About the Book

Book:  The Fifth Avenue Story Society
Author: Rachel Hauck
Genre:  Contemporary Romance/ Women’s Fiction
Release Date: February 4, 2020

An invitation to join The Fifth Avenue Story Society gives five New York strangers a chance to rewrite their own stories.

Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed.

Literature professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud.

Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids.

Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage.

Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire.

When all five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to bear their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.

 Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.

Get your copy of the book here.

My Review

The Fifth Avenue Story Society
by Rachel Hauck
Rating: 4.5/5

I am a huge fan of Rachel Hauck already but this book is a bit different and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Even though there are quite a few characters to keep track of, I felt each one got their moments of truth, and I needed to finish reading till the end. I definitely lost some sleep over finishing the story but it was worth it!

Meet the five people who make up the Fifth Avenue Story Society. Lexa is an executive assistant who works hard and deserves to be promoted to CEO if she can convince her boss. Jett is her ex-husband who is a professor researching his dissertation on his favorite author and dealing with his divorce and brother’s death. Coral is a high society heiress running her grandmother’s cosmetics company who recently left her fiancé – a prince – at the altar. Chuck is an Uber and limo driver trying to figure how he can see his twins more after his ex-wife put out a restraining order on him. Ed is an older gentleman who misses his wife and is desperately trying to write a memoir of their love story. Mysterious invitations brought these five people together and week after week, they share their stories and their struggles as they begin to heal and have hope for their futures.

I love when people’s stories intertwine and you get to see it all come together as a reader like a beautifully woven tapestry. The different tones of the story made me laugh and cry. The characters have real struggles and problems that need to be worked through. The faith of one ends up sparking the faith in the others. The themes of forgiveness and redemption are woven throughout the story and I could definitely see this book becoming a Hallmark movie that makes me cry. There’s something about Rachel Hauck’s writing that draws the reader into her world and forces them to ask those hard questions and challenge themselves to think about what they would do if they were in her characters’ same situations.

Beautifully written and highly recommended for those who enjoy some romance, some mystery, and people-watching.

My thanks to the publisher, NetGalley, and CelebrateLit for an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, February 10

The Avid Reader, February 10

Livin’ Lit, February 10

Genesis 5020, February 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 10

The Power of Words, February 11

A Baker’s Perspective, February 11

Rebecca Tews, February 11

All-of-a-kind Mom, February 11

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 11

Older & Smarter?, February 12

Seasons of Opportunities, February 12

Texas Book-aholic, February 12

Inklings and notions, February 12

deb’s Book Review, February 12

My Devotional Thoughts, February 13

Just the Write Escape, February 13

For Him and My Family, February 13

The Meanderings of a Bookworm, February 13

CarpeDiem, February 13

Remembrancy, February 14

Christian Bookaholic, February 14

Connect in Fiction, February 14

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 14

April Hayman, Author, February 14

Robin’s Nest, February 15

Mypreciousbitsandmusings, February 15

Britt Reads Fiction, February 15

Just Your Average reviews, February 15

Blogging With Carol, February 15

Batya’s Bits, February 16

Bigreadersite, February 16

A Reader’s Brain, February 16

Worthy2Read, February 16

Stories By Gina, February 16

Back Porch Reads, February 17

janicesbookreviews, February 17

Literary Reflections Book Blog, February 17

Inside the Wong Mind, February 17

Mary Hake, February 17

Through the fire blogs, February 18

Mia Reads, February 18

Baker Kella, February 18

EmpowerMoms, February 18

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, February 18

Maureen’s Musings, February 19

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, February 19

Coast and Anchor, February 19

Spoken from the Heart, February 19

SPLASHES of Joy, February 19

She Lives to Read, February 20

By The Book, February 20

Wishful Endings, February 20

Moments, February 20

Simple Harvest Reads, February 20 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Andrea Christenson, February 21

Tell Tale Book Reviews, February 21

Pause for Tales, February 21

For The Love of Books, February 21

Lis Loves Reading, February 21

Reader’s Cozy Corner, February 22

Hallie Reads, February 22

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, February 22

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, February 22

To Everything There Is A Season, February 22

Godly Book Reviews, February 23

Daysong Reflections, February 23

SusanLovesBooks, February 23

Lights in a Dark World, February 23

About the Book

Book:  A Girl’s Guide to the Outback
Author: Jessica Kate
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 28, 2020

How far will a girl go to win back a guy she can’t stand? This funny, sweet, and romantic story proves that opposites do attract—and that God has a sense of humor.

