Litfuse Blog Tour and Book Review: Wish You Were Here by Beth K. Vogt/4 Stars

About the book:

Allison Denman is supposed to get married in five days, but everything is all wrong. The huge wedding. The frothy dress. And the groom. Still, kissing the groom's brother in an unguarded moment is decidedly not the right thing to do. How could she have made such a mistake?

It seems Allison's life is nothing but mistakes at this point. And pulling a "Runaway Bride" complete with stealing, er, borrowing her best friend's car doesn't seem to solve her problems. Can Allison find her way out of this mess? Maybe she just needs to stop orchestrating everything. Allison prefers being the one in control, and giving it up is not going to be easy. But to find her way again, she will have to believe that God has a plan for her and find the strength to let Him lead.

About Beth:

Beth K. Vogt provides her readers with a happily ever after woven through with humor, reality, and God's lavish grace. She's a non-fiction author and editor who said she'd never write fiction. She's the wife of an Air Force physician (now in solo practice) who said she'd never marry a doctor-or anyone in the military. She's a mom of four who said she'd never have kids. Beth has discovered that God's best often waits behind the doors marked "Never." She writes contemporary romance because she believes there's more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us. Beth earned a journalism degree from San Jose State University and met her husband Rob when he knocked her down at a karate studio. They've been married for 31 years. They have four children, ranging in ages from 28, 25, 23 and - thanks to a funny thing happening on their way to the empty nest-a 10-year-old. The Vogt Team, which now includes a "daughter-in-love" and "son-in-love," enjoys hiking and camping in Colorado. Read more about Beth at her website:  http://bethvogt.com.

My thoughts:

I won't sugarcoat the truth here...I almost marked this book as a DNF (did not finish). I made it to the 100-page mark and thought to myself, "If this book doesn't pick up the pace reeeeeeally soon, I don't think I can go on." Well, nothing like a little perseverance, ya know?  :o)  I went another few pages, then a few more, and then, there was no getting around it...I was hooked.

There's really just one thing I want to highlight from this fabulous debut novel, and that was the balance between Allison and Seth's relationship failing and the new relationship forming between her and Daniel.  I mean, honestly...in real life, how many of us would have screwed that up so badly?  I'll be the first to admit that it would be me because, like Seth, I have always had this innate need to be in control (or at least, convince myself that I'm in control even if I'm not).  But wow, how many times have I jumped the gun ahead of God's plan?  More times than I care to count.  I was so impressed that when it came to decision time for both Allison and Daniel that things were allowed to take their natural course, and both really allowed God to direct their steps.

Beth Vogt joins a fabulous crop of new fiction writers this year...seriously, they're sprouting up all over the place!  I'd love to see a spin-off from this novel featuring either Meghan or Hadleigh (well, a story for both characters wouldn't disappoint me, either).  :o)

4 Stars

Southern?  No
Sass?  No

**Many thanks to the publisher through Litfuse Publicity for providing a copy for review.

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