthood, will Ben and Kayla go their separate ways or forge a new path to happy ever after?
(Affiliate link included.)
About the Author
Christy Hayes lives outside Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and dogs. Christy writes Contemporary Romance, New Adult Romance, Christian Romance, and Women's Fiction. When not writing, she's reading, walking dogs, or stalking her college-aged kids on social media.
Tour Schedule
Tour Giveaway
Three winners will receive an ebook of Maybe It's You by Christy Hayes
Open internationally
Ends April 8, 2020
My Review
Thank you in advance to the author, Christy
Hayes, and Prism Book Tours for providing a complimentary review copy. A
positive review was not required. All words are my own.
This is the first book I’ve read by the author.
I didn’t know quite what to expect from this
book. I thought this would be more of a YA (Young Adult) read, but it is in the
middle.
The cute and whimsical cover drew me in, as
well as the description about the two college students who end up pregnant, or rather
Kayla does.
But, the pregnancy also has some interesting
consequences for Ben. In fact, it might be what he needs.
While this is under “Christian Fiction”, there
are elements that could be slightly questionable. While there is no actual “foul”
language – there are some derogatory words in the book that describe “promiscuous”
women. These are words such as sk#nk and wh@re. This language is realistic for
how some women (regardless of age) talk about other women.
As the story revolves around an unexpected
pregnancy, pre-marital sex occurs. Though, it is prior to the start of the
story. There is also talk of abortion, some physical violence (minor slapping),
reference to drug use, and the selling of drugs.
There is also some sex talk, some of which
could be of questionable language depending on the reader’s preference.
The story is told from two (2) POVs – Kayla and
Ben. Both are seniors in college. Ben is already facing pressure to pass his LSAT
test for law. He’s also having issues with his overly controlling girlfriend
Darcy.
As soon as Kayla sees the two pink lines, she
knows life isn’t going to be the same, and reconciles to tell Ben what
happened.
While shocked, they both know that abortion and
adoption are not options they want to consider. Ben also realizes his
on-again/off-again relationship with Darcy, while long-standing in nature, is
toxic and unhealthy.
Yet, Kayla’s pregnancy changes everything for
them.
From there, what was once a one-night stand;
turns into a journey that they take together despite the odds against them.
While it complicates Ben’s complicated life, it
also gives him the push he needs to free himself.
I thoroughly enjoyed the maturity demonstrated
by Ben and Kayla as they took an honest look at their situation. They don’t
have any answers, but also don’t hesitate to figure things out either. They
even go so far as to talk with their friends, and Ben talks with his
grandmother.
When it comes to revealing the truth to the
families – Kayla’s is somewhat more accepting than Ben’s. Ben’s father and
Darcy were two of the most despicable characters.
This isn’t a shot-gun wedding type of romance
either. It is one that sees where everything is going and takes it one
milestone at a time.
With a pinch of faith, this is a realistic and
honest look into unplanned pregnancy along with the impact it has on the
mother-to-be, the father-to-be, as well as their families. It also highlights
how important strong friendships are in addition to family. Delightful, and a
true example of the plans God has for us – even when we’re sure of what we
want. And, sometimes it gives us the courage to stand up for ourselves.
The ending was definitely anticipated, as I’m
sure I knew where this was going. I also felt like Ben picked out a better
career choice for himself. In addition, Kayla also (despite her circumstances) was still promoting abstinence. She even points out her situation to her brother as a reason.
There are a few typos in the story, and I did
find a few missing words. At one point there is a lab test conducted that after
researching it, the sequence of events was too soon for the test to have been
done. However the errors did not completely detract from the story or enjoying
it.
Another enjoyable tidbit was that the baby’s
due date was sort of set on July 28th, which is also my mother’s
birthday.
RATING:
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating
explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
Comments
Post a Comment