One of the perks of being a writer is that I occasionally get to read other authors’ works before they are released to the public. There’s the “sneak peek” factor, of course. When I get to read something before it’s released, I can pretend that I’m one of the cool kids for a bit. Enjoying the story, though? That’s the icing on the cake.
You may be familiar with Elizabeth Maddrey’s Peacock Hill series –A Heart Restored, A Heart Reclaimed, A Heart Realigned, and A Heart Redirected. If not, you can read a little bit about each book in this post. This week, though, I got to read book five – A Heart Rearranged.
You may recall that, in book four, the wedding planner Sean tried to avoid the florist Vanessa because she was a little too aggressively interested. You may also recall that Sean preferred to use a specific baker – a colleague named Topher.
I was fascinated by Topher. He had some interesting views on life, and he was a baker. Admit it. Whether it’s baking or washing dishes, there’s something sexy about a guy who knows what to do in the kitchen. And I kind of like a guy who isn’t afraid to think outside the box. In book four, Topher was grappling with a question about how to live out a certain aspect of his faith, and what made him stand out to me was that he wasn’t afraid to ask the hard questions and seek the answers from God. Topher wasn’t content to fall into line with the status quo. He wanted to make sure that his actions matched God’s character.
As for Vanessa…I’ll admit I wasn’t super crazy for her in book four. She was trying a little too hard to catch Sean’s attention. Desperation was never intended to be worn as an accessory, and yet it seemed to be a standard part of Vanessa’s wardrobe.
A Heart Rearranged took both of these characters, developed them further, and showed them in a whole new light. It was great to see Topher step out of the supporting character role and get to shine in a story all his own. He is quite a guy. There’s a lot more to him than wedding cakes and a nontraditional name. Discovering who Vanessa was underneath the perception I’d have of her in book four, though, was the real treat. Everybody has a story, right? We all know that, and yet so often we are quick to judge people – and characters – by what we see on the surface, without bothering to peel back the layers and understand who they really are.
There’s a lesson in there for all of us, isn’t there?
A Heart Rearranged should be released in a couple of months – late August or early September. Stay tuned to Inspy Romance for updates. In the meantime, though, comment below to be entered in a giveaway. One winner will be randomly selected to receive an e-book copy of her choice of any one of the first four Peacock Hill books.
So tell me, what lessons have you learned (or re-learned) through fiction recently?
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
Hi Heather, Thanks for giving us a sneak peek of Elizabeth’s upcoming release. The characters sound like they’re going to have a roller coaster ride together in their own romance story! :)
People can change and you need to give them a chance.
You definitely can’t judge a book by it’s cover!! One thing I’ve learned lately is people deal with things every day that others don’t know about. I just read At First Spark by Liwen Ho, dealing with male infertility. We don’t hear about that. We hear of all a woman goes through, not the men. Also, I’m reading a book now dealing with alcoholism. One thing in there standing out is some of the characters are blaming the woman for their friend drinking. How often we blame others for what we need to take responsibility for.
You definitely can’t judge a book by it’s cover!! One thing I’ve learned lately is people deal with things every day that others don’t know about. Also, I’m reading a book now dealing with alcoholism. One thing in there standing out is some of the characters are blaming the woman for their friend drinking. How often we blame others for what we need to take responsibility for.
Everyone faces things in their lives that offer them the opportunity to be refined. We just need to be open to them.
I remember a great quote I read once….you either “get it”, or you “get it again”. I choose to get it the first time, if possible.
Haha, I saw the post title and thought, wait, is someone else writing a similar story to Elizabeth’s next one? I, too, am privileged to be an early reader for her, and yeah. I didn’t want to like Vanessa… and I didn’t always like her, either. But E made her sympathetic all the same. This is a good one!
I just finished The Governess of Penwythe Hall by Sarah E. Ladd. It’s a really good book. The lesson I relearned is about fear. Fear can paralyze you. But with God, His strength can pull us through anything. We have to face our fears. We have to stand up to them. God did not give us a spirit of fear!
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing and peaking our interest. I am intrigued and inspired by Elizabeth Maddrey’s Peacock Hill stories. I am reading Janet W. Ferguson’s The Art of Rivers: A Coastal Hearts novel. A heart breaking story about addiction, cravings, brokenness, recovery, and forgiveness. “The past has light and shadows we don’t see without looking from a different perspective.” Enjoy how Janet diffuses the seriousness of the topic with humor. My favorite is a beach scene for River names the crabs: Chloe, Big Boy, Fred and Ginger. Laughter is the best medicine. Beats despair. Best wishes.
Topher sounds yummy. Wow that is a really great question. Hmm I think that is why I like reading christian books. I am always either learning or relearning something about how or why I should be living in Gods way. I have not read her books yet. I would like to start with book 1
I love being a beta reader too, very special feeling!❤️
I love the Peacock Hill series and am looking forward to Topher and Vanessa’s story. I love when stories remind us that we don’t know a person’s history and not to judge but love them. Sometimes that is challenging to say the least. Can’t wait to see what Vanessa’s story is and how Elizabeth weaves in her change of heart, as well as what Topher is challenged with in getting to know the real Vanessa.
