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The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck Kindle Edition
With a powerful voice, penetrating insight, and plenty of wit, Bethany Turner explodes onto the scene with a debut that isn't afraid to deal with the thorny realities of living the Christian life.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherRevell
- Publication dateOctober 3, 2017
- File size4004 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
From the Back Cover
Up to now, Sarah Hollenbeck made her very comfortable living as a well-known, bestselling author of steamy romance novels that would leave the members of her new church blushing. Now she's trying to reconcile her past with the future she's chosen. She's still under contract with her publisher and on the hook with her enormous fan base for the kind of book she's not sure she can write anymore. She's discovering that the church might frown on her tithing on royalties from a "scandalous" book. And the fact that she's falling in love with her pastor . . . well, let's just say that doesn't make things any easier.
With a powerful voice, penetrating insight, and plenty of humor, novelist Bethany Turner explodes onto the scene with a witty debut that isn't afraid to deal with the thorny realities of living the Christian life.
"The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck is a rare treat packed with humor, hope, and heart. Sarah's struggles are real and nearly tangible, and she feels like a friend we've all had. I laughed with her and fell in love alongside her and couldn't wait to hear her whole story. What a charming, delightful book!"--Liz Johnson, bestselling author of The Red Door Inn
Bethany Turner is the director of administration for Rock Springs Church in Southwest Colorado. A former VP/operations manager of a commercial bank and a three-time cancer survivor (all before she turned thirty-five), Bethany knows that when God has plans for your life, it doesn't matter what anyone else has to say. Because of that, she's chosen to follow his call to write. She lives with her husband and their two sons in Colorado, where she writes for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight. For more, visit www.seebethanywrite.com.
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B06XC2MV2Z
- Publisher : Revell (October 3, 2017)
- Publication date : October 3, 2017
- Language : English
- File size : 4004 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 306 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #463,405 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,270 in Contemporary Christian Romance
- #5,882 in Religious Romance (Kindle Store)
- #32,292 in American Literature (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Bethany Turner has been writing since the second grade, when she won her first writing award for explaining why, if she could have lunch with any person throughout history, she would choose John Stamos. She stands by this decision. Bethany now writes pop culture–infused rom-coms for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight. She lives in Southwest Colorado with her husband, whom she met in the nineties in a chat room called Disco Inferno. As sketchy as it sounds, it worked out pretty well in this case, and they are now the proud parents of two teenagers. Connect with Bethany at seebethanywrite.com or across social media @seebethanywrite, where she clings to the eternal dream that John Stamos will someday send her a friend request. Text her any time at (970) 387-7811.
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It has been quite a while since I read a book that not only made me laugh out loud, but laugh out loud multiple, multiple times! Turner's wit started in the very first pages of this novel, and she was like the Energizer Bunny, she kept going, and going, and going with clever comparisons, comments, and remarks that made me keep on laughing and smiling throughout the whole book.
Turner was born in the early seventies like I was, so both of us were influenced by the pop culture of the '80s. She made several references to that time period in her book, which also made me smile a lot, having a common bond. I especially liked when she mentioned my fav female singer of the time.
Check out these witty lines, some of which refer to '80s movies and singers:
"Obviously God had placed her in my life, like my own personal Christian Mr. Miyagi."
"With nary a care given to the feelings of the miserable divorcee who would one day read their work while attempting to bury her pain beneath enough cheesecake to bestow diabetes upon a small village."
"On my left shoulder was a little white angel in a broomstick skirt and a peasant top – in my imagination bearing a strong resemblance to Roma Downey. … On my right shoulder was a demon in a sexy red dress and stilettos, looking a lot like early Stevie Nicks, but with fewer layers and less eye makeup."
"Was I actually glowing? I wouldn't have had difficulty believing it. I remembered that in The Ten Commandments, Charlton Heston had been glowing when he came down the mountain, carrying the tablets. Of course, his hair had also gone completely white at the same time, and that effect of being in God's presence was slightly less welcome."
Not only did I enjoy this novel because I adored Turner's distinctive voice and her knack for writing humorous sentences, but I also loved this book because it was so accurately portrayed the simple fact of something I say all the time: "Christians are real people too!"
A lot of non-believers seem to have a skewed view of what the picture of a "real Christian" looks like. Can a "real Christian" woman be strongly attracted physically to a good-looking man? Absolutely! Do "real Christians" struggle with keeping their sensual feelings under control, knowing sex is supposed to occur only between a married couple? You bet! I applaud author Turner for realistically depicting heroine Sarah and hero Ben—PASTOR hero Ben that is—grappling with this issue.
I also appreciated the "relatability" of this novel – as I certainly could relate to several things Sarah was going through during different parts of this book. I was raised in a practicing Catholic household, but then stopped believing in God in college, then returned to Him with open arms and a love bigger than ever when I was pregnant with my second child.
Although Sarah had never been a Christian before, the story follows her through becoming a Christian, and learning all the "rules" and expectations; and getting to know and understand God better through Bible study, church, study of Scripture; and with the love, help, and suggestions of other Christians. So, even though I grew up knowing a lot of these things, I went through it all again on my journey back to God, but went "super in depth" in all these areas, just like Sarah did, trying to understand and live the life of a Christian.
There are soooo many books stored on my Kindle right now that are on my TBR list, and because of that, even if I really like an author and have a couple of her books downloaded, I still wait to read her next book because I try to "rotate" all the authors around. The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck was so awesome that it raised Bethany Turner up to the level of one of my Top Ten Favorite Authors. The excellence of her debut novel prompted me to immediately purchase her sophomore book, Wooing Cadie McCafrey, and I'll start reading that book this coming week. I encourage you, and will also tell all my family and friends, to get out there and grab your own copies of both these romantic comedy novels!
As a pastor's wife, this gave me some laughter as I remembered what it was like in the beginning when my husband and I were dating. Some of the funnier scenes are ones that are quite familiar to my hubs and I, so much so I had to read him some snippets. While I read this on Kindle, I think I am going to get a couple of hard copies- one for myself and one for a friend.
The beginning of the book was a tad slow, which is why I gave this book 4 stars. ( I do understand that this is the author's first book, so there's grace there!) Once you get into the well written characters, throw in some relational drama and jealousy, the book takes off and you won't want to stop reading. I enjoyed the many pop culture references and how she worked contemporary life into the book.
This story is a great interpretation of how someone who is not a Christian might traverse the journey to faith. (I could read into it a bit with the Saul/Paul conversion story.) With that said, I think those who may or may not be a Christian could easily relate to the characters in the book. As the story went on, I found myself zoning in on finishing the story, much to my laundry's dismay. ;) Sarah and Ben are lovable characters and I already find myself thinking of what their story would be like a few years from now. This book doesn't fit a specific mold of CF, and I actually think that's attractive. While you get a good ending, it certainly doesn't unfold how you might expect! Funny, heartfelt and gut-wrenchingly honest, I look forward to reading more from Bethany Turner.
Top reviews from other countries
There are so many outstanding lines and paragraphs, but here is a favourite part:
“There are certain words that feel to your soul like that first shower after you’ve been in the woods camping for four days. That’s how I felt about Ben’s declaration of love.” Sigh...... ♥️ I could relate to that so strongly because of my husband.
I do have one complaint. I’m done the book. I need Piper’s story. I even need Laura’s story. Just a suggestion.... errr.... polite demand.
Bethany keeps the ultimate balance between humour, discussing life's tricky issues with confidence, intelligence and sincerity, and keeping the suspence throughout.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is able to read (well, over fourteen at any rate).