Never the Bride by Cheryl McKay and Rene Gutteridge (Book Review)

Title: Never the Bride
Authors: Cheryl McKay and Rene Gutteridge
Publisher: Waterbrook

I read this book for a First Wild Card Tour. Go here to read the first chapter of Never the Bride.

First sentence: You don't know me yet, so there is no reason you should care that I'm stuck on a highway with a blowout.

My synopsis: Jessie was a hardcore romantic. She had kept journals since she was a child - and now - over 100 journals later, she was still filling them with fantasies of Mr. Perfect and how he would propose. Only in real life she is having a hard time even getting a date.

Blake is Jessie's best friend and has been since they were young - but somewhere along the way Jessie's feelings became more romantic. Unfortunately Blake seems to have eyes for everyone else but her. She has never shared her feelings for him with anyone.

Upon returning home one night after an unsuccessful attempt at speed dating, she finds a man waiting outside her condo. Feeling a little reckless because of her evening, she confronts him and calls 911. He doesn't leave even as the officers arrive in their squad car. This is when she discovers that they cannot see her mystery man.

The officers leave, chalking up her 'stalker' to it being Valentine's Day, the unsuccessful speed dating, and assuming she has had too much to drink. What Jessie discovers is that her mystery man is claiming to be God - in human form. All He asks of her is that she surrender the writing of her life/love story to Him rather than fantasizing about it in her journals. There are a couple of things she needs to do along the way though - like giving away her proposals and blogging. Jessie takes a 'step of faith' and quits her job to open Stone Serenades with her sister Brooklyn. They are going to help clueless men plan the most magnificent proposals of marriage to their would-be brides.

My thoughts: This was such a fun read - lots of humor throughout. You can imagine the jokes that can abound if God were walking around in human form. But the bigger impact of the book was actually beginning to wonder what it would be like if we treated our relationship with God as if he were our best friend and we were able to carry on conversations with Him face to face. How different would our lives look? What would happen if we took that 'step of faith' and quit trying to control things ourselves and let the One who made us take control? I laughed, I cried, I couldn't put this one down! If you get the opportunity to read it - I suggest you do! What was extra cool was that this book was a screenplay (The Ultimate Gift) that was adapted into a book!

Never the Bride
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook, June 2009
ISBN: 978-0-307-44498-1
320 pages