In present day, Haley has finished her time as a soldier, and suffering from PTSD, wants nothing to do with the heartbreak of this world. She sets off for Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, and in order to honor the memory of a fallen friend, she takes on the task of reopening an abandoned and long-forgotten wedding shop. Perhaps through helping others, she can forget the pain and disappointment in her own life.
Haley isn’t looking for love, but when her friend’s former fiancé becomes involved in the shop’s renovations, they both find that healing and restoration can perhaps happen in their lives too.
My Thoughts:
I love the way Rachel Hauck can take two unrelated
characters, weave their stories together, and then connect their lives in the
way you least expected.
Cora and Haley had me hooked from the very beginning.
Cora seems to be the kind of woman I would have liked in real life. She was not
worried about the world’s perception of her, she was determined to live her
life on her terms, and she was a successful businesswoman. She held true to
what she believed to be the love of her life, and her heartbreak broke my heart
on her behalf. I wanted so badly for Cora to have her happy ending and was
devastated when I did not think she was going to get it. Cora was a woman who
trusted God and was willing to let Him have his way with her life. I was so
happy with how her life turned out and the decisions she made for herself.
Haley came home a lost, wounded, and lonely woman. I felt
like her decision to reopen the wedding shop came out of nowhere, but once her
heart was revealed it was so obvious God had his hand in her decision making. I
longed for Haley to make true amends with her mother and to allow her heart to
be opened to those around her. I felt Haley punished herself too much for the
mistakes of her past. When she finally let go and let God show her forgiveness,
it was such a turning point in this story. I wanted to leap for joy when the
wedding shop finally opened, and all the pieces fell into place in only a way
God could orchestrate.
The connection between Cora and Haley was one I would
have never guessed. And I loved it! It was so perfect, and it made a great
story just perfect. I also love with characters from other books show up in
stories, so I was thrilled to see a few people and locations show up in this
book (but that is all I am going to say without giving away any great secrets J )
Put this book on your reading list. It is a must read for
sure!
Rachel Hauck is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall
Street Journal Bestselling, and award-winning author.
A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in
Journalism, Rachel worked in the corporate software world before planting her
backside in an uncomfortable chair to write full-time in 2004.
She serves on the Executive Board for American Christian
Fiction Writers and leads worship at their annual conference. She is a mentor
and book therapist at My Book Therapy, and conference speaker.
Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and
pets, and writes from her two-story tower in an exceedingly more comfy chair.
She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.
