About the Book

Book: Blessing Bentley

Author: Chautona Havig

Genre: Fiction / Christian / Romantic Women’s Fiction

Release date: June 13, 2019

Bentley Girard’s about to propose… to a guy she doesn’t even love.

Not THAT way anyway.

After studying everything the Bible has to say about marriage, she’s decided she wants in. Now. So who’s going to take her up on that offer?

And just why did no one reminded her that those vows include that little word, “love.”

Oops!

With her Bible in her hip pocket, and a shiny new ring on her finger, Bentley navigates this new world of marriage with grace and… oh, who is she kidding? She flounders until she gets a sure footing and hangs on tight.

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 on the web and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More from Chautona

If You Need to Save Time, Don’t Ask for Help

Not from my friend anyway. It all started with a conversation about Bentley…

She pops up now and then—the most ubiquitous (and yet not) of my unpublished characters, you might say. Who is this unsung Bentley, and why should we care about her? For that matter, why has her story been languishing in my “to be edited” pile for over a decade?”

It’s worse than that. Bentley isn’t the only book that’s been sitting there, unedited, waiting for a chance at daylight. There’s also Tait’s story. Andi’s story. Ami’s story… all the unpublished stories. Those don’t even include the partially done ones.

It’s an illness, I tell ya.

Some people may not know this about me, but I plot out my books while I’m driving. I get in the car, turn on my voice recorder, and talk to myself. You can’t know how grateful I am for cellphones. I don’t own or use one, but man I’m glad they exist. Know why? Because people don’t give you weird looks when you talk to yourself in the car now. When I was a kid, that wasn’t true. Not that I know from personal experience or anything. *whistles*

So one trip down south (it’s an hour and a half to go anywhere from my house, and most of my trips are at least three hours one way), I realized that Tait and Bentley’s stories could be merged. It would be awesome. Two books. One stone. If I did that to a bunch of my languishing manuscripts, I could clear out that unfinished file in no time! (Okay, let me dream here. Eternal optimist, remember?)

And that brings us back to Blessing Bentley

I was at my friend Sandy’s house (if you know Celebrate Lit, yes, that Sandy), and I told her I needed a new title. Why? Because now it included Tait and his story.

We talked. We schemed and plotted. Sandy wanted something to happen that just can’t. I’d seriously have to rewrite the entire series. Oh, and then there would be issues with already published books. Ahem.

Then it happened. She said the words. “It needs to be two books.”

I could have put an ice cube down her shirt. Do you remember how excited I was to have two combined into one??? Now we’re back to two books. Still, they were written as two. I just don’t have a satisfactory ending for Tait’s.

That’s when things got fun. Sandy tossed out one idea. I tossed it back. She remolded it and flipped it in the air. I caught it, made a few changes, and voila! We had a BOOK. And it would be adorable.

Then she swore at me.

Okay, so she actually just said, “You really need a third book, friend.”

Anyone who has ever heard her talk, can hear her voice there. I know you can. Still, as sweet and kind as she might have meant to sound, I heard swearing.

Another book. You’ve got to be kidding me! I went from having two books morphed into one being split back in two, and now you want to add one? I’m trying to reduce the to-do pile!

But then I remembered another story that’s been percolating since I wrote 31 Kisses. Carson’s brother is newly single. And well…

Yep. Enter trilogy.

Marriage of Conviction—that was supposed to be the title of Blessing Bentley. Who knew that when I started writing that book fifteen years ago—who knew it would end up being the title of a series instead. Marriages of Conviction. Blessing Bentley, Tempting Tait, and Charming Chloe.

Welcome to a new look on marriage and a wild ride with these characters!

And remember… if you think I have too many series… Well, this one’s Sandy’s fault.

Oh my! Oh my! What a wonderful journey I just took with the talented author , Chautona Havig. Her books always entertain me, male me laugh, give me hope and fills me with scriptures. This story is going on my 2019 favorite books. If you have not read a book by this author, I insist you read all her books. Her characters are fun, sassy and so realistic they become your friends.

I'm not going into much details about the book because that is for you to experience. I will tell you that Bentley (I love that name) is one person I would want as a friend. She is serious in her walk with Jesus, studies her bible and wants to glorify God in everything she does. The plot of this story is quite different from anything I have ever read. Do I think Bentley has lost her marbles? Not at all. In fact she is a woman who wants to be married so her and her husband can glorify God . Maybe you haven't heard of that about marriage, so sit back and get ready for an adventure.

I loved, loved loved how the author takes us through scriptures about marriage and allows us to understand the thinking process of Bentley.  Maybe it isn't proper, but Bentley doesn't hesitate to ask the man she believes God has for her to marry her. Well there are a few shall we say "things to work out."  They don't really know each other, never been on a date together and never said "I love you to each other." Those are small details that Bentley feels will fall into place 

This book is not a "how to get married" book, rather a book about one insight into what marriage means to them. Bentley is sure she knows what she is doing and I loved watching her and the man she wants as her husband try to decide if this was what they should do. There are funny moments in the book that is a fingerprint of the authors writing style. There is never a dull moment in the book and it really made me look at marriage from a different viewpoint. 

I won't reveal the person she chooses but I will say that the author did catch me off guard a bit. Oh yes I had it all figured out who Bentley wanted, but in the authors style, she throws a curve ball and suddenly I'm swooning over Bentley's choice. Remember that this is a fiction book and the author is not saying this is the way to marry. What she has done is taken a topic and shown a different way to look at marriage still using scriptures while giving us much to think about. I can't say enough good things about this story without mentioning how creative the author is. I absolutely agree that there needs to be three books in this series. I eagerly await the next one and it can't come soon enough.

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

Blog Stops

Among the Reads, July 8

Cultivating Us, July 8

Texas Book-aholic, July 9

janicesbookreviews, July 10

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, July 10

A Reader’s Brain, July 11

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, July 12

CarpeDiem, July 12

Retrospective Spines, July 13

Splashes of Joy, July 13

Back Porch Reads, July 14

Inklings and notions, July 15

Through the Fire Blogs, July 16

Godly Book Reviews, July 16

Lots of Helpers, July 17

Captive Dreams Window, July 17

Daysong Reflections, July 18

She Lives To Read, July 19

Blogging With Carol, July 19

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 20

For Him and My Family, July 21

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 21

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away a Blessing Bentley grand prize package that includes a paperback copy of the book, a book cozy, a Blessing Bentley Candle, and a $25 Amazon gift card!!

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/e550/blessing-bentley-celebration-tour-giveaway