Don’t enter me in the drawing. I have all of these already, though a few were the arc’s. :)
So glad you could visit today, Narelle! It was a fun story to read. :-)
Absolutely! I always say that as long as there’s breath in the body, there’s hope. ^_^
You’re so right, Trudy! I recently read a book that dealt with drug addiction, and it showed the addiction from both sides – the side of a person who loved the addict and the side of the addict. It was the first time I’d seen both perspectives represented in the same book like that, and it cast the whole thing in a new light. It showed the pain they both went through, and the choices they made that were fueled by that pain. It reminded me of all the times we judge people – we too often judge addicts and -let’s face it – the people who stay with them. There’s so much more going on underneath the surface, though – so much that we can’t see. We would all benefit if we each focused a bit more on grace and a bit less on judging others actions.
Amen, Susan! I was talking to someone recently about some of the refining fires that we each go through. I listed marriage and parenthood as two refining fires that are common to a lot of people. They each show us things about ourselves that we don’t necessarily like, and God uses them both to grow, teach, and refine us. Regardless of the particular refining fire that we face at any given moment, though, we can always know that it’s by God’s grace – that His love for us is part of what fuels His desire to see us grow in our faith. And I’m with you – I’d rather “get it” than “get it again.” ^_^
Ha! I’m not sure whether that would have been funny (someone else publishing a similar book) or scary. I’m glad you enjoyed the book, too. I mean, I know I’m always right *cough, cough* but it’s good to feel validated. ^_^
Indeed! God did not give us that spirit of fear. He didn’t create us in His image so that we could cower in the shadows. I’m so glad you could join the conversation today, Nicole! :-)
I’m glad you could stop by today, Renate! Thank you for sharing about Janet’s book!
Ha – I’m with you! Sometimes I’ll find a book on sale, but it’ll be book 3 or 4 in a series. So while the price is tempting, I have to go all the way back to book 1 and read that blurb and decide if I want to spend money on it. If I do then I’ll start there with book 1. Just thinking about reading a series out of order makes me twitchy! ^_^
*fist bump* I love beta reading for others, and I love having beta readers. It’s a happily symbiotic relationship. ^_^
Thank you for stopping by today Andrea! You won’t be disappointed when you get to book 5. You’ll love Topher and Vanessa and their story. (Okay, you may want to kick a few shins now and then, but you’ll come to love both characters. What’s a novel without a little conflict now and then, right?) ^_^
You can’t judge a book by it’s cover and people DO change. Hopefully, that usually for the better!
Hi Heather. It is great to see you supporting fellow writer Elizabeth. I am sure this will be another perfect read. Hugs.
Yes!! You are so right!! Everyone makes choices, we all to live with our choices, and there are circumstances where we’d have made different choices if we’d known other facts. As Dr. Phil says, no matter how flat the pancake, there are still two sides. We definitely need to give others a little grace, too.
I can’t wait until Elizabeth’s next Peacock Hill novel. I love all her novels as well as yours. I have all of them.
I’ve only read the first two in the series so far. I have the 3rd one so I’ll have to play catch-up soon. Thanks for the sneak peek.
Sometimes it’s hard for us to understand what’s causing our own motivations for our actions and feelings so it’s really hard to know this about someone else.
Love is glorious and complicated and unexpected! Thanks for the intro to such a fun series!
Heather, thank you for the post!
It resonated with me. We’ve just finished our kids camp and the theme was – Who am I?
Isn’t it interesting how we see ourselves and each other compared to how God sees us?!
I’m praying that our kids will remember who they are through the blood of Jesus!
I’m learning to be patient just as God is patient with us!
It’s great to *see* you Kathy! Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you and your family are all doing well!
You’re so right Perrianne! People change all the time. That’s part of this wonder of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, right? Even the unbeliever changes, but as believers submitting to Christ, hopefully you’re right and that we’re all changing for the better! ^_^
Yay Linda! I love readers – especially the ones who like what I write. ^_^
Wow. There’s so much depth in your comment, I’m not even sure where to start. We talked about this in Sunday School just this morning, discussing Paul and his comment that he often does what he doesn’t want to do but fails to do the things he wants to do. We are wild, crazy, conflicted beings, and the flesh and spirit are always at war within us, and that complicates so much of our lives. Understanding why we do certain things, though (beyond just saying it’s “the flesh”) is vitally important, though. We need to know ourselves. I can’t help but think that it’s when we truly know ourselves that we begin to experience real growth in our Christian walk.
Anitra – thank you for visiting the blog! I hope you have a marvelous weekend!
Amen! We are so, so many things…in Christ. We are forgiven, righteous, redeemed, bold, grace-filled…in Christ. We are strong, powerful, and meek…in Christ. We are so many things in Christ, and apart from Him we are nothing. That’s a great prayer – something we need to be praying for all the children we work with and come into contact with through church, but also for many of the adults, too. No matter how well we learn the lessons, we are often quick to forget them. Blessings to you!
Patience can be a real struggle, yet scripture is clear. I often think of patience in terms of forgiveness, which probably tells you exactly where I most struggle with patience. No matter how many times we forgive someone, Christ commands us to forgive them again. To extend grace and mercy over and over and over again is the epitome of patience to me. Yet that’s exactly what God does to us – He forgives, forgives, forgives, forgives some more, and then forgives again and again and again… He never ceases to love His children, let alone show them grace and mercy. There is discipline in there, and there are consequences, but His patience is infinite. Thank you for sharing!!
So true <3