Friday, February 12, 2021

About the Book

Book: Bookers on the Rocks

Author: Chautona Havig

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

If it ain’t broke, why’s she so intent on fixing it?

Tessa Booker hates romance.

For twenty-five years, Tessa Booker has insisted that romance is something Hollywood cooked up to sell books and movies. Yes, she knows the word existed before movies. She doesn’t care. That’s her story, and she’s sticking to it.

So when Ross gets a gentle nudge from Mallory Barrows to look into what Tessa’s doing every day while he’s at work, he discovers a romance in the works–one that sounds a little too “ripped from the pages” of his life!

Who is this woman, and what has she done with his wife?

Armed with advice from 101 Ways to Romance Your Wife and a copy of the manuscript he printed while she was napping, he’s determined to figure out what’s up with his wife… and if maybe a little romance wouldn’t be a good thing after all.

In a twist of the “on the rocks trope,” this book introduces the next island in the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.

The Independence Islands Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More from Chautona

Who Needs Romance? My Marriage Is Great as It Is!

Writing a book about a couple who are in love, devoted to each other, and don’t have marriage problems is… challenging. Let’s face it. Most books about married couples, especially ones “on the rocks,” are going to have fights, an affair (at least of the emotional variety), or some big thing threatening to send them straight to divorce court.

Mine doesn’t.

In fact, Bookers on the Rocks shows what happens when couples become too comfortable in their routines—so comfortable, in fact, that they become blind to each other’s needs. If you asked Tessa Booker if anything is wrong in her marriage, she’d say no. If you asked her if she wanted anything different, she’d say no. The age old, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality.

Still, if you look at stories in Scripture, you see deep love and even romance in some places. Elkanah, who loved his wife enough to say, “Am I not more to you than ten sons?” Jacob who worked fourteen years to marry the woman he loved. Solomon and his love for the Shulamite woman. While the first two do not make me squirm, Solomon does. That book… oh, that book.

What I think Song of Solomon does is remind us of the Lord’s wooing of His people and how invested the Shulamite woman was in being delighted in her beloved—in all of him. If that isn’t a picture of how we should devote ourselves to our Lord, I don’t know what is.

In Bookers on the Rocks, I explore the possibility that those of us who aren’t naturally romantic might just be missing a vital ingredient in our marriages. A body can look and feel perfectly healthy for years—even decades. But if some essential nutrient is missing in a person’s diet, eventually that body will show it in some way. A lack of calcium can create brittle bones. No one sees the problem until a slight stumble turns into a nasty break.

Did it change how I view my marriage? No… not yet. Then again, yes it did, too. I’m more… aware of what is going on in my marriage these days. I doubt candlelight and roses will ever become a thing in our relationship, but translating what romance might mean and look like to my husband has become something I do think about from time to time. That probably means more Wienerschnitzel and less broccoli, but hey. He did a lot of dishes, dinner, and diapers (my perfect three Ds of romance) when our kids were small. I can endure a hot dog or three thousand, right?

My REVIEW

This has been a nice story where we look at a marriage from a woman’s perspective and a man’s perspective. I loved how the author dissects a marriage and let’s us look beneath the surface. I could relate to this story so much. I have been married for thirty-seven years, yet there are times I feel all alone. We get comfortable and start to take each other for granted.

Tessa could be be. Wait. Did the author write about me? Oh I’m just kidding but I recognize Tessa’s feelings so well. She starts to get restless and wonders where did the romance go. Does her husband still love her? I laughed when she decided she would write a romance novel. I believe that was God prompting her to write her feelings down. As she writes she sees that she needs to work on herself first.

Ross has no clue his wife is unhappy. He is the kind of man who thinks everything is great. After all she isn’t complaining. There are subtle hints that he starts picking up on. Sometimes I think we need to bop our husbands over the head to get their attention. Slowly he sees that there is something really wrong and he sets out to fix it. That is what men like to do after all.

Now I’m not big on flowers, candies or any of that mushy stuff. Like Tessa I like to hear that I’m appreciated. I want to be shown that I’m loved by a hug or kiss. Tessa needs those to be reminded what it was like the first day they fell in love. The book is a great illustration of how we should always treat our spouse with unconditional love. It starts with us. What do we need to do to make the relationship better? Instead of pointing fingers, pray and ask God to show you what you need to work on.

There is a side story about domestic abuse with a secondary character. I wondered how the author would tie this into the main story. With grace and tenderness the author uses it to reinforce how important communication is. Through a series of events Tessa finds herself in danger. Trying to help out someone, she finds herself in a hospital. The moment that Ross sees his wife laying in the hospital bed wrecks his insides. All the walls they have built around their heart slowly falls. I kept thinking about how pride stops us from admitting we are wrong. We don’t want to be the first to say we are sorry. Tessa and Ross find themselves on a journey of falling in love all over again. My husband is my best friend and I enjoy life because of him. This book has awaken me to do better in showing him that he matters.

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