About the Book:When the ever-cautious Val Locklier moves cross-country with her son for a secure job, everything she'd planned unravels within the first week. After Val reluctantly agrees to rent an apartment from her best friend's brother, an unexpected chