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Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Review: The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck





Book Description "A lonely wedding chapel built as a tribute to lost love just might hold the long-awaited secret to hope and reconciliation.

 For sixty years, the wedding chapel has stood silent and empty. Retired football hall-of-famer Jimmy “Coach” Westbrook built the chapel by hand, stone by stone, for his beautiful and beloved Collette Greer, whom he lost so many years ago. The chapel is a sanctuary for his memories, a monument to true love, and a testament to his survival of the deepest pain and loss.

 Photographer Taylor Branson left her hometown of Heart’s Bend, Tennessee to make a new life for herself in New York. Taylor had lots to run away from, not least of all a family history of broken promises and broken dreams. Love catches Taylor off guard when she falls for Jack Forester, a successful advertising executive, and their whirlwind romance leads to an elopement – and then to second guesses. Jack, in spite of his very real love for Taylor, is battling his own demons and struggles to show her his true self and the depths of his love for her.

 When Taylor takes a photography assignment in Heart’s Bend, she is thrown back into her own past and encounters family secrets buried deep beneath the sands of time. And when Taylor and Coach’s journeys collide, they each rediscover the heartbeat of their own dreams as they learn that the love they long to hold is well worth waiting for."

The first book that I ever read by Rachel Hauck was The Wedding Dress (find my review here.) I cannot tell you how much I loved that book.  I have read it many times and it is still one of my favorite books ever!  If you have never read it, you should!  After that I have read many other books by Ms. Hauck and when I have an opportunity to review one of her books, I jump on it.  I could not wait for The Wedding Chapel to come up for review and when it arrived, I dove right in.  When I went to bed that night I had gotten 3/4 of the way through it and my husband mentioned that he thought I had just gotten it that day.  Some people just don't understand the reading frenzy that happens when you get a wonderful new book!

The Wedding Chapel focuses on four main characters: new married Taylor and Jack, Jimmy "Coach" Westbrook, and Colette Greer.  The story also shifts between the present time (2015) and the past (1948-1951.)  The story is shown through the eyes of the different characters with each chapter being labeled with that character's name.  When they story shifts back to the past that is labeled as well making the transitions easy for the reader to understand.  The story is very complex but easy to follow.  The characters are all very well developed and each one goes on a journey throughout the story.  It is a great story of love, forgiveness, and second chances.  It also is a story about trust and fighting for the things that are important to you in life.  One of the other major things the reader learns while taking this journey is about the problems that can come from making false assumptions and not being honest with the people that matter most in life even if that involves taking a risk.

I loved it!  I loved the story and the characters.  I loved the transition from past to present.  The author does an amazing job of making the reader feel like they are experiencing the story.  I loved the ending and the way everything came altogether.  I am not going to tell you anymore expect go and read it!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC regulations.

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