Saturday, December 12, 2020

Review: "Something Borrowed" by Weaver, Dawn, Boyd, Tysinger, & Shiloh


Who doesn't love a good Christmas romance? Something Borrowed features five romances, all set in the Christmas season.



Old friends, new loves, and a borrowed tiara.

Always Been Yours — Hanady’s planning her dream wedding, but her injured best friend Keenan isn’t the groom. If she can’t see she’s marrying the wrong guy soon, his leg won’t be the only thing broken.

All the Moore — Leilah Anderson has been living behind the screen to hide her disability, then she meets Reggie Moore face-to-face. Can their relationship survive the truth and distance between them?

A Holly, Bolly Christmas — A dream wedding venue at Christmas? Sign Chahna Kapoor up. Even if her fiancé doesn’t know it…

Somehow, This Christmas — When not-so-merry mishaps threaten wedding planner Cate Forsyth’s holiday wedding and reputation, will her own happily ever after with sweetheart Noah Bennett melt away?

A Promise So Sweet — Lydia Osborn hasn’t heard from her ex in ten years, so imagine her surprise when he shows up proposing marriage. Tis the season for love?


Genre:
Christian/Contemporary/ Romance / Holiday
Release Date: October 20


Something Borrowed has something for everyone: friends becoming more, an online relationship moving into the real world, lots of parental drama, a bridezilla, and lost love found again. I really enjoyed watching each of the friends find her happily ever after. I did enjoy some novellas more than others (as is typical for a collection like this), and I had a difficult time telling when each story took place in relation to the others (a simple year given at the beginning of each novella would've been helpful), but overall, I'd give it a solid 3 stars. Read on to see my thoughts on each novella.

Always Been Yours -- This novella is really cute! It did throw me for a loop a bit when Keenan was introduced in Chapter 3  - it felt a little late to be introducing the hero. But I enjoyed his relationship with Hanady, and I loved the way things worked out with her previous relationship. This novella is a good opener to the collection. 4 stars.

All the Moore -- I loved so many things about this novella! I appreciated that Leilah was in a wheelchair and had to grapple with whether she was worthy of a relationship (obviously, she was, but her feelings are ones that anyone "different" has to deal with). Reggie was an amazing romantic hero, and I loved the way he pursued Leilah. I especially enjoyed the proposal scene and the wedding, both of which brought tears to my eyes. 4 stars.

A Holly, Bolly Christmas -- This novella had too many secrets and too much manipulation for my taste. If it would've only been Ana's parents doing the manipulating and keeping secrets, I wouldn't have liked it, but I could've lived with it. But Ana herself kept way too much from Maguire. I also would've appreciated a little more romance; the two are an established couple on the verge of engagement when the novella begins. The highlight was definitely Maguire, who was wonderful. 2-1/2 stars.

Somehow, This Christmas -- This is another novella that was low on the romance. Cate and Noah are days away from their wedding when the novella begins. It's all about the mishaps in the week leading up to their wedding, and Cate had a few too many bridezilla tendencies for me. (She did redeem herself in the end.) 2-1/2 stars.

A Promise So Sweet -- I have definite mixed feelings about this novella. On the one hand, I really loved Lydia and Bruce together, and I enjoyed watching them rekindle their romance. All of their scenes together were wonderful. On the other hand, this novella helps perpetuate the far-too-prevalent-in-the-church idea that single people are not qualified for certain leadership positions. I want to be clear that I'm not bothered that Bruce believed he needed to be married in order to be considered for the senior pastorate--this is an all too common perception--but I am bothered that it was never addressed as perhaps being wrong (and a truly terrible reason for getting married). I also thought the relationship moved a little quickly. 3 stars.

Enter the giveaway:

To celebrate their tour, the Something Borrowed Authors are giving away the grand prize package of an Amazon gift card, pens, and chocolate!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/10462/something-borrowed-celebration-tour-giveaway

Follow the tour:
Among the Reads, December 7
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 7
Sara Jane Jacobs, December 8
Labor Not in Vain, December 8
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 9
Get Cozy Book Nook, December 9
Remembrancy, December 10
Connect in Fiction, December 10
Texas Book-aholic, December 11
Ashley’s Bookshelf, December 12
Christian Chick’s Thoughts, December 12
For Him and My Family, December 13
EmpowerMoms, December 13
She Lives To Read, December 14
Through the Fire Blogs, December 14
Melissa Wardwell’s Back Porch Reads, December 15
deb’s Book Review, December 15
Inklings and notions, December 16
Captive Dreams Window, December 16
Artistic Nobody, December 17 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
Livin’ Lit, December 17
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 18
Simple Harvest Reads, December 18 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Locks, Hooks and Books, December 19
CarpeDiem, December 19
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 20
Cultivating Us, December 20




Jaycee Weaver Author
Lover of Jesus, family, books, coffee, music, and crafting (in that order), Jaycee Weaver is perpetually pursuing at least one of her passions. She writes contemporary Christian romance with realistic characters in everyday situations where they always find a happy ending. Visit her at www.jayceeweaver.com.


Toni Shiloh Author
Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace thanks to the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior. She writes to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness. Visit her at www.tonishiloh.com.


Mikal Dawn Author
Mikal Dawn is an inspirational romance author, wedding enthusiast, and military (retired) wife. When she isn’t writing about faith, fun, and forever, she is obsessively scouring Pinterest (with coffee in hand!) for wedding ideas for her characters.

Mikal lives in Oklahoma with her husband and two of their three children. Visit her at www.mikaldawn.com.


Teresa Tysinger Author
Teresa Tysinger is a wife, mother, and communications director for a national non-profit. She writes charming Christian romance, inspired by grace. Teresa now resides in Texas, though part of her heart remains in North Carolina. She loves Jesus, coffee, and happy endings. Visit Teresa at www.teresatysinger.com.


Andrea Boyd Author
Each of Andrea Boyd’s series represents a different genre but all fall into the category of romance. All offer an element of her own brand of humor. And all are a tribute to God. Besides writing, she loves spending time with her family, quilting, going to car shows, and driving around in her 1968 Barracuda convertible. Andrea lives with her husband, Tommy, and at least a couple of cats in York County, SC. Visit her at www.andreaboyd11.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free through Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for being a part of the blog tour!

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  2. Thank you so much for your in-depth opinions about each novella! I especially appreciated your thoughts on the last one, that Bruce believed he needed to be married in order to be considered for the senior pastorate but this belief was never addressed. It is a common misconception, and it's definitely a terrible reason for getting married!

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  3. I love this book cover! It's so fun.

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  4. Thank you for sharing your honest thoughts about each novella.

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  5. Thanks so much for sharing and for your thoughtful review!

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  6. Thank you so much for being part of the blog tour, and for your thoughtful and in-depth review! Merry Christmas!

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  7. Thank you for sharing. Love discovering new books!

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  8. Thank you for sharing your in depth and insightful thoughts. We appreciate you being a part of the tour!

    ReplyDelete

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