New Christian Fiction Book Review: An Unexpected Legacy

I grew up a bookworm; it’s an inherited trait. Both of my parents are/were teachers and both still love to read. I love books and reading so much that I helped start a Literary Ladies book club at our congregation about 5 (or so?) years ago. We read all kinds of books, but mostly Christian fiction. You know it’s going to be clean and not embarrassing to talk to your friends about. 😉 

We’ve discovered all kinds of wonderful books in this genre, and I’ve been very pleasantly surprised about that. I remember reading a bit of Christian fiction years back and it was so…hokey? The writing wasn’t good. The plot lines weren’t compelling. I didn’t care to keep reading. But that perception has definitely changed for me over the last several years. Christian fiction is now a favorite genre of mine, so I was excited when a fellow FHU grad contacted me recently, asking if we would be interested in doing a book review and giveaway on our blog. Yes! Of course! I love to support fellow followers of Christ – and I so admire people who are authors anyway! 😉 Someday, I hope to write a novel myself. And a screenplay for a Christmas movie. Bucket list, you know? 😉

Back to the real author here, though. Ha!! I thought I’d do a little list of things that might spark your interest about reading Amy Anguish’s brand new book, An Unexpected Legacy. And then one lucky reader will win a copy of this novel! =) 

Here’s the little blurb on Amazon to start out with: 
When Chad Manning introduces himself to Jessica Garcia at her favorite smoothie shop, it’s like he stepped out of one of her romance novels. But as she tentatively walks into a relationship with this man of her dreams, secrets from their past threaten to shatter their already fragile bond. Chad and Jessica must struggle to figure out if their relationship has a chance or if there is nothing between them but a love of smoothies.

1) First of all…the cover. It’s lovely. The book takes place in autumn, with several descriptive scenes that make my fall fan girl heart glad. And it’s a great cover, too, because it’s a peek (literally) into the storyline. A hand pulling back the curtain, to watch a happy couple. Sparks a little bit of mystery. And I like mystery. 😉

2) So….it’s not a mystery book per se, but a little mystery added to a romance works great, in my opinion. The mystery here is WHY ON EARTH one of the characters is so dead set against a certain family…so much so that she tries to prevent her sister from marrying into that family. And years later, this same character is aghast to find that her niece is dating the son of this aforementioned sister’s ex-boyfriend. I find myself alternately angry at her, for her evident small-mindedness, and intrigued with such a strong reaction. There must be something big behind her actions. And I intend to find out! 😉 That’s right, I’ve not completed this book yet. I have recently weaned myself off of reading my Kindle immediately before bed, because I find I sleep better that way, BUT I’ve been missing my reading time sorely. I haven’t had time to read during the day lately…until this week. When I had to make myself do this “work” for the book review.  (Poor Kristen, I know, I know!) I’ve completed about half the book so far. And while I want to punch Aunt Ruth most of the time, I have a feeling she might just be redeemed somewhat by the end of the book. 😉

3) Reading about a familiar Christian lifestyle is a breath of fresh air. I can relate to religious conversations, and church ties and activities sprinkled throughout the storyline. Even though we’ve read Christian fiction quite a lot in our Literary Ladies group, not many of them are written from this modern-day perspective. Hearing about a congregation’s Young Professionals group brings happy memories from our congregation’s group of the same name. Church get-togethers and Sunday school class conversations aren’t shied away from in this novel and I like that. Right now I’m in the middle of a scene between the two main characters, Jessica and Chad. She’s upset about something – listen, I can’t tell you everything, O.K.? You have to read the book! 😉 And he says, “Jess, have you talked to God about all this?” I like that. Because that’s something we might need to ask our friends or significant other every so often. 

4) I like witty banter. I enjoy reading the conversations between the main characters (minus Aunt Ruth – ha!) They remind me conversations I might have with my own friends or my husband. =) And I like beautiful descriptions of settings. The author has a nice turn of phrase and I look forward to reading more.

5) Flashbacks are one of my favorite ways to add insights into a character’s backstory. That was pretty much my favorite part of why I loved the show Lost several years back. I appreciate when I can understand why a character is the way they are; how they become who they are today. (My current TV obsession is This is Us – I love it for that very reason.) I feel like paying attention to this kind of storytelling helps make me more compassionate and understanding to the people I encounter in Real Life. An Unexpected Legacy shows us flashbacks to Jessica’s mom and Chad’s dad when they were dating in the early 1980’s and gives us glimpses of what might make or break Jessica and Chad’s current relationship.

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Alright, who wants to win a copy of An Unexpected Legacy?? Comment below with something that intrigues you about this novel and you’re entered to win! The winner will be announced on Tuesday, November 21st, 2017. 

Amy Anguish grew up a preacher’s kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a cat or two. Amy graduated with a degree in English from Freed-Hardeman University and hopes in all her creative endeavors to glorify God, but especially in her writing. She wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good.

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