Smitten Book Club by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt and Denise Hunter Litfuse Blog Tour

 

About the book:

In this remarkable collaborative novel, besties Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter, and Diann Hunt tackle the tale of the Gentlewoman's Guide by writing for one book club member apiece. Smitten Book Club is a hopeful, hilarious story of friendship and healing, written by friends for friends.

The century-old Gentlewoman's Guide to Love and Courtship is no ordinary book club choice. But for the little book club in Smitten, Vermont, it might be their best pick yet!

The thick, leathery tome Heather pulled out of the dusty cardboard box was definitely coming home with her. Not only was The Gentlewoman's Guide to Love and Courtship an appealing curiosity by virtue of its title; it was also written by Smitten, Vermont native Pearl Chambers, a local gentlewoman from three generations back.

Little did Heather know the repercussions this little curiosity would have on her and her friends' romantic exploits.
When Heather and her fellow book club members begin passing the book around, their respective interpretations are unleashed on their respective love lives . . . for better or for worse. Is it a mystery? An idealist fantasy? An intimation of Jane Austen? As romantic love finds its way to each woman, the Guide proves itself both surprisingly prescient and hilariously irrelevant.

 

What's more, a handwritten inscription indicates that the arcane book might hold the only extant clues leading to buried gold-exactly what one of the members needs to keep her house. How could they not go treasure hunting? 

 

My thoughts:

I love the idea of books clubs.  I belonged to one for about a year and I really enjoyed going to the meetings and discussing shared reads.  Attendance really dipped and then it was ended when there were only a few of us who still came.  At some point I would love to find a group to join again, perhaps as my own children get a bit older and I have a free evening, so the opportunity to read and review this book for Litfuse really appealed to me.  I have not read either of the other two books in this series, so this can easily stand alone, but I would love to now that I have read this one.

 

Each author took a different character and wrote a smaller book within the book from one woman's perspective.  They work together chronologically and advance the overall story, while the shorter stories work on their own and as part of the whole.

 

Each story is a love story.  Two of the characters meet men from their past who they were attracted to or friends with, but who, for one reason or another, left town and never explored where things might have gone.  One character meets someone new, but due to her own personal baggage, struggles with whether or not she should trust him and if she believes he is being honest.  The last woman has been resistance to change and going outside of the small boundaries she has set for herself for her own life.  In each case, when the going gets tough the women turn to prayer and to God to guide them through and show them the way.  I don't think that is something a lot of us think about in our love relationships, but if more people took the time to pray for guidance and to trust that there is a plan in place, things might go smoother for a lot of people.

 

Underneath the stories of love and trust is a mystery about a gold mine that was supposedly found by the family one of the women married into.  People have looked for it for years, but no one knows if it is real or just a legend.  At a rummage sale to raise money for Molly, whose husband, Curtis, was a volunteer firefighter who was killed in the line of duty, Heather acquires a book written by one of  Curtis' relatives.  Inside it is a letter saying that the book holds the clues to finding the treasure, the treasure that Molly's friends see as a way to help her deal with the large debt that was left behind by Curtis' death.  Each of the four women highlighted in this book take a turn looking and reading the found volume to see if they can find the clues and solve the mystery.

 

What bloggers are saying about the Smitten books: 

 

"I love that this story (four novellas) is written by four different writers! It makes for a wonderful read! The characters in each of the stories are very believable and compliment each other nicely. I found each story to be well thought out with a few twists and turns to keep me interested!" 

---My Blessings from Above, on Secretly Smitten

"If you enjoy Christian romance stories then this book is a must for you! It will be well worth your investment. Pick up your copy today!" 

---Splashes of Joy, on Secretly Smitten

"What a fun New England treat. The only thing missing was some yummy maple syrup and biscuits to enjoy while reading it. If you're looking for a lighthearted, fun read this winter than grab a copy for yourself!" 

--- Adventures in Unsell Land, on Secretly Smitten

Meet the Authors

RITA-finalist Colleen Coble is the author of several best-selling romantic suspense novels, including Tidewater Inn, and the Mercy Falls, Lonestar, and Rock Harbor series.   Learn more about Colleen at: http://colleencoble.com Christy Award finalist and two-time winner of the ACFW Book of the Year award, Kristin Billerbeck has appeared on The Today Show and has been featured in the New York Times. Her books include A Billion Reasons Why and What a Girl Wants. Learn more about Kristin at: http://kristinbillerbeck.com Denise Hunter is the award-winning and best-selling author of several novels, including A Cowboy's Touch and Sweetwater Gap. She and her husband are raising three boys in Indiana.  Learn more about Denise at: http://www.denisehunterbooks.com Diann Hunt has lived in Indiana forever, been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, her dog, and, well, chocolate. Learn more about Diann at: http://diannhunt.com