🎂 🍰 🧁 💍 "How Sweet It Is" (2020) 💍 🧁 🍰 🎂 - Book Review/Tour #HSIIPrism
On Tour with Prism Book Tours
How Sweet It Is
(Lagacy of Faith, #3)
By Robin Lee Hatcher
Christian Contemporary Romance
Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 304 Pages
July 14th 2020 by Thomas Nelson
He lost his brother. She lost her dream. Together, they might find what they're really looking for.
Holly Stanford is doing the best she can with the restaurant she inherited from her late uncle. But after her fiancé abandons her and the business, Holly regrets having given up her dream of becoming a pastry chef. Now a few bad financial decisions might cost her everything, including her hope for the future.
Jed Henning has done well with his new company despite his prodigal brother's behavior. When Jed's father, the controlling member of the board of directors, temporarily suspends operations until his sons work out their differences, Jed resentfully chases his brother, Chris, to Boise. There Jed rents a basement apartment from Holly and hopes to convince Chris to get his act together before their company collapses.
Unaware that Holly is the one person who can help him get through to Chris, Jed starts the tough work of reconciliation armed with little more than a few family photographs, a stack of old letters, and a Bible that belonged to his great-grandfather, Andrew Henning. And as romance blossoms between Holly and Jed, the story of Jed's great-grandfather highlights the power of God across the generations and the legacy of a family's courageous faith.
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Other Books in the Series
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About the Author
Tour Schedule
One winner will receive a print copy of Cross My Heart by Robin Lee Hatcher
US only
Ends July 29, 2020
US only
Ends July 29, 2020
My Review
Thank
you in advance to the publisher, Thomas Nelson/TNZ Fiction, for providing an
advanced review copy through Prism Book Tours. A positive review was not
required or requested and all words are my own.
This is
the first book I’ve read by author Robin Lee Hatcher. And, it is a wonderful,
sweet, darling, inspirational, and beautifully written story for the most part.
The short chapters make it an extremely quick read. I had read over 100 pages
the first day. And, the only reason I put it down was to make notes for the
review and head to bed for the evening.
The
only hiccup, this being an ARC, was at the end of chapter 21, with a scene
transition and what seemed to be missing words or an entire missing scene. That
was a bit hard to understand where it was going or came from. I’m sure in the
finished text it is different though.
I loved
the premise of this – Jed losing his brother and Holly losing her dream,
together they try to find what they’re looking for.
This is
the third book of the “A Legacy of Faith” series. Told in third person; the POV
changes from present day with Holly and Jed, to 1969 with great-grandpa
Andrew’s story. The 1969 parts are always at the end of the chapter and in
different font (at least in this ARC). From what I understand, the Andrew story
line starts in the previous two novels and continues/ ends here. Having not
read the other two novels, it seemed the “flashback” was a bit unrelated to
this particular story. I did enjoy reading about the past as my mom graduated
in 1969.
This is
definitely a clean read which is devoid of intimate references as well as
offensive language.
I
understood Jed’s father and his position in wanting to get Jed to reconcile
with his brother Chris or lose their business. However, I felt it was wrong to
ask Jed and was relieved when his father finally softened. Jed’s father seemed
to place the blame on Jed, and using the business as “collateral” was not
something I thought was appropriate. Though the “why” of the Jed/Chris discord never
does come out, or it is so subtle I missed it.
Jed is
finding it hard to fix something that he didn’t know why it was broken or how
it broke. And, that I think is common in a lot of relationships – trying to fix
what broke but not knowing the how or why of it. That was something I could
definitely relate to, and I am sure others can relate to it as well.
It is
in going through family photos and great-grandpa’s bible that Jed begins to
understand the family and tries to rely on faith to led him to try to reconcile
with Chris in a different way. Through great-grandpa Andrew, Jed learns there
is a purpose for suffering as well as trying to find the joy in life. However,
it is leading him closer to Holly.
Holly
has her own issues – a struggling restaurant she inherited, her baking dreams
that are passing by, a failed engagement, and the cooking classes for the women
in the shelter.
Jed and
Holly seemed a bit mis-matched, but watching them navigate the relationship was
sweet. And, while I understood Holly’s hesitation, it did seem to undermine the
“happily ever after” theme.
The
cover depicts a happy couple, baking in a kitchen. And, this honestly didn’t
happen in the story. So, I feel a bit let down by the cover. The title is taken
from an oldies song “How Sweet it Is”, and to me the story didn’t seem to quite
measure up with their story line seemingly ending abruptly.
The reveal
about Willow’s son, AJ, was quite a shock and I wasn’t sure how to take that
bit of information. It was an interesting plot twist and I was in the “saw
that, but didn’t see it” mindset. It made sense, and yet it was still shocking.
It is
through Holly that Jed learns to practice grace when reaching out to Chris.
To me,
the end came up a bit short – there was a cliché ending with two of the
characters (Chris and Willow), and I would’ve liked more of a story with them –
how did they meet, what happened, what was Chris’ deal with his issues. Were he
and Willow really in love? I honestly felt that the ending was rushed, albeit
it was an adorable ending. I am glad to see that Holly was going to give love
another chance, especially with Jed.
I would’ve
liked to have known how some of the shelter women faired. Perhaps they will get
their own stories in a different series down the road.
There
were quite a few historical and well known references from 1969 in this novel.
The references of the events are mentioned in a December 31, 1969 “entry” –
Chappaquiddick, Sharon Tate’s murder, Hurricane Camille, and the My Lai
massacre in Vietnam.
These
did make me think about the balance in this story of faith and redemption with
the evil atrocities committed, but it did seem a bit sad (if not depressing)
for the tone of the novel. I really did enjoy reading the book over all.
However, there were a lot of questions I had along with wanting a bit more in
it.
Distributed
through Thomas Nelson, a Christian/Faith themed publisher; this has biblical
references, the characters attend church, there are messages of second chances,
grace, and redemption. The messages are a huge part of the story. They are
perhaps the best part of the book. The flashback and the current day story do
accomplish one caveat – how much we have changed from our grandparents and even
our parents.
The
biggest message I loved from this book was in practicing grace when dealing with
family and friends when it comes to conflicts and reconciliation.
Readers
of the previous books in the series as well as fans of the author will more
than likely enjoy this story.
RATING:
3 ⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
3 ⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
3 ⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating
explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
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