Samuel Payton is a passionate youth pastor in Virginia, but below the surface, he’s still recovering from the blow of a failed business and insecurities he can’t shake. His coworker, start-up expert Kimberly Foster, is brilliant, fearless, and capable, but years of personal rejection have left her defensive and longing for a family. Two people have never been more at odds—or more attracted to one another. And every day at work, the sparks sure do fly.

 When Kimberly’s ambitious plans for Sam’s ministry butt up against his risk-averse nature, Sam decides that obligations to family trump his work for the church. He quits the ministry and heads home to Australia to help his sister, Jules, save her struggling farm. As Kimberly’s grand plans flounder, she is forced to face the truth: that no one can replace Sam. Together they strike up a deal: If Kimberly comes to work on Jules’s dairy farm and lends her business brains to their endeavor, then maybe—just maybe—Sam will reconsider his future with the church.

 As Kimberly tries her hand at Australian farm life, she learns more about herself than she could’ve ever expected. Meanwhile Sam is forced to re-evaluate this spunky woman he thought he already knew. As foes slowly morph into friends, they wonder if they might be something even more. But when disaster strikes the farm, will Sam find it within himself to take a risk that could lead to love? And will Kimberly trust God with her future?

Click here to get your copy.

About the Author

Australian author Jessica Kate writes inspirational romances with wit, sass, and grit. Jessica is a screenwriting groupie, cohost of the StoryNerds vlog and podcasts, and her favorite place to be—apart from Mum and Dad’s back deck—is a theme park. She has traveled North America and Australia, and samples her favorite pasta wherever she goes—but the best (so far) is still the place around the corner from her corporate day job as a training developer. She loves watching sitcoms with her housemates and being a leader in a new church plant. Visit her online at jessicakatewriting.com; Instagram: jessicakatewriting; Facebook: jessicakatewriting; Twitter: @JessicaKate05.

My Review

A Girl’s Guide to the Outback
by Jessica Kate
Release date: January 28, 2020
Rating: 5/5

Another winner from Jessica Kate! Having recently finished her previous novel, Love and Other Mistakes, I was eager to read more from this talented author! Her storytelling is so good and her characters are authentic and rootable. The reader can’t help but keep reading to find out what will happen next. (I also might be a bit biased since the main character is named after me!)

Kimberly is a financial genius and has felt so good about using her talents for good by working at Wildfire Ministries for the past three years. She truly believes in all they are doing to help the youth with their outreaches and youth drop-in center. She is convinced that expansion is the next step to help more teenagers. Unfortunately, youth paster, Sam, is not so easily convinced that expansion is the right idea. When a family emergency sends him home to Australia, his departure creates a headache for Kim. Not able to keep or rely on Sam’s replacements, the board may dissolve Wildfire if they can’t get Sam back or at least someone like him. Meanwhile, Sam reluctantly calls Kim to see if she’ll help look at his family dairy farm’s finances to figure out what they can do to be more productive. Kim flies to Australia to spend her holiday in Australia determined to get Sam to help her out if she helps his family out. Will these two learn to see each other in a new light?

Jessica Kate has a way of weaving a beautiful, heartwarming story of two broken people and finding God’s best for them. She finds a way to make this story hilarious and heartbreaking. I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed this story. I felt like I was in Australia on a dairy farm. Her use of Aussie slang is fun but can be a bit confusing. I sort of wish she had a glossary at the end but for the most part, she explains the meanings of the slang. I would love the audiobook of this story just to hear that Australian accent! She made me laugh and cry and I am forever a fan!

I highly recommend this book for those that love clean, inspirational rom-coms.

My thanks to the publisher, NetGalley, and CelebrateLit for an ARC of the book.  All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

“Sweetheart, when God closes a door, He closes it. Best not to hold on too long and get your fingers jammed in the process.”

– Jessica Kate, A Girl’s Guide to the Outback

Blog Stops

Among the Reads, February 3
Just the Write Escape, February 3
Through the Fire Blogs, February 3
Robin’s Nest, February 4
Hebrews 12 Endurance, February 4
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, February 5
The Meanderings of a Bookworm, February 5
Genesis 5020, February 6
Wishful Endings, February 6
Texas Book-aholic, February 7
Mypreciousbitsandmusings, February 7
Batya’s Bits, February 8
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 8
For Him and My Family, February 9
deb’s Book Review, February 9
Inklings and notions, February 10
Inside the Wong Mind, February 10
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 11
Kat’s Corner Books, February 11
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, February 12
Hallie Reads, February 12
Reflections From My Bookshelves, February 13
Mary Hake, February 13
Moments, February 14
Stories By Gina, February 14
Christian Chick’s Thoughts, February 15
Britt Reads Fiction, February 15
Pause for Tales, February 16
With a Joyful Noise, February 16