Blog Tour: Love Starts with Elle

Thanks to LitFuse Publicity for providing a free review copy of this book. No other compensation was received for this review. The opinions contained herein are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

Back in May, I reviewed Sweet Caroline, also by Rachel Hauck. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and was more than pleased to be asked to review Love Starts with Elle, which tells the story of Elle Garvey who was a minor character in Sweet Caroline.

This book captured my interest from the very beginning. Elle is the perfect heroine - spunky and sweet at the same time. She faces heartache with courage and grace and consequently learns the most important lesson of all: being a Christian is more than just being an acquaintance of Christ's.

It wasn't just Elle who captured my attention, however. All the characters in this story live and breathe. They are not some fluff figures created just to fill space. Their strengths and weaknesses are the same as mine, which enabled me to connect emotionally with the story. I wanted to see Elle respond in a certain way; I despised Jeremiah for his self-centered actions; I cheered for Heath because I saw into his heart. In short, I escaped into a make-believe world that was nearly as real as the reality in which I live.

If you can't tell, I highly recommend this book. Inside its covers, you will find an enjoyable story that also contains important life lessons. If you would like to read what other bloggers thought of this book, please visit the blog tour post for the complete schedule with links. If you'd like a chance to win your own copy, just leave a comment at that post.

Buy the book: available at Amazon.com

About the book:
Elle's living the dream -but is it her dream or his?

Elle loves life in Beaufort, South Carolina-lazy summer days on the sand bar, coastal bonfires, and dinners with friends sharing a lifetime of memories. And she's found her niche as the owner of a successful art gallery too. Life is good.

Then the dynamic pastor of her small town church sweeps her off her feet. She's never known a man like Jeremiah-one who breathes in confidence and exhales all doubt. When he proposes in the setting sunlight, Elle hands him her heart on a silver platter.

But Jeremiah's just accepted a large pastorate in a different state. If she's serious about their relationship, Elle will take "the call," too, leaving behind the people and place she loves so dearly. Elle's friendship with her new tenant, widower Heath McCord, and his young daughter make things even more complicated.

Is love transferable across the miles? And can you take it with you when you go?

About Rachel:
Rachel Hauck is the author of ten, going on eleven novels, and has recently become an "acclaimed" author. (Yeah, funny how that happened. Some dude found her lottery stub stuck to the bottom of his shoe and tried to "acclaim" her. But her husband refused to pay out.)

Since then, she's gone on to become a best selling author of Sweet Caroline.

Living in central Florida with her husband of sixteen and a half years, one sweet little dog and one ornery cat, Rachel is a graduate of Ohio State University and a huge Buckeye football fan. One day she hopes to stand on the sidelines next to Coach Tressel as a famed, acclaimed best selling OSU alumni, beloved for her work in literature and letters. (She's written at least a couple hundred letters in her life time.)

Her current release, Love Starts With Elle (July 2008, Thomas Nelson) is set in the South Carolina lowcountry, and earned 4.5 Stars and Top Pick from Romantic Times Book Club.

Look for her next release next spring, The Sweet By and By, the first book in the Born To Fly series with award winning country artist, Sara Evans.

Of the writing journey, Rachel says, "I'm humbled by the amazing things God is doing in my life. I love what I do, and am so privileged to work with Thomas Nelson fiction and am excited to see what God has in store for all of His authors and writers. Just keep praying and writing!"

You can visit her blog and website at http://www.rachelhauck.com.