Chautona Havig

For the third time now, I’ve been invited to read one of Chautona Havig’s books before publication and help her to launch it! What fun. She is one of my favorite authors; I haven’t been disappointed with any of her books that I’ve read.

I discovered one of Chautona Havig’s books a couple of years ago, and loved it, but didn’t read any of her others till about a year ago. Once I got started, however, I was hooked. I love her books! Most of them are fairly light, easy reads, but they all make you think. She has a knack for showing how Christians should live in the form of a gripping story. Her books are not preachy, but very definitely portray people living out their faith in Jesus.

Sweet On You is a little different from a lot of this author’s books. The main character is Madeline Brown, a young lady in a midwestern city sometime around 1901. She knows what society demands of young ladies, and what her aunt’s expectations are. She also knows that if she oversteps conventions she’ll harm her father’s political career. Therefore, she will not join the suffragettes or the temperance movement. However, she can’t stand to just sit at home and do nothing!

One evening, when Madeline is at a party at her friend’s house, she notices that Edith is receiving special attention from a man new to the city. Then, she notices something strange. She starts wondering about Vernon—and ends up finding herself becoming a detective!

I loved reading Sweet On You and watching Madeline investigate clues around the city while trying not to shock her aunt too much. Of course, I was fairly sure what the outcome of the investigation would be long before Madeline arrived at a conclusion, but it was quite intriguing to watch her using the resources at her disposal to learn the truth. I look forward to reading the next book in the series and seeing Madeline’s growth, not only as a sleuth, but also as a Christian. Her faith seems to be very shallow in this book, not at all like most of the author’s characters. There are a couple of friends of Madeline’s who seem to have a very strong faith in God, and Madeline considers them to be fanatics—I will be very interested to see what Havig does with her in the sequel! I can’t wait to read the next book, especially with the cliff-hanger with which this one ended. There are supposed to be six books in the series eventually. 

I enjoyed the vocabulary used in this story as well. Havig did a lot of research into the way people talked and wrote around 1900, and her characters consistently use appropriate language. Another thing I found interesting was the way people thought about new inventions that were just coming into use—their reactions seemed quite natural. I highly recommend Sweet On You if you are looking for light, inspiring reading.

I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. You can buy it here.

For the past year, I’ve been enjoying Chautona Havig’s books. When I had the chance a few months ago to sign up to help her launch new books, I took it—it means I get to read them for free before they are published! I probably would never have read Jack otherwise; I’m really not into cowboy stories. However, I found myself enjoying this one, as I have her other books that I’ve read. Jack is the second one I’ve been able to read before publication. Today is the release date! Buy it here.

Jack is based on a cowboy ballad that Chautona’s father sang when she was a young girl. In the ballad, a lonely cowboy fell in love with a girl, and then they had a quarrel. He rode off in a huff, but eventually forgave her and came back—to find her dead and buried. Chautona took that story, and added in elements from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. I have neither read nor watched that, so don’t know what inspirations came from it, but I do know this—there was much ado in Jack over what proved to be virtually nothing!

As the story opens, Jack rides into town with a herd of cattle, and catches the attention of the banker’s daughter, Hazel. They meet again that evening at a dance, and over the course of the next few months keep finding themselves together. As they, and a few other people, conspire to slyly convince Hazel’s sharp-tongued cousin Deborah and Jack’s friend and fellow cowboy Dirk that each is loved by the other, they find themselves in love. There is an enemy, however, doing his best to cause trouble.

I had a bit of trouble getting into the story at first. I’m really not sure if it was the story itself or the fact that I was so busy when I first got it, but once I got nearly halfway through I couldn’t put it down. I really loved a few chapters around the halfway mark about the bumbling sheriff. I was kind of glad no one else happened to be in the house at the time, because I was laughing so hard I nearly cried—and I didn’t want to slow down reading in order to explain what was so funny!

I won’t give away the ending, but it took me by surprise. All the way through, I expected one ending, and when it turned out quite differently I was left reeling for a bit.

One thing I always appreciate about Chautona’s books is the cleanness. There is never any language I’m not comfortable with—not even a hint of bad language. The romance is also extremely clean. Occasionally there will be a mention of a kiss, but she does not describe it in detail, and never goes into a bedroom with her characters. I love knowing that I don’t have to be on guard with these books! The bits of wisdom sprinkled throughout the story are great, as well. You will be left with a lot to consider about forgiveness after reading the story of Jack and Hazel. One of my favorite passages is where Hazel’s father is talking to her about Jack courting her. He says, “I just want you to walk into a marriage with any man with open eyes free of starry blindness. Every man has his flaws. You need to make certain that you can live with the flaws in the man you give your heart to.” Another passage I especially appreciated was Hazel’s father speaking to his wife, who did not appreciate Jack. He said, “But is what you want for her more important than what she wants for herself—what the Lord wants for her? Are our dreams for our children to supersede their hopes and dreams?”

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. 

WARNING: Jack’s employer has a brother who hates him and plots against him; at one point a man is shot dead in the saloon.

I had the opportunity, over the past couple of months, to do something new. When my (current) favorite author, Chautona Havig, asked for volunteers to read her new Christmas book, Carol and the Belles, as she wrote it and help her launch it, I signed up. I’ve been enjoying reading another three chapters each week as she completed them–although it’s a little harder to keep track of the plot with that lag time in between. The book is finished now, though, and is publishing on Thanksgiving Day–she said it should certainly be up by 8:00 pm PST. If you would like some light reading after Thanksgiving, check this out.

Chautona Havig has dreamed up an incredible “hook” at the beginning of Carol and the Belles! I won’t tell you what it is, because that would spoil the suspense, but it’s one I couldn’t have imagined.

The basic story line is simple. Carol and Michal have been writing each other letters since they were 9, about 25 years ago. Now, Carol has the opportunity to travel from Romania to Rockland, in America, to help Ralph in the gift shop at Hearthland, and they finally meet. Both get the shock of their lives.

Throughout the story, Michal struggles to understand what true love is, and Carol practices true love. This struggle culminates in a surprising—yet quite plausible—twist at the end of the story that only Chautona could have dreamed up! The ending is quite satisfactory. If you’re looking for light reading with a Christian message, this is a beautiful Christmas story. 

We also get some glimpses into life in a Romanian orphanage. Carol’s parents died when he was very young, and his life was not exactly easy. Michal’s job was working with an agency which raised money to help people in need around the world, including, of course, Romanian orphans.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.