Category Archives: Beth Vogt

June 22, 2016 · 11:58 pm

Review: Almost Like Being in Love by Beth K. Vogt

Title: Almost Like Being in Love by Beth K. Vogt
Destination Wedding Series Book Two
Publisher: Howard Books
Genre: Contemporary, Inspirational, Romance
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

From the author of Somebody Like You, a RITA finalist, and one of Publishers Weekly’s top ten books of 2014, comes the story of a woman who has everything for a perfect wedding—except the groom!

Winning an all-expenses paid Colorado destination wedding might seem like a dream come true for some people—but Caron Hollister and her boyfriend Alex Madison aren’t even engaged. How is she supposed to tell him she’s won their wedding and honeymoon when he hasn’t asked her to marry him? Being “perfect for one another” seems like the absolute best reason to get married. But what if their supposedly faultless relationship is merely a safe place to protect his secrets and a way to keep their families happy? After quitting her job, Caron accepts her best friend’s offer to visit Colorado. She needs to catch her breath. Who knows, maybe visiting the destination wedding site will make a future with Alex seem like a reality.

Kade Webster just landed the biggest deal of his life with his company, Webster Select Realty, participating in the Colorado Springs Tour of Homes. He never imagined he would run into the woman who broke his heart—Caron Hollister—right when his career is taking off. Seeing her again, Kade can’t help but wonder why Caron walked away from him years ago, leaving him with no explanation. When Kade learns his home stager won’t be able to help with the Tour of Homes, he vaults past all the reasons he should stay away from Caron, and offers her a temporary job helping him on the project. This time, their relationship is purely business.

Spending time with Kade has Caron questioning everything. The man intrigues her—at times infuriates her—and reminds her of what she lost. Has she been settling for what everyone expects of her? Just because others believe she and Alex are an ideal couple, does that mean they should get married? And how can Caron say “I do” to one man when she’s wondering “what if?” about another?

Review:

Almost Like Being in Love, the second installment in Beth K. Vogt’s delightful Destination Wedding series, is a heartfelt story of change, forgiveness and ultimately, love.

Caron Hollister’s hard work and long hours have resulted in a successful career as a realtor in her father’s firm.  She and family friend Alex Madison have been dating for two years and while he has not officially popped the question, it is understood they will someday marry.  After her father makes a shocking business decision that crushes her dream of becoming a full partner in his company, she knows it is time to sever their business relationship.  Uncertain what she wants to do next, she decides to visit her best friend Margot in Colorado where Caron unexpectedly runs into her ex-boyfriend Kade Hollister.  After she returns to Florida, she is surprised by Alex’s reaction when she tells him she won a prize for destination wedding in Telluride and their once conflict free relationship begins to feel a little off balance.  A surprising temporary job offer from Kade sounds like the perfect solution to her suddenly complicated life but will working with Kade resurrect the love she once had for the ex-Army Ranger?

After a few missteps as a teenager, Caron became a dutiful daughter who wanted nothing more than to gain her father’s approval.  She tailored her extracurricular activities to please him and even as an adult, her decisions continue to reflect her need to make him happy. After she quits her job at his realty company, Caron is hurt by Alex’s lack of support which leaves her questioning their relationship.  With both her professional and personal life in turmoil, she eagerly accepts Kade’s temporary job offer but spending time with him adds to her confusion. A surprising job offer seems to be the answer to her prayers, but will Caron find the validation she has been searching for?

On the surface, Alex seems to have a perfect life.  He works for his dad and he is so easygoing that nothing seems to bother him.  However, a long ago tragedy forever altered his family and he feels helplessly trapped by his father’s expectations and the family’s long held secrets.

Kade is also scarred by events that transpired in his childhood and he has residual abandonment issues that were reinforced after his relationship with Caron ended.  With no real explanation for the break up, his feelings for her remain conflicted but it does not take long for him to realize he still loves her.  Although Kade would like nothing more than to reunite with Caron, he has no choice but to accept her decision to Florida when her job with him comes to an end.

With a gentle undercurrent of faith, Almost Like Being in Love is a heartwarming novel that deals with realistic issues that readers can easily relate to.  Caron’s indecisiveness and need for parental approval is a little frustrating but it is extremely gratifying once she begins to make decisions based on what is best for her.  Alex’s struggles with his family are heartbreaking but he finally seeks the help he needs to break free from his unhealthy relationship with his family.  Kade must decide whether or not to go after what he wants regardless of the risk to his heart.  A reflective story about love, forgiveness and  new beginnings, this newest addition to Beth K. Vogt’s Destination Wedding series can easily be read as a standalone.

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Filed under Almos Like Being in Love, Beth Vogt, Christian, Contemporary, Destination Wedding Series, Howard Books, Inspirational, Rated B+, Review, Romance

June 29, 2015 · 11:58 pm

Review: Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth K. Vogt

crazy calledTitle: Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth K. Vogt
Destination Wedding Series Book One
Publisher: Howard Books
Genre: Contemporary, Christian, Romance
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Wedding bells and storm clouds collide in the first engaging novel in a brand-new series about destination weddings, the power of love, and the possible mishaps and missteps that happen on a couple’s journey down the aisle to “I do.”

Paramedic Vanessa Hollister has put her adolescence behind her, including the unwanted label of being the new kid in town over and over again, thanks to her father’s military career. She’s overcome what her mother called “the biggest mistake of her life” and is planning an elegant destination wedding in Destin, Florida with her new fiancé. But will the reappearance of her first husband from her what-were-you-thinking teenage elopement disrupt her dream of an idyllic beach wedding?

As a professional storm chaser, Logan Hollister is used to taking risks. However, a reckless decision during the last tornado season has him questioning the future of his team, the Stormmeisters. Coming face to face with his ex-wife eight years after their divorce compels him to confront his greatest regret: losing Vanessa. Does their past give him the right to interfere with her future?

A fast-moving, powerful hurricane throws Vanessa and Logan together as they evacuate to a storm shelter along with other residents of the Florida Gulf Coast. Forced to spend time together, the pair battles unexpected renewed feelings for each other.

Vanessa and Logan are faced with a choice: Should they accept, once and for all, their teenage marital mistake? Or is God offering them a second chance at happily ever after?

Review:

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth K. Vogt is a wonderful second chance at love romance. This faith based love story is the first installment in the unique and appealing Destination Wedding series and it is a sweet novel that is heartfelt and touching.

After moving frequently for her father’s military career, Vanessa Hollister learned the hard way that relationships are temporary. She is a little jaded and based on her previous experiences, she is reluctant to make friends with classmates she is only going to have to say goodbye to in the not too distant future. But Mindy and Logan sneak past her defenses and they become close friends. Soon after, she and Logan begin dating but when their plans for attending college together are threatened, they make an impetus decision to marry over spring break. However, when Logan accepts a scholarship to a college in OK, she refuses to leave FL and they try to make their long distance marriage work. But immaturity, an inability to see the other person’s point of view and a lack of communication take their toll and the two divorce.

Fast forward eight years and Vanessa is planning her second wedding when her practical fiancé Ted Topliff convinces her to combine their nuptials with a medical conference in Destin, FL. Although she has NO desire to return to the town where she met and married Logan, she reluctantly agrees to his suggestion. After she arrives in town, Vanessa reconnects with her best friend Mindy and the two are soon immersed in wedding plans. With many of preliminary details taken care of, Vanessa is about to return home when a hurricane makes landfall. While at a local shelter waiting out the storm, she is dismayed to run into Logan. They are thrown together both during and after the storm and as they reminisce about their shared past, they are surprised to discover they each have a few regrets about their failed marriage. Logan asks Vanessa to give him a second chance, but will she agree?

On the surface, Vanessa and Logan still appear to be the same two people they were eight years earlier. Vanessa still has troubling forming relationships while Logan stubbornly makes decisions that affect other people without discussing his plans with them first. However, Vanessa is finally beginning to realize that she wants a more from her life than just work but it takes much of the story for her to reconcile this need with her upcoming marriage to a man who continually makes his career a priority instead of her.

An error in judgment while chasing a tornado causes Logan to doubt his ability to keep his team members safe. With the funding for his storm chasing team in jeopardy and haunted by fears of endangering his crew again, he is convinced it is time to change careers. However, after insight from an impartial observer, Logan finally makes an effort to discuss the reasons behind his decisions with his team members and he learns the importance of compromise in relationships.

Logan and Vanessa spend much of the novel apart as they work through their individual issues. Their past is revealed through flashbacks and this provides valuable information about why their marriage ended. As they look back on their relationship, they begin to understand how they contributed to the problems in their marriage, but, most importantly, they learn from their mistakes.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth K. Vogt is a wonderful romance between two imperfect but sympathetic protagonists. The storyline is well developed and delightfully unique. The premise of the Destination Wedding series is unusual but this adds to the story’s charm. All in all, a beautiful love story that fans of Christian fiction are sure to love.

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Filed under Beth Vogt, Christian, Contemporary, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Destination Wedding Series, Howard Books, Rated B, Review, Romance

May 12, 2014 · 11:57 pm

Review: Somebody Like You by Beth K Vogt

somebodyTitle: Somebody Like You by Beth K. Vogt
Publisher: Howard Books
Genre: Contemporary, Christian, Romance
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Can a young widow find love again with her husband’s reflection?

Haley’s three-year marriage to Sam, an army medic, ends tragically when he’s killed in Afghanistan. Her attempts to create a new life for herself are ambushed when she arrives home one evening—and finds her husband waiting for her. Did the military make an unimaginable mistake when they told her Sam was killed?

Too late to make things right with his estranged twin brother, Stephen discovers Sam never told Haley about him. As Haley and Stephen navigate their fragile relation¬ship, they are inexorably drawn to each other. How can they honor the memory of a man whose death brought them together—and whose ghost could drive them apart?

Somebody Like You is a beautifully rendered, affecting novel, reminding us that while we can’t change the past, we have the choice to change the future and start anew.

The Review:

In her latest release, Beth K. Vogt does a magnificent job of turning what could be a stereotypical romance storyline into an incredibly moving story that tugs, no yanks, at the heartstrings. Somebody Like You is a beautiful story of love, loss and healing that will move readers to tears as widow Haley Ames unexpectedly finds love with her husband’s estranged twin brother, Stephen.

Haley is a tough, strong, independent woman who has lost her way following her husband Sam’s death in Afghanistan. Grieving her loss is difficult enough, but trying to pick up the pieces of her life while preparing for the birth of their child is almost impossible. Haley prides herself on being able to handle what life throws her way but figuring out what comes next leaves her immobilized at this juncture. Coupled with her grief are her regrets of how she handled events in the weeks prior to Sam’s death. And learning the secrets that Sam kept raises questions that will never be answered and causes her to doubt herself and her marriage.

Stephen is riddled with guilt and regret after he learns about Sam’s death. Following their parents’ acrimonious divorce when they were teenagers, divided parental loyalties slowly destroyed their once close relationship. Stephen went to live with their father and stepmother while Sam lived with their mom and their visits soon became infrequent and strained. Sam’s decision to enlist in the army following graduation culminates in the twelve-year estrangement between the brothers. Stephen made a couple of half-hearted gestures to reconcile that led nowhere and after Sam’s death, he hopes Haley can fill in the blanks about the intervening years. Stunned to learn that Sam never mentioned he had a twin, Haley is at first unwilling to give him the answers he is looking for. But his persistence pays off and both he and Haley are surprised by their growing feelings for one another.

Stephen and Haley’s relationship is incredibly complex and not only are there issues standing in the way of them as a couple, they are also facing individual problems as well. Haley struggles to admit that sometimes, everyone needs help and that this does not make her weak. She is forced to face her fears and doubts about her marriage. Stephen wrestles with his guilt over letting his estrangement with Sam last without making a concerted effort to repair the rift between them. Making peace with his long ago decision means accepting the unintended consequences that go with it but that is easier said than done. Both Haley and Stephen have to come to terms with the fact that they have questions that may never get answered.

There is also a strong element of faith in Somebody Like You. Haley and Stephen have an unwavering faith in God and both believe in the power of prayer. It is no coincidence that Stephen enters Haley’s life just when she needs him the most, but they both have strong reservations about entering into a relationship with one another. It isn’t until God’s voice becomes too powerful to avoid that they accept the path He has chosen for them to follow.

Beth K. Vogt’s Somebody Like You is a captivating and heartfelt journey of healing, forgiveness and love that is poignant but uplifting. This must read novel is one that touches the heart and lingers long after the last page has been turned.

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Filed under Beth Vogt, Christian, Contemporary, Howard Books, Rated B+, Review, Romance, Somebody Like You

May 6, 2013 · 3:58 am

Review: Catch a Falling Star by Beth Vogt

Title: Catch a Falling Star by Beth Vogt
Publisher: Howard Books
Genre: Contemporary, Christian, Romance
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Is life about accomplishing plans . . . or wishes coming true . . . or something more?

Dr. Kendall Haynes’s plans to have it all—a career, a husband, a family—are eluding her. Now that she’s thirty-six, she needs to stop wishing upon a star and face reality: Some dreams just never come true.

Air Force pilot Griffin Walker prefers flying solo in the air and on the ground—until a dangerous choice ejects him from the cockpit. His life becomes even more complicated after the sudden death of his parents makes him the guardian of his sixteen-year-old brother. There’s no way his life will ever get back on course now.

When their lives collide during a near tragedy, Kendall and Griffin must decide if they can embrace the unexpected changes God has waiting for them.

The Review:

Beth Vogt’s Catch a Falling Star is a captivating contemporary romance. This heartwarming novel has likable characters and a realistic plot that are easy to relate to. The faith aspect of the story is quite subtle and never overpowers the overall storyline.

Kendall Haynes is a successful doctor whose dedication to her career has left her little time for romance. While she is not desperate to find Mr. Right, the news that her sister and a close friend are now engaged causes Kendall to re-evaluate her future. She remains hopefully optimistic that she will get married and when a colleague shows interest in her, Kendall eagerly begins dating him.

But Kendall’s love life is quickly complicated when she meets Griffin Walker and his sixteen year old brother Ian. She and Griffin repeatedly clash whenever their paths cross, but they put aside their personal differences for the Ian’s sake. Their mutual love of Jeeps and concern for Ian brings them together and they are soon fighting their attraction to one another.

Catch a Fallen Star is a charming story that is hard to put down. Beth Vogt has an engaging writing style and her plot development is superb. This is a sweet romance between mature characters who live their lives according to their faith and values. Griffin has real obstacles to overcome and a past he must come to terms before he can find peace in the present. Poignant and moving, Catch a Fallen Star is a must read for anyone who enjoys a heartfelt and emotion filled romance.

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Filed under Beth Vogt, Catch a Falling Star, Christian, Contemporary, Howard Books, Rated B+, Review, Romance