Book Review and Giveaway: Hatteras Girl

Book Details
Title: Hatteras Girl
Author: Alice J Wisler
2010, Bethany House
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0732-7

Book Summary (from the back cover):
Jackie Donovan prays for two things: an honest, wonderful man to marry and to own a bed-and-breakfast on the beautiful Outer Banks of North Carolina. In the meantime, she works for Lighthouse Views, writing articles about local business owners, and intrepidly goes on the blind dates set up by her well-meaning but oh-so-clueless relatives.

There's one specific property Jackie dreams of purchasing: The Bailey House, a fabulous old home located right next to the ocean, a place where Jackie spent many happy childhood afternoons. But the Bailey House has strange stories and secrets surrounding it - not to mention its outrageous price tag.

When Jackie meets handsome Davis Erickson, who holds the key to the Bailey property, she believes God has answered both her prayers. But as Jackie learns some disturbing details about Davis's past, she begins to wonder if her heart has lead her astray. Will she risk her long-held dreams to find out the truth?

My Review:
I liked this book. I had a beautiful location as a backdrop - the coast of North Carolina. The main character was nice, fun-loving and intelligent young woman. She has a variety of unique family and friends in the little town who liven up the novel. Her home life is spiced up by her best friend, Minnie, and her 5-year-old son, Zane, who lives with Jackie after Minnie's husband dies.

I would say that it's a fairly predictable story - there's the good guy and the bad guy - and I of course Jackie falls for the wrong one. People drop hints along the way to help her out, but she doesn't take them into account which gets her in some trouble. But, of course, that's what moves the story along and I did not feel like she was a stupid character overall, just a few obvious oversights that she made.

I liked the quirkiness of the characters and of the little town they lived in. The story of the Bailey House is woven into the current events and I loved learning about Mr. and Mrs. Bailey and how they ran their B&B. Also the friendship between her and Minnie adds a lot to the story along with Minnie and Zane's struggle to cope with their loss.

Lastly, this book is about realizing dreams and trusting God. Jackie must trust God to fulfill her dreams, which she discovers is not always how she predicted it would be.

Disclosure: The book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. All opinions in this post are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.

Giveaway!
Win my copy of Hatteras Girl by Alice J. Wisler!

This is my previously read copy (only by me!), but it is in excellent condition and I thought that instead of swapping it on the paperback swap or letting it collect dust on my bookshelf that I would give it away to one of my readers. =)

You do not have to be a follower of my blog to enter this giveaway - but I'd love for you to be if you like what you see.

To ENTER - Please fill out the form below. Any comments on this post are welcome, but WILL NOT COUNT as entries. I've made this one super easy to enter!

Giveaway ends on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 11:59 pm PST. Open to US and Canadian residents only. The winner will be drawn from Random.org and announced on Thursday, December 9th by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.