What a Girl Wants

Hey, They put these books in the wrong order! 1: What a girl wants 2:She's out of control 3: With this ring, I'm confused Anyway, It's a wonderful book, none the less!

Eventhough Ashley Stockingdale is a successful patent attorney, and I am a preschool teacher, I found myself identifying with her character with every turn of the page. She is spirited, witty, all the things I am not, but she gets straight to the point of the message that we older single woman are not "bus-bait" and that God does have something very special planned for each of us. After reading "What a Girl Wants" I quickly ordered the next two books in the series: "She's Out of Control" and "With This Ring I'm Confused." I absolutely LOVE this series, and recommend it to anyone who wants a good chick lit read.

Ashley Stockingdale is in a rut. . .same family issues, same restaurants, same video rentals with friends, and work-work-work. On top of it, she just turned 31, is single, being kicked out of her apartment - all this while she's supposed to be in Taiwan on business. She wonders why she can't be petite, confident, and fun like Arin who's landed herself a gorgeous doctor without even trying, or have the loving relationship her best friend Brea has with her husband. But Ashley needs to learn to have faith in herself, before she can find a love of her own. Ashley is a blast. She's a hard-worker, has great friends, and a killer eye for designer wear. Her child-like sibling relationship with her brother is hilarious, as is the fact that her father won't pull himself away from the t.v. long enough to eat the birthday dinner that her mother made to celebrate Ashley's 31st. Watching Ashley gain security in who she is was delightful, funny, and positively heartwarming. Kristin Billerbeck has a special way of creating real characters, with real problems, and a touch of humor sprinkled throughout. Can't wait to read Billerbeck's second novel about Ashley called SHE'S OUT OF CONTROL.

"What a Girl Wants" really is laugh-out-loud funny. I haven't been this entertained in a long while. Racy, edgy and romantic WITHOUT a gratuitous sex scene every other chapter. The heroine Ashley is a real character, NOT a generic super-Christian woman with a sweet smile and a heart of gold who the hero instantly falls in love with (but not in lust) and wants to marry. No, Ashley is like any girl I'll meet at Valley Fair or Stanford Shopping Center.As a post-modern Christian, I can entirely relate to Ashley. Her sassy, sarcastic attitude and neuroses are WAY too familiar. Her faith is entirely central to her life, as indicated by her thoughts and decisions, but the way she talks about it is in language that is different from our parents' generation of Christians. The language can come across as flippant and slightly irreverent, but it's the way she makes God more real, more personal and more intimate in her life. For Ashley, God is her friend (albeit a pretty powerful and absolutely holy Friend) rather than Thou-Almighty-God-Maker-of-Heaven-and-Earth.The book is great at showing Ashley's spiritual journey from a more distant relationship with God to a fully submissive and joyful interaction with her Creator. It doesn't preach. It shows the actions of a woman of God who makes mistakes and needs constant guidance and direction from her Lord, which is how He wants us to be anyway. It is culturally hip and trendy, so that a world inundated by reality TV, web-access pocket PCs, and other forms of ultra-stimulation can relate and laugh and maybe even question the material things they value.The book perfectly captures the essence of northern California--the attitudes, the environment, the ENGINEERS (I can say that since I married one). The social culture is brought to life and drawn with both love and tongue in cheek. The author brilliantly colors the ethnic melting pot that is the San Francisco Bay Area.As a hopeless romantic, I'm sometimes left flat by many women's fiction novels, but this book has enough sparks to light the San Francisco Airport runway. I highly recommend this to any romance reader.This is terrific entertainment, and a message suitable for those of us post-moderns who struggle with what the world says and what God wants. In Ashley, I see the other Christians of my generation who don't want to be influenced by the morals of the world we live in, but at the same time don't want to be total hermit-recluse-bananas in our own exclusive Christian circle. Ashley's discovery of how to be herself, be content, and be God's child is a worthwhile spiritual take-away.

I couldn't believe how hilariously funny this Christian romance novel was! AND! It is truly Chick-Lit at its best! A funny tearfully tale Christian and nonChristian readers will cry with Ms. Billerbeck's novel of Ashley's search for her Truth in life! I REALLY recommend this book for everyone who likes to enjoy their reading as well as get something out of it! Pick it up immediately and you will agree.... It is a MUST! (And? I am not joking - pardon the pun! :)