If it ain’t broke, why’s she so intent on fixing it?
Tessa Booker hates romance.
For twenty-five years, Tessa Booker has insisted that romance is something Hollywood cooked up to sell books and movies. Yes, she knows the word existed before movies. She doesn’t care. That’s her story, and she’s sticking to it.
So when Ross gets a gentle nudge from Mallory Barrows to look into what Tessa’s doing every day while he’s at work, he discovers a romance in the works–one that sounds a little too “ripped from the pages” of his life!
Who is this woman, and what has she done with his wife?
Armed with advice from 101 Ways to Romance Your Wife and a copy of the manuscript he printed while she was napping, he’s determined to figure out what’s up with his wife… and if maybe a little romance wouldn’t be a good thing after all.
In a twist of the “on the rocks trope,” this book introduces the next island in the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.
The Independence Islands Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.
My thoughts: I love how this story is so unusual (in the best way possible!) and got me to thinking about the characters and moral of the story long after I read the final page. While this book is part of a series, it can be read and enjoyed on it's own. It might help that the series is written by different authors, giving each story a unique voice.
In Bookers on the Rocks we get to know Tessa and Ross, a married couple happily settled into their marriage and life. Or, are they? I love that this story gives readers a nudge to think about what constitutes a happy marriage and made me look at how I am being purposeful in cultivating my own marriage. This is a wonderful book to pick up and enjoy!
I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review and is in no way influenced by receiving a complimentary copy.
Purchase a copy here! This post contains affiliate links.
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
Who Needs Romance? My Marriage Is Great as It Is!
Writing a book about a couple who are in love, devoted to each other, and don’t have marriage problems is… challenging. Let’s face it. Most books about married couples, especially ones “on the rocks,” are going to have fights, an affair (at least of the emotional variety), or some big thing threatening to send them straight to divorce court.
Mine doesn’t.
In fact, Bookers on the Rocks shows what happens when couples become too comfortable in their routines—so comfortable, in fact, that they become blind to each other’s needs. If you asked Tessa Booker if anything is wrong in her marriage, she’d say no. If you asked her if she wanted anything different, she’d say no. The age old, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality.
Still, if you look at stories in Scripture, you see deep love and even romance in some places. Elkanah, who loved his wife enough to say, “Am I not more to you than ten sons?” Jacob who worked fourteen years to marry the woman he loved. Solomon and his love for the Shulamite woman. While the first two do not make me squirm, Solomon does. That book… oh, that book.
What I think Song of Solomon does is remind us of the Lord’s wooing of His people and how invested the Shulamite woman was in being delighted in her beloved—in all of him. If that isn’t a picture of how we should devote ourselves to our Lord, I don’t know what is.
In Bookers on the Rocks, I explore the possibility that those of us who aren’t naturally romantic might just be missing a vital ingredient in our marriages. A body can look and feel perfectly healthy for years—even decades. But if some essential nutrient is missing in a person’s diet, eventually that body will show it in some way. A lack of calcium can create brittle bones. No one sees the problem until a slight stumble turns into a nasty break.
Did it change how I view my marriage? No… not yet. Then again, yes it did, too. I’m more… aware of what is going on in my marriage these days. I doubt candlelight and roses will ever become a thing in our relationship, but translating what romance might mean and look like to my husband has become something I do think about from time to time. That probably means more Wienerschnitzel and less broccoli, but hey. He did a lot of dishes, dinner, and diapers (my perfect three Ds of romance) when our kids were small. I can endure a hot dog or three thousand, right?
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 10
Livin’ Lit, February 10
lakesidelivingsite, February 11
Sara Jane Jacobs, February 11
She Lives to Read, February 12
Texas Book-aholic, February 12
Book of Ruth Ann, February 12
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, February 13
Rebekah Reads, February 13
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 14
Batya’s Bits , February 14
Inklings and notions, February 15
Simple Harvest Reads, February 15 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, February 16
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, February 16
Robin’s Nest, February 16
Lots of Helpers, February 17
Mypreciousbitsandmusings, February 17
Splashes of Joy, February 18
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, February 18
Artistic Nobody, February 19 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, February 19
For Him and My Family, February 20
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, February 20
CarpeDiem, February 20
deb’s Book Review, February 21
Connect in Fiction, February 21
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 22
Blogging With Carol, February 22
Blossoms and Blessings, February 23
Godly Book Reviews, February 23
Pause for Tales, February 23
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and copy of the book!!
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/10740/bookers-on-the-rocks-celebration-tour-giveaway
Award-winning author Caryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory, and her best-selling stories—over fifty published—delight Christian readers around the world. The prolific writer also enjoys singing the new songs the Lord gives her; you may listen at YouTube. Sharing four children and twenty-to-be grandsugars with Ron, high-school-sweetheart-husband of over fifty years, Caryl and Ron live in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas. The McAdoos wait expectantly for God to open the next door.
RWA award-winning author, 
Dawn Crandall’s debut Gilded Age Victorian romance, The Hesitant Heiress, was a 2015 ACFW Carol award finalist in the debut category and received the 2015 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, the 2015 Write Touch Reader’s Choice Award and the 2015 Romancing the Novel Reader’s Choice Award. Her follow-up novel, The Bound Heart, received the 2016 Laurel Award from Clash of the Titles. Dawn earned a BA in Christian Education from Taylor University. She’s been balancing books and babies lately as her two sons were both born as the four books of her Everstone Chronicles series were being released from Whitaker House from 2014 to 2016. Dawn lives with her husband and two young sons on a hobby farm in her hometown in northeast Indiana.
