Love Starts with Elle

I love a good romance and this one did not disappoint. I just finished Sweet Caroline a few days ago wishing that it had a sequel. I was pleasantly surprised to find it did! Love Starts with Elle picks up with characters we met in Sweet Caroline. I think one of the things I like so much about these books are the secondary characters who are so alive with their own stories. From Huckleberry, the environmental activist/artist who needs a clue, to the heartwrenching storyline with Elle's sister...the author really creates characters that you care about. As a christian romance lover, I found the love story to be spot on; the banter between Elle and Heath was realistic and romantic. Well done Rachel Hauck...you've got another fan.

Okay, with this book, Rachel Hauck just jumped into the top tier of my favorite authors--one whose books are labeled 'keepers' and remain on my bookshelf forever. Elle (pronounced like the letter 'L') Garvey is an artist and art gallery owner living in lowcountry Beaufort, South Carolina. We met and loved her in Sweet Caroline as the slightly wacky best friend of Caroline Sweeney. Now Elle is back with her own story. When pro-football-player-turned-minister Jeremiah Franklin proposes, Elle's dreams seem to have come true. Then she learns Jeremiah has accepted the senior pastorate of a large church in Dallas. Leave Beaufort? Sacrifice and compromise plague the couple as they plan their wedding. In the meantime, successful New York lawyer, Heath McCord, needs some time away from the pressure-cooker of NY law as well as time to heal from the tragic death of his wife. So, he packs up his four-year-old daughter and heads to--you guessed it--Beaufort, SC, where his family has roots, and moves into Elle's cottage which she has leased out due to her relocation to Dallas. I'll leave the rest to you to discover. I loved Elle. She's spunky, talented, smart, beautiful and fun, not to mention a gifted gal when it comes to quick repartee. Her character grows as she learns more about prayer . . . and herself. One of a writer's major responsibilities is to show character growth through the story, and Rachel aces it in Love Starts With Elle. I highly recommend this book. It's a great read.

One thing I count on in one of Rachel's books is a spiritual thread that will challenge me and often hit me between the eyes. Elle struggles with entering a relationship of deep intimacy with Christ. She's invited to join an older woman for prayer every weekday morning for prayer. She shows up once out of a sense of obligation, but soon can't imagine her days beginning without that time. How I long for a similar sense of relationship -- yet, I have to take that step and draw near to Him, so He can draw near to me. Am I willing to make the sacrifices required to develop what my soul yearns for? Rachel also presents characters who are fully human and struggle with real-life issues. There's no candy coating on these characters. One of Elle's sisters has to deal with the last fall-out of an earlier relationship that resulted in a daughter. Watching her struggle with real emotions without the veil of fictionalized Christianity challenged me. Am I willing to provide the accountability and support that someone needs when they find themselves confronted by the lingering effects of sin. We all have those areas, so why pretend otherwise. This book was a joy to read. It impacted me on several levels, while being a real page-turner. If you're looking for a romance with depth, this is a fantastic one to read!

Elle Garvey thought the pieces of her life were falling into place, then it looks like they're falling apart. But is her life really the shambles she thinks it is? What do you do when God's plan for your life isn't what you thought it was? I've been struggling with that question myself, so this book really struck a cord with me. Rachel Hauck has a knack for addressing spiritual truths in a non-threatening, non-preachy way. Elle is Christian girl who believes she's trusting God, until she realizes that things aren't going the way she plans. Then the control freak in her comes out. Elle's interactions with her pastor-fiancé Jeremiah, her widowed neighbor Heath, her troubled sister Julianne, and the Lord himself are sometimes touching, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious, but always honest.

I do not know if I shall scream or cry or both. Love Starts with Elle is officially one of my favorite books of all time. It is by far my favorite book of contemporary Christian fiction. I enjoyed Sweet Caroline immensely, but it does not fully compare with the power and wonder of Elle. This is a sequel, but does stand alone on a firm foundation of Christ no less. Elle is an artist, well in her heart. She mets Mr. Wonderful, who I did not like from page one, but he's so right. Until he's not, but really who is perfect? Well I did not see how in the world the plot could get her out of one situation or get her into another, but after reading the book in entirety I'm impressed. I cannot believe all that has happened. My goodness, our God is a mighty God. Usually, I really do not like contemporary, because it's so real and harsh and there is just not enough "light". Rachel Hauck gives contemporary a good name. It is real, there is some harshness and full tears. But there is love and light beyond the darkness. The characters are so real, and I want to move to their town and lives near their lives. After Sweet Caroline I just could not see how the story could continue on in Elle's life, but it did and in such a neat way. I had my tears and my giggles. I got angry at people and frustrated when they did not head my suggestions. I cherish their joys and I cannot wait for more works to come from the wonder that I have found in Rachel's words on a page.