Book Review, Blog Tour, & Giveaway : The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck

The Wedding Dress was such a sweet romantic story. It centers on a bride-to-be named Charlotte who happens to also own an up-and-coming bridal boutique. She has an amazing gift to always find THE dress for each bride. She is just a couple of months away from her wedding, and yet she has not sent out save-the-dates or found her own perfect dress. She feels like something is holding her back, but has no idea what it is.

Then a mysterious trunk surfaces. Inside the trunk is a gorgeous vintage wedding gown in absolutely pristine condition, as if it has never been worn. Where did it come from and who wore it before? Charlotte becomes obsessed with finding out. Through her search, she learns about many amazingly strong women who came before her, the truth about her past, and where her future truly lies.

The story is both historical fiction and Christian romance. I loved both sides of it, but I preferred the historical fiction aspect. When the story went to the past, and told the stories of the former owners of the dress, I got absolutely lost in the story. I still want to know more. If there was a sequel/prequel I would be so excited. Even though Charlotte was the main character, I loved the story of Emily, the first owner of the dress just as much.

My wedding dress, just because.

As far as the romance between Charlotte and Tim, I found it a little confusing. This may have been intentional as both Charlotte and Tim find themselves confused regarding their relationship as well. There were times when I didn't know whether I should root for them to make it as a couple or whether I should wish for them to go their separate ways. I think that the ending was good, with both of them able to stay true to themselves and God's plan for them.

This is actually a historical fiction romance, which I generally shy away from, but this one was done really well. There was no preaching or overt Christians are better than everyone type of schpeel. It was just obvious that the main characters were themselves good Christians trying to do the right thing. They were very strong in their faiths, but without lording it over others. So if you tend to shy away from Christian fiction, this one should work for you. I definitely recommend this book to chick flick lovers, historical fiction fans, and Christian fiction readers.

About the author 

Rachel Hauck is the bestselling author of Carol Award winner Sweet Caroline, and RITA Finalist Love Starts With Elle, and of the critically acclaimed fiction collaboration with multi-platinum country artist Sara Evans, The Songbird Novels.

She lives in sunny, though sometimes hurricane plagued, central Florida with her husband and their ornery pets.

Rachel earned a degree in Journalism form Ohio State University and is a huge Buckeyes football fan. She is the past President of American Christian Fiction Writers and now sits on the board as an Advisor. Visit her web site at www.rachelhauck.com to reader her blog, and to follow her on Facebook and Twitter.


What is "true" beauty? Join the conversation at Rachel's Author
Chat Party Event Page. On the eventing of 4/19 we'll gather to talk about inner
and outer beauty and share moments of beauty in our lives.



In the meantime, celebrate with Rachel by entering her True Beauty
Giveaway!



One "beautiful" winner will receive:

• A $200 Visa Cash Card (Treat yourself to a spa day or weekend
  get-away!)
• The Wedding Dress (by Rachel Hauck)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends
4/18/12. Winner will be announced at Rachel's "True Beuaty" Author Chat Facebook Party on
4/19. Rachel will be hosting an evening of beauty (inner/outer) chat, fun trivia,
laughter, and encouragement - bring your friends! She'll also be giving away some
GREAT prizes:
gift certificates, books, and a Book Club Prize Pack! (Ten copies of
the book for your small group or book club and a live chat with Rachel
via Skype.)



So grab a few of your friends and your copy of The Wedding Dress and join
Rachel on the evening of April 19th for an evening of fun.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP
today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to
see you on the 19th! Pin It

The Wedding Dress Giveaway

I am part of a blog tour for this great book The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauk. My date isn't until the 17th, but I wanted to share the giveaway that goes along with it ahead of time. That way you all have more time to enter. Such a great story! So go to enter to win!

What is "true" beauty? Join the conversation at Rachel's Author
Chat Party Event Page. On the eventing of 4/19 we'll gather to talk about inner
and outer beauty and share moments of beauty in our lives.


In the meantime, celebrate with Rachel by entering her True Beauty
Giveaway!



One "beautiful" winner will receive:

• A $200 Visa Cash Card (Treat yourself to a spa day or weekend
  get-away!)
• The Wedding Dress (by Rachel Hauck)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends
4/18/12. Winner will be announced at Rachel's "True Beuaty" Author Chat Facebook Party on
4/19. Rachel will be hosting an evening of beauty (inner/outer) chat, fun trivia,
laughter, and encouragement - bring your friends! She'll also be giving away some
GREAT prizes:
gift certificates, books, and a Book Club Prize Pack! (Ten copies of
the book for your small group or book club and a live chat with Rachel
via Skype.)



So grab a few of your friends and your copy of The Wedding Dress and join
Rachel on the evening of April 19th for an evening of fun.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP
today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to
see you on the 19th! Pin It

Children's Book Review - Gabby's Stick-To-It Day

I am pleased to be a part of the official Gabby's Stick-to-It Day blog tour. I got to review the first book in the series about Gabby last year, and I loved it. So I'm super excited that I got a chance to review the second book.

Gabby is one of God's guardian angels in training. In the first book, she learned about her first assignment, a little girl named Sophie. In the first book, she learned how to take care of Sophie. In this second book, Gabby has discovered a little problem. While Sophie is a good little girl, she has trouble sticking things out and finishing what she started. She starts to give her dog a bath, but then gets distracted when the dog jumps out of the water. Gabby reminds her of a bible verse that Sophie had learned earlier that week. It is Galatians 6:9 "We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up."

I love the Gabby books and I really hope that there are more. They get their message across in a simple way that children can understand without being preached to. I don't think any little kid reading this story would even know there was a lesson in it. It is just an adorable story about a little girl and her guardian angel. The illustrations are absolutely adorable, CJ loves them. He loves the pictures of the dog splashing and the pictures of Sophie with noodles on her head. You have to read the story to see how that happens. I recommend this for any children ages 7 and under. It is a quick easy book for a read-aloud. It would also be great for a Sunday School class. The author, Sheila Walsh, is actually a Bible teacher.

In honor of the release of this new Gabby book, Sheila and her publishing company are giving away tons of prizes. See below for more information. Thanks for stopping by!


For the full details of the blog tour, go here : http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13464258/sheilawalshgabby

Sheila and her publisher, Thomas Nelson, have put together a "Gabby" prize package worth over $200! Click one of the icons below to enter!

One lucky winner will receive:

    A brand new Kindle Fire with  Wi-Fi

    Gabby, God’s Little Angel

    Gabby's Stick-to-It-Day

But wait! There’s more …

The winner will be announced on the Gabby Landing Page on 4/2/12. In the meantime, enter to win the Kindle Fire then head over to the Tommy Nelson site and download the Gabby coloring sheets, watch Sheila's Gabby video, sign up for updates about upcoming Gabby and Thomas Nelson products, and much more.

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