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Friday, July 31, 2020

About the Book

Book:  Tempting Tait
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance
Release Date: July 30, 2020
He chose to be a dad before he realized he’d need a wife, too.
When Tait took in an abandoned girl, he had no idea it would change his life.
Tait Stedtmann–accountant, fledgling do-it-yourselfer, and all-around nice guy. He’d been more than a little interested in Bentley Girard and had finally worked up the courage to ask her out. That was before that fateful day at the rest stop when he saw a girl shoved from a car and abandoned there.
She’s not like any girl he’s ever met, and now she’s given him an ultimatum.  Adopt her baby, or she’ll abort it.
Eden doesn’t think he’ll do it. She can have the abortion and move on with her life–far away from these creepy Christians in Fairbury.  But when Tait agrees, she finds herself keeping her word… and the pregnancy.
Nine months later, Tait is wracked by guilt as relief sets in when Eden leaves and terrified as he decides he can’t do this daddy thing alone. Bentley figured out how to make marriage happen for her.
Would she help him, find someone, too?
Tempting Tait is the second in the Marriages of Conviction series.

Click here to get your copy!
 MY REVIEW 
If I had a daughter I would want her to marry someone just like Tait. He stole my heart the minute he helped a young woman who he knew nothing about. Eden plays a pivotal part in this story. Through her we see the goodness in Tait. Some may say he is a geek, not so tall and a house that is half  finished, but Jesus  says to look on the inside. There you will find the true heart of a person. 

The story is a look at several things. Let’s start with Eden. Now she is alone, pregnant and just been literally dumped on the side of the road. I can hear it now, “Well she should have listened to her mom. That boy is no good and will end up leaving  Eden.” But what if God had a divine appointment for Eden on a certain day when Tait was there to witness her being tossed out of a car? I love the way the author uses Tait to demonstrate that God calls us to help others without prejudice. I cried during most of the story not because it was sad, but because I was being shown what a Christian should do and how they do it without judgment. 

Tait has a heart for babies and is very convicted over abortion. I know this is a hot subject for some but the author lets us see how a person can love the unwanted. The moment Tait utters the words “I will adopt the baby,” my heart rejoiced. It’s not often that someone will take on a responsibility that he has committed to. I’m not sure if I wanted Eden to want her child or to leave and let Tait do what he  was called to do. I think the little girl in me that so desperately wanted my mom to want me hurt for Haven who Eden was ready to walk away from. 

I loved the last part of the book because we meet a woman who is so opposite Tait yet seems to have the same heart for helping  others.  Maya is a spitfire at times but a marriage is in the works. Oh how I loved reading  how Tait and Maya go through counseling and meet each other’s parents. I couldn’t get enough of seeing how they compliment each other. Maya became to really grow on me as I realized how compassionate she was about other people. The story is one I need to cherish for awhile. Let us remember that somewhere out there are people who need to know Jesus. We can’t let  one opportunity pass us without reaching out in love to those who feel unwanted, neglected, unloved and with no hope.

“We’re more concerned with avoiding bad appearances than we are with doing loving things.”
 I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

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

How One Man Turns A Mess into a Miracle
It’s been ten… maybe fifteen years since Eden Pohl waltzed into my brain and settled in. Despite my focused attention on other books, her taunts never strayed far from my hearing.
If you really believed what you say about abortion, you’d tell my story.
You just don’t want to have to write the messy stuff.
Ouch. Worst of all, she was wrong.  And she wasn’t.
I don’t mind attacking the hard things when it’s the right time, but I only had half a story. I knew what would not happen but not what would.
So, she languished there in what is probably the longest pregnancy in fiction.
After my friend, Sandy, killed my dreams of combining Tait and Bentley’s stories and added Tait’s (and therefore Eden’s) into a series, things clicked.  Duh. Tait would need a wife. Being a single parent is hard. It isn’t how God designed things, you know? We’re supposed to have help.  A spouse, extended family, the church.
But sometimes things don’t work in this fallen world.  Sometimes we find ourselves parents—even by choice—without the daily support of another parent. Not only that, sometimes our own parents aren’t in a position to be able to help. Age, illness, or distance can remove us from the God-given networks we should have and don’t.
Finally, our decisions sometimes cause us to isolate ourselves even from God’s family, and the result can mean we don’t have that help that we otherwise would.
One verse came to mind over and over when I planned out the rest of Tait’s story.  
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)
Sometimes the words tried to transform themselves into, “It is not good for a father to be alone, so God will find him a helper parent suitable…”
And I had to silence that voice.
First, because we don’t just change Scripture to suit our purpose. Or rather, we shouldn’t.
Second, because that’s even more out of order than having a baby before marriage.  It happens sometimes—sometimes by choice, as in Tait’s situation. However, the healthiest marriage will usually put a strong emphasis on the marriage relationship first (after the Lord, of course) and then focus on the children.  Why? Because it is best for the children if their parents are in unity. Children find security and strength in knowing their parents love and are committed to each other.
So many times, I started to put that emphasis in the wrong place struggled to get it right. Then one day I realized that this was the very thing I needed to do.  Show that struggle.  I needed to show that Tait’s focus was wrong—that he created problems he could have avoided simply by being a good daddy… but also by being an even better husband.
I hope you’ll enjoy Tait’s story, and I pray that his heart for the unborn will touch your life in a real and tangible way.

Blog Stops

Batya’s Bits, July 29
Among the Reads, July 30
Cultivating Us, August 1
Older & Smarter?, August 6
Back Porch Reads, August 6
Pause for Tales, August 8
Artistic Nobody, August 10 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Lots of Helpers, August 11

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away the grand prize package of a paperback copy of Tempting Tait and an original watercolor of “Tait’s Wedding”!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

4 comments:

  1. This is one of my favorite books this year.

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  2. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review. I really appreciate it.

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  3. This sounds like the compelling Chautona Havig books we've come to love.
    You got me here: "I think the little girl in me that so desperately wanted my mom to want me hurt for Haven who Eden was ready to walk away from." I'm praying you're reminded of our Father's love this week!

    ReplyDelete