MY REVIEW:
I always enjoy Beth Vogt’s novels but “Almost Like Being In Love” is exceptionally good. With down-to-earth, likeable characters and a strong, evocative plot, this story pulled me right in and didn’t let go until its perfect ending.
Caron Hollister has spent her entire life trying to please her father – from basketball in high school to becoming a successful realtor in his firm to walking away from the love of her life and settling for the man her father approves. When her father makes a major change in the firm without telling her, Caron realizes that she can never do enough to earn his approval. A snap decision sends her to Colorado to help her her best friend prepare for her wedding and finds herself the winner of a destination wedding and honeymoon. How on earth will she tell her boyfriend Alex who hasn’t asked her to marry him yet? While there she runs into Kade, her former sweetheart and ends up agreeing to help him out in his business for a month. What a tangled mess!
I liked the way the author wrote this from POVs of Caron, Kade, and Alex so that the reader gets to know each of them intimately. The major theme that runs through the story is about what motivates people to make the decisions they make. Caron and Alex especially had to step back and look at themselves and what they really wanted from life and decide why they were even together. Did they really love each other enough to marry or were they trying to please their families or were they just doing what was easy and comfortable?
I really liked the way this story ended with none of the characters being portrayed as the “bad guy” (or girl). I would say that most of the situations were resolved well with relationships restored and lives changed for the better. I would heartily recommend this book.
A copy of this book was provided for review by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Winning an all-expenses paid Colorado destination wedding might seem like a dream come true for some people—but Caron Hollister and her boyfriend Alex Madison aren’t even engaged. How is she supposed to tell him she’s won their wedding and honeymoon when he hasn’t asked her to marry him? Being “perfect for one another” seems like the absolute best reason to get married. But what if their supposedly faultless relationship is merely a safe place to protect his secrets and a way to keep their families happy? After quitting her job, Caron accepts her best friend’s offer to visit Colorado. She needs to catch her breath. Who knows, maybe visiting the destination wedding site will make a future with Alex seem like a reality.
Kade Webster just landed the biggest deal of his life with his company, Webster Select Realty, participating in the Colorado Springs Tour of Homes. He never imagined he would run into the woman who broke his heart—Caron Hollister—right when his career is taking off. Seeing her again, Kade can’t help but wonder why Caron walked away from him years ago, leaving him with no explanation. When Kade learns his home stager won’t be able to help with the Tour of Homes, he vaults past all the reasons he should stay away from Caron, and offers her a temporary job helping him on the project. This time, their relationship is purely business.
Spending time with Kade has Caron questioning everything. The man intrigues her—at times infuriates her—and reminds her of what she lost. Has she been settling for what everyone expects of her? Just because others believe she and Alex are an ideal couple, does that mean they should get married? And how can Caron say “I do” to one man when she’s wondering “what if?” about another?
Read a preview of “Almost Like Being In Love” HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Beth K. Vogt is a nonfiction writer who said she’d never write fiction. After saying she’d never marry a doctor or anyone in the military, she is now happily married to a former Air Force family physician. Beth believes God’s best is often behind the door marked “never.” An established magazine writer and editor, she now writes inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there is more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us.
