Love Arrives in Pieces
Zondervan
June 2015
About the book:For so long, Stella was known for her beauty. Now, with her heart stripped bare, she must discover who she really is.
Former pageant queen Stella Varland doesn’t trust beauty anymore after her divorce. Her appearance betrayed her and led to her brokenness—so instead of being beautiful, now she tries to make beautiful things, but always falls short. So she keeps her passion for her secret art to herself and focuses on her interior design work. But if she doesn’t get another job soon, she’ll be stuck living with her parents.
Contractor Chase Taylor is determined to live a life of no regrets after losing his fiancée in a car crash. Now he lives life at full speed, striving to see how much he can accomplish. He knows if he slows down, he’ll fall apart. So he returns home to Bayou Bend to renovate the town’s old theater, and is shocked to learn former flame Stella is the designer for the project.
Forced to work together, Chase and Stella battle their chemistry and their pasts as they struggle to compromise and come together on a vision for the theater. Chase doesn’t understand why Stella is such a subdued version of herself, while Stella doesn’t get Chase’s constant need for productivity and speed. Their wills clash as they attempt to hide their brokenness—and their unresolved feelings for each other—until Chase breaks through Stella’s walls and convinces her to enter her mosaic tile art in a contest.
A near catastrophe, a fire, and a small-town gossip mill finally force both Stella and Chase to realize that they have a choice—to hold on to the shards of their pasts, or surrender their fragmented pieces to the One who makes a beautiful masterpiece from the broken.
Zondervan
June 2015
About the book:For so long, Stella was known for her beauty. Now, with her heart stripped bare, she must discover who she really is.
Former pageant queen Stella Varland doesn’t trust beauty anymore after her divorce. Her appearance betrayed her and led to her brokenness—so instead of being beautiful, now she tries to make beautiful things, but always falls short. So she keeps her passion for her secret art to herself and focuses on her interior design work. But if she doesn’t get another job soon, she’ll be stuck living with her parents.
Contractor Chase Taylor is determined to live a life of no regrets after losing his fiancée in a car crash. Now he lives life at full speed, striving to see how much he can accomplish. He knows if he slows down, he’ll fall apart. So he returns home to Bayou Bend to renovate the town’s old theater, and is shocked to learn former flame Stella is the designer for the project.
Forced to work together, Chase and Stella battle their chemistry and their pasts as they struggle to compromise and come together on a vision for the theater. Chase doesn’t understand why Stella is such a subdued version of herself, while Stella doesn’t get Chase’s constant need for productivity and speed. Their wills clash as they attempt to hide their brokenness—and their unresolved feelings for each other—until Chase breaks through Stella’s walls and convinces her to enter her mosaic tile art in a contest.
A near catastrophe, a fire, and a small-town gossip mill finally force both Stella and Chase to realize that they have a choice—to hold on to the shards of their pasts, or surrender their fragmented pieces to the One who makes a beautiful masterpiece from the broken.
My Review: When I first picked it up, I thought to myself "this book is utterly chaotic... in the best way possible!" I love Betsy St. Amant's writing style. This book is as chaotic as it's characters feelings and lives. I cannot even begin to describe how well I think this book is written. The more I read, the faster I wanted to read because I was so involved in Stella and Chase's story.
The chemistry, banter, and all out anger Stella and Chase have with one another is captivating. The emotions this books takes you through will bring you down and build you up all at the same time. I was literally healing right along side Stella and Chase. I felt their pains, hurts, and especially their victories. The depth of these characters is absolutely amazing. I can relate to a lot of the feelings Stella and Chase were dealing with because of my personal experience with loss. However, even if you haven't experienced some kind of loss, Betsy St. Amant has written the story so realistically, you can definitely relate.
The message of the story is about healing. It's about learning to lean on God to get you through the hard times and help you pick up the pieces of what you think is broken. There were several quotes in the story that punctuate that point: "God tells us to come to Him with faith like a child. I figure that means with our storms too. If it's going to rain anyway...might as well make something out of it." and "Beauty from broken." and my personal favorite (the one that resonated with me the most), "But God said 'Even though.'"
Overall, I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to read more by this fantastic author.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through the BookLook blogging program in exchange for my honest review.*
About the Author: Betsy St. Amant has a heart for three things – chocolate, new shoes and sharing the amazing news of God’s grace through her novels. She lives in Louisiana with her adorable story-telling young daughter, a collection of Austen novels, and an impressive stash of Pickle Pringles. A freelance journalist and fiction author, Betsy is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and is multi-published in Contemporary Romance via Love Inspired and Harper Collins (Zondervan). When she’s not reading, writing, or singing along to a Disney soundtrack with her daughter, Betsy enjoys inspirational speaking and teaching on the craft of writing.
Connect with Betsy: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Connect with Betsy: Website | Facebook | Twitter
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