⛪👣❤️ “An Orphan’s Hope” (Natchez #2) (2022) ❤️👣⛪ – Takeover + Review
Welcome to the Takeover + Review Tour for An Orphan's Hope by Christina Miller, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
MORE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
MY REVIEW
Thank you in advance to the author, Christina Miller, for providing a complimentary review copy through JustRead Publicity Tours. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.
While it doesn’t state it on the back of the book, this is the second book in the author’s Natchez series. The first being Finding His Family which I was lucky enough to read.
It would probably be a good idea to read the first book to meet one of the couples mentioned in this one – Abe and Rosemary, along with their adorable daughter Georgia.
Returning Characters from Finding his Family:
👣 Abe Armstrong – Jase’s
Brother
👣 Rosemary Armstrong –
Abe’s wife
👣 Georgia Armstrong –
Jase and Rosemary’s daughter; Jase’s niece
👣 Judge Williams – Rosemary’s
father
👣 Eugenia – Rosemary’s grandmother
New Characters:
👣 Jase Armstrong –
preacher and Abe’s brother
👣 Erin Rucker – private nurse
and Danielle’s bridesmaid
👣 Fannie – Jase’s boss
and friend of Eugenia
👣 Danielle – a friend of Erin’s
and runaway bride
👣 Robert – Danielle’s left-at-the-altar
groom
👣 Courtney – Deceased cousin
of Jase and Bella’s mom
👣 Bella – Courtney’s baby
👣 Darnell – young man that
is in Jase’s youth group
👣 Chance – immediately takes
to baby Bella
👣 Kiara – one of the girls from the youth group, gets close to Erin
Among others that I probably forgot to list.
There are mentions of drug use, drug addiction, and drug overdose. This might be sensitive to some readers.
Since the title has “orphan” in it, that obviously means the baby doesn’t have any parents. Which, right off – for me – is pretty sad. The manner in which the mom is killed off is tragic. But, the cover is absolutely adorable.
The premise of a twice left-at-the-altar preacher is both tragic and in some respects a bit funny. And, of course it is that “left-at-the-altar” moment that introduces Erin and Jase.
The first line shouldn’t have made me laugh as much as it did …
“The only way Jase could get a woman down the aisle was by marrying her to another man.”
I’m sure weddings are expensive, stressful, and SUPPOSED to be happy. Seeing a bride run off is not as funny as it seems, despite an interesting comedy from 1977 – Smokey and the Bandit.
Thus, when Danielle – Erin’s friend and bride – runs off, there goes Jase seeing it happen again. But, at least it isn’t him. I had to feel for him when he didn’t know what to do with Robert, the intended groom. Silently he’s thinking “Trust me. It’s useless, man. But ago ahead and try.” As a preacher, that seemed a bit negative, yet realistic.
Fannie, Jase’s boss, takes a “spell” and ends up in the hospital. As Erin is a private nurse that is used to caring for her clients in their own homes, it turns into a perfect temporary gig. That is until Jase gets bad news – his cousin, Courtney, was killed in an accident and she left her newborn (Bella) to him.
Right away Erin not only has to care for Miss Fannie, but help Jase navigate instant fatherhood. And, as Erin tells him, “the moment you carry the baby out of the hospital, your life will never be the same.” For Jase, it isn’t that is for certain. And, he’s afraid of failing.
But, Erin has her reservations. It seems her father was a preacher and chose the ministry work over his daughter. Her fiancé? The same. Still, she can’t seem to abandon Jase who desperately needs her help.
Of course, some women think Jase needs a “solution” wife. But, he isn’t so sure one exists. She will, after his two disasters, need to feel called to ministry. One of his engagements ended the same day as Erin ended hers to a famous football player.
On the side, Erin is still in touch with Danielle who left her dress on the side of the road. (Really? She couldn’t have donated it to a charity store??).
Danielle does end up some place Erin wants to be, or as she comes to realize, maybe she doesn’t. Jase sees something in Erin, especially as she works with the kids, that perhaps Erin might be called to do the work she wants to run from. And, Erin is beginning to find something in Rosewood that she hasn’t found anywhere else.
This isn’t entirely too sad. There are elements of humor and feel hood moments throughout from both Jase and Erin’s POVs. For one, poor Jase is trying to find a place in public to change the baby. He notes only the women’s bathroom has a changing table. In addition, Sister Myra came in to help. Her “Y’all get out. Pastor Jase needs the bathroom” is definitely a laugh-out-loud moment. Watching him try to navigate learning to care for Bella is both endearing and sad.
I love how Miller pointed out about adopted newborns and bonding being important and not to pass the baby around too much. It was very interesting and informative. Another interesting bit was Erin wondering if Bella was missing her mom or confused by Erin’s voice despite how young the newborn was when Courtney was killed.
There are also lessons, especially about jumping to conclusions and our own prejudices. There is a moment in this story where Jase is at a hospital, and Erin runs into some major trouble. She doesn’t wait to learn why Jase isn’t at the church. But, once she is told, she understands and perhaps would’ve suggested he go. It puts her own experiences into perspective.
In addition to being sad, informative, sometimes humorous, the author also dropped a slight suspenseful element in the story towards the end with Courtney’s mother, Rita. It was definitely a tense few pages, but left the end a bit too open for me. The fact this woman tried to commit a felony was unspeakable. I really wanted to know what happened to her as well as the “goon” she was with.
Readers also learn why Danielle left Robert at the altar. I felt they were a bit shallow. Robert is definitely better off. And, I have to admit, I wouldn’t mind not seeing her again. Since Danielle is in Japan, the best thing I can say for her – sayonara [goodbye forever; implies that you never want to see the person again]. Definitely don’t want to see her back at all so the word is 100% appropriate. And, that leaves yet another open ending there.
I really wanted to know, given the story ends “one year later”, how Robert was doing and where he was. I honestly felt so sorry for him. And, I REALLY hope he found someone a bit better for him.
So, I definitely want to read the next book in the series in case the author gives us a bit more information on those two stories.
Despite the minor issues I had, I did have a HUGE problem putting this down and read it in less than a 24-hour period. 20 years ago, that wouldn’t have been too rare. Today? I average reading a book of this length in under 48 hours.
The writing is evenly paced and takes place inside of a week though it did seem like much longer. Perhaps that is a result of how detailed and descriptive the writer was in bringing the setting and characters to life.
One thing is certain, I’m craving some sweet lemonade.
Love Inspired is a more Christian/faith-themed line distributed
by Harlequin Books. As a result, they tend to have those elements in the books
and as a central theme of the story. This one – for obvious reasons – has mentions
of church attendance, ministry, references to God, along with mentions to
scriptures.
RATING:
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
– Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will receive a print copy of An Orphan's Hope and a $20 Amazon gift card!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight January 19, 2021 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on January 26, 2021. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
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