About the Book

Book: Taking Chances

Author: Traci Wooden-Carlisle

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release Date: November 12, 2020

Friendship always seemed like the safest bet, but the possibility of love may make theirs a chance worth taking. 

Almost from birth, Andrew Wolfe knew the majority of his life would be spent healing people. It’s a passion that he embraces with all of his being until a dark-haired, gray-eyed girl looks up from a pile of books between them and challenges the space in his heart for his first love.

Unsure if he can have Pietra along with the life he’s been destined, Andrew remains friends with Pietra for years without revealing his true feelings, but love won’t be denied forever.

Those who’ve met Pietra Rivera think she’s a shy but kind and generous woman with intelligence to rival the best minds in medicine, and they would be right.

They also believe that the ideal man for her would be an equally nice guy, with like ambitions who would move mountains for her and again they would be correct. But is Andrew that man or is she headed for heartbreak?

Will either of them take the chance at more than friendship with the other or will lifelong expectations and obligations keep them in the friend zone?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 MY REVIEW 

I really enjoyed this story and was captured by how well the characters felt like my friends. I love stories about best friends who fall in love and this one in particular really grabbed my attention. It made me laugh when Pietra and Andrew  both had feelings for each other but kept it a secret. We sometimes don’t want to tell someone how we feel for fear of rejection. I couldn’t wait to see where the author would take this story.

I enjoyed the setting of a hospital and learning different ways to heal patients. Pietra was an inspiration to me because she came through a pretty traumatic time in a hospital when she was younger. Her faith is very evident in her work and personal life. 

Andrew mesmerized me because of his strong desire to follow his heritage and still follow God. I am Native American as well and understand that our culture may be a bit different when it comes to medicine.  Both characters realize that at some point they must share their feelings with each other. I liked reading how one of them opened up and the other seemed to run away. What Pietra doesn’t realize is that Andrew has not told her everything about his life. His tribe wants him to come back to work among them as a doctor and healer. 

How many tines times  have we not taken a chance and missed out on happiness? Will Andrew trust God and give him courage to be truthful with Pietra? I was cheering for this couple and hoped that they would swallow their pride and step out in faith. The author truly writes a story that explores a culture where Christianity is important to them while still keeping their traditions alive. I liked the message of taking chances and trusting God to guide your path. I am very excited to know that the author has a follow up book coming  soon. The characters in the next book has piqued my interest and I can’t wait to read it. 

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

About the Author

Traci Wooden-Carlisle began writing poetry and short stories as soon as she was able to form words on paper. She used that as a way to create worlds, as well as, to communicate with God. A native of Los Angeles, California, she grew up attending United Methodist Church under the leadership of a pastor whose heart was for youth. Once she finished college she found herself at a loss. She felt caught in the transition between childhood and adulthood. She surrounded herself with saints and volunteered her services as a graphic artist. Through the early-morning prayer, all night Friday prayer and 3-day shut-ins she started on her journey toward her most desired gift, an intimate relationship with God.
She began writing to publish in 2011 and enjoys writing stories that provoke thought and evoke emotions. Her desire is to draw readers into the lives of her characters and share messages of God’s love, His faithfulness and peace. The messages in her books speak to her way before they speak to her readers.
Traci lives in San Diego with her husband, David. When she isn’t writing she does some light traveling or assists people with their physical fitness, creates graphics, designs pretty things for her jewelry business and swag for authors.

 

 More from Traci

Thank you for joining my blog tour. I am so happy you have decided to participate in this part of the journey with me.

I have had the story of Andrew Wolfe and Pietra Rivera in my heart from the moment Pietra’s roommate, Meagan considered the sometimes awkward, silences between her two best friends. Even as I finished other books and series whose characters yelled louder to be heard than Pietra and Andrew I could sense them waiting patiently for their turn.

Almost from the moment I put the proverbial pen to paper I saw their personalities and characteristics form them into people I would have loved to have as friends. Coming from such different backgrounds I wondered if their upbringings would work for or against them as they interacted with one another. One would think it unlikely that Pietra, who was raised by her Mexican father and uncles after the death of her mother, and Andrew who grew up under the tutelage of his grandfather, the tribe’s medicine man, that these two would have anything in common, let alone become the best of friends, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. Well, until the third person in their group of the ‘Three Amigos’ gets engaged, leaving them without the buffer they’d grown accustomed to.

For once, I thought I would get to type out a story with a straight line from start to finish, but these characters had a couple of twists and turns to send me through, so I sighed and strapped in for the ride.   You didn’t think I was in charge, did you? I’m just the messenger, carrying the stories of extraordinary people across the border between fiction and reality.

So join me in the small town of Chance, Virginia, where a handsome, yet awkward, NFL player does everything but move mountains to make sure his grandmother is safe and happy, and an incredibly good looking neurosurgeon searches for the answer to where holistic healing fits into a world designed to treat one cause at a time. Oh yes, and the women who, with the grace of God, give them a chance at love.

Chances Are…, Book One in the Chances series is the story of Tony Cahill and Meagan Rowe. Taking Chances, Book Two is the story of Andrew Wolfe and Pietra Rivera.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Traci Wooden-Carlisle

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 12

Texas Book-aholic, November 13

For Him and My Family, November 14

Artistic Nobody, November 15 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

Batya’s Bits, November 15

Inklings and notions, November 16

deb’s Book Review, November 17

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 18

Betti Mace, November 19

Mary Hake, November 19

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 20

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 21

Sara Jane Jacobs, November 22

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, November 23

Kathleen Neely Blog, November 23

Ashley’s Bookshelf, November 24

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Traci is giving away the grand prize of a Kindle Fire!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/1039c/taking-chances-celebration-tour-giveaway