"The House that Love Built"--Author Beth Wiseman's touching romance brings together a family made with hearts and hope

THE HOUSE THAT LOVE BUILT  by Beth Wiseman

Brooke has only loved one man. Owen's heart is filled with bitterness. Can a mysterious house bring them together for a second chance at love?


In the small town of Smithville, Texas, Brooke Holloway is raising six-year-old Meghan and ten-year-old Spencer on her own two years after her husband's death. Being a single-mom and running the family's local hardware store keep her busy.


While Meghan longs for a daddy, Spencer has threatened to run away if Brooke even goes out on a date. But the last thing on Brooke's mind is falling in love. When a stranger moves to town and buys a house with a mysterious past, Brooke can't contain her curiosity. As she spends time with the new owner, she wonders if maybe God is giving her another chance at happiness.


Owen Saunders fled the big city to start over in a small, rural town famous for baking the world's largest gingerbread man. Then he bought an old house to restore-for all the wrong reasons. If anything needs restoration, it is Owen's heart in the aftermath of his failed marriage. With little hope and lost faith, Owen is tempted by happiness when he meets Brooke, but his heart remains sealed shut. As they learn more about Owen's house, one thing becomes obvious to both of them: God has put them together for a reason.

MY REVIEW 

A house made of brick and mortar is not a home unless love lives there. A family may share genetics and blood history, or it could be a collection of misfits brought together through need, companionship, and love. In "The House that Love Built", author Beth Wiseman beautifully illustrates through words how the emotions and ideology of family and friendship eventually blur along the lines, and something wonderful and unique is born. Brooke Holloway has learned to keep moving forward, despite the devastating loss of her true love, her husband Travis. Dealing with his death, raising their two young children, and running her family's hardware business are what drives her days. She doesn't think that there will ever be another love in her life. Owen Saunders is a bitter man whose disastrous marriage and painful divorce have left him mistrustful and isolated from even thinking of another romantic relationship. He buys an old house to renovate in Smithville, TX--not because he really wants to live there--but to spite his ex-wife, Virginia, who has long dreamed of buying such a house. Owen and Brooke meet when he begins his many trips to the hardware store for supplies. She has long been curious about the Old Hadley Mansion, the house that Owen now owns, and she has an itch to see inside the place and find out if rumors of a hidden treasure are really true. Eventually Owen and Brooke form a friendship, and over time their relationship deepens into something more--but will past hurt and loss keep them from reaching for a bright and happy future? The Lord above truly does work in mysterious ways--his master plan has long been in place, and we come into it with his eyes upon us. Beth Wiseman is an author who writes with humor, poignancy, hope, and faith, and in "The House that Love Built", it is hearts and hope that bring together a one-of-a-kind family made with love. Recommended for those who realize that acceptance, forgiveness, and redemption are ours to be had when we allow love and abiding faith to light our way.
 
Review Copy Gratis Thomas Nelson Publishers via Booksneeze