Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Delayed Review of a Delightful Book

I am red-in-the-blog and feel awful about being so slow to post about a recently released book I enjoyed - especially since the author, Denise Hunter, was so very nice to send me an advanced copy for my review. So to make up for my negligence, please grab a copy of this book for yourself or a gift. It's a great story and a wonderful parable.

Here's the book summary from the publisher:

Sabrina Kincaid didn't intend to fall for Nantucket native Tucker McCabe, the man she serves coffee to every morning-a man tied deeply to a past she deeply regrets. But she has. And she's fallen hard. But she's kept this a secret from her handsome customer. And now Tucker wants to hire Sabrina to help locate his friend "Sweetpea"-the mysterious woman he's falling in love with online. Sabrina is not inclined to help, but if Tucker hires someone else, it could spell disaster. Because if someone else sifts through the emails and figures out the truth-then Tucker will discover that the person he's trying to find is . . . her.

And now, my thoughts:
Sabrina knows who Tucker is. Tucker knows who Sabrina is. But Sabrina doesn't know that Tucker knows. . . . "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!" It seemed like such an innocent thing, this anonymous online friendship with the man whose coffee she poured each morning at the Cobblestone Cafe. Determined to avoid the pain of past mistakes, Sabrina is content to leave the friendship online and admire her customer from a distance. Unfortunately, Tucker enlists his server's help in locating the woman on the other side of the screen who has captured his heart. As Sabrina becomes more and more desperate in her attempts to fabricate a real-life Sweetpea for Tucker to fall in love with, it made me wonder why Tucker lets her struggle so. Reminds me of Someone else I know, Who lets us flail about until we are ready to come clean and confess to Him who we really are. I enjoyed this as a fun read, but the deeper allegory was what made this book truly satisfying. And finding out what made the online friendship begin in the first place nearly brought me to tears. I definitely recommend this book.

A little bit about Denise Hunter. . .

Denise lives in Indiana with her husband Kevin and their three sons. In 1996, Denise began her first book, a Christian romance novel, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she's been writing ever since. Her books often contain a strong romantic element, and her husband Kevin says he provides all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too! Denise contributes with 4 other great authors to the fun blog GirlsWriteOut.

Thanks, Denise, for the privilege of reading this great book!

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4 comments:

quilly said...

Linda -- I read and reviewed this book, too. My take was very different from yours. I think it is interesting that we could both note the same points but come to different conclusions. Sabrina was not someone I admire and I don't feel that she really changed over the course of the book. Even in the end when she confessed she was taking the easy way out. I don't think she ever grasped the depth of Tucker's love.

That might make the greater allegory more realistic -- we never quite grasp the depth of God's love, either -- but I was very dissatisfied with this as a love story. I prefer female leads with a bit more honesty and spunk.

collettakay said...

I loved this book. But, I love ALL Denise Hunter's books.

CeeCee said...

Boy do I enjoy some good book talk! By reading both of your views, I want to read the book.

Carole said...

The Nantucket setting alone makes me want to read this book and I appreciated your review, Linda. Seaside Letters is already on my wish list.