Monday, April 29, 2013

Bluegrass Bachelors (Romancing America) by Jennifer Johnson



4 STARS

I have to start off with I really liked the ending. It brought a lot of smiles. This is a clean Christian Romance novel. It doesn't preach but shares a love and trust in the power of God.

The main plot is about a bet that three men make at their other friend's wedding when they were young men at age 22. They had no plans to get married and change their lives. So the bet was the last man to get married the other two men would help plan and pay for the marriage. These four men have been competing over everything. The winners were usually Drew and Nick. Wyatt and Mike were usually the losers being a little younger. They lived next door in neighboring farms to each other.

Wyatt got married first and he did not care about the bet at all. That could not be said of the others especially Nick and Drew. These characters seemed real. They were good men with faults but trying to be better and caring about others.

Maid to Love

Addy Wilson came back home after collage. She did not plan to but her Aunt Becky got hurt and needed someone to take over her job of cleaning houses for awhile. Her roommate at the same time had told a co-worker that she could move in their apartment when she needed to live. So Addy was free to move back home till Becky did not need her and she got the job she wanted.

Addy did not want to do cleaning again specially cleaning Nick's house again. Addy was always trying to hangout with the guys she had no girls friends that lived close by. As a teenager she cleaned Nick's house and she had a crush on him for years and was not afraid to show it. The last day she worked for him Nick blew his temper with her when she decorated his living room and painted one wall blue.

Nick is very competitive and he is not loosing the bet. When he finds himself starting to care about Addy he tries to push women at his friends.

Betting on Love

Drew Wilson does not like to loose at all. He is surprised that Nick and his sister got together. But he knows he can beat Mike. Mike never wins anything. Nick's cousin Melody comes to the wedding and moves in with her Aunt and Uncle.

Melody is a diesel mechanic. She hates to not be in control. She loves kids but never plans on getting married or even dating because of a bad experience.
Everyone around her keeps inviting her to church and giving thanks to God all the time. She does not believe their is someone out their that's letting all the bad things in the world happen,

Game of Love

Mike can't believe he actually won a bet and it was not the one he wanted to win. He wanted to get married and have a family too. Mike is shy. He has had a crush on Lacy for three years now he finally asks her out.

Johanna is really shy. She was home schooled so she does not know a lot of people outside of her church. Her mother is pushing her towards her good friend Gavin. Gavin's mother is doing the same thing to him. They have been friends for ever and that's all she wants. Johanna is now working at the library.

Johanna meets Mike at a wedding by bumping into him causing him to bite his lip and bleed over his tux shirt. Then they keep bumping into each other Mike is afraid the next time Johanna will have to call his parents when she sends him to emergency room.

All the main and most of the other characters are around for all three stories so it is like one big story but as they years go by they tell more depth to certain characters. I loved that sense of community. You really want to see how the characters change but stay the same too. It makes the stories well rounded. It also makes you smile at the ending.

I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it finished by Netgalley.
publication: May 1st 2013 by Barbour Books 352 pages ISBN: 1620297183


Description below was taken off of Netgalley.


Winning the Bet Means Losing Love

Friends Nick Martin, Drew Wilson, and Mike McCauley are betting on love—and the last man left single wins.

With Nick’s competitive, determined nature, winning should be easy. After all, he managed to pay off his land debts before he turned thirty—ahead of schedule. But Nick didn’t count on Addy Wilson returning to town. Now, with the risk of losing love, are the stakes too high?

While his friends may succumb to wedding vows, Drew is sure he won’t. And Melody Markwell only confirms his resolve. She’s hard-headed, competitive. . .too much like himself. So why does Drew suddenly feel that winning her heart is worth losing his bet?

Mike has waited for this moment for years. But now that he finally gets a chance to take the girl he’s been pining over on a date, he’s let down. Then to his annoyance, clumsy Johanna Smith keeps running into him—literally. Is this God’s way of getting his attention?

All bets are off, but will these bluegrass bachelors give in to love?

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