My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Source: Received to Review
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance
Book Description: Reagan Bellamy’s neighbor is everything she never wanted. Despite her best efforts to ignore him and fly under his radar, Dash Carter refuses to wither under her stare and leave her alone. So what if he’s totally hot? Who cares if her roommates think he’s adorable? Reagan’s too busy to waste time on a loser with musical pipe dreams. Between classes, studies, and her need to stay ahead of the game, she’s got too much on her plate to give him the time of day.
Dash Carter is a man on a mission. He’s done a total 180 and for the first time in a long time feels optimistic about the future. He’s clean, he’s on a good path, and he’s surrounded himself with people who make life better, not worse. Unfortunately, his neighbor—the one girl who’s always piqued his interest—still thinks he’s a slacker, bothering Dash more than it should.
Acting on an opportunity to show Reagan he’s a changed man, Dash inadvertently puts her in a difficult position with her new boss and sends her down a path she hasn’t the time or inclination to pursue. Desperate to make things right, Dash becomes more invested in her life despite warnings from his mentor to not get involved with someone whose beliefs don’t match his own.
Reagan’s not sure what it says about her that she’d rather deal with Dash the deadbeat than Dash the Bible thumper. The more she digs her heels in against the religious freaks she’s forced to interact with, the more she begins to question everything she’s built her life upon. When the tide begins to turn in Reagan’s heart and her worldview flips upside down, trusting God means putting everything on the line, including her heart.
My thoughts: This Christian Fictional Romance has a more edge than I am used to reading in this genre. It has a lot of raw and realistic content. When I first started reading the book I had to check to make sure that I was reading the right book because I was not sure where the author was going to take things.
Basically, it is about a guy who has experimented with drugs, alcohol abuse, and sleeping around making changes in his life and then trying to help another find her way. It helps that he is hopelessly attracted to her.
I liked that the characters seemed real and the story centered around change and forgiveness. I liked that it wasn't instant love, for her. I liked that the characters either found or worked on their relationship with God. The thing that I struggled with is that the book came across as preaching. I understand why the author took the slant on religion that she did, it worked out well in the end.
Overall, this is a sweet romance where the characters discover their Faith. The book has reference to hook-ups, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and religion.
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About the Author: (Taken from Goodreads) My husband and I live outside Atlanta, Georgia, with our three dogs and two college-aged kids. I have a journalism degree from the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!) and I’m a member of Romance Writers of America .
Find out more at http://www.christyhayes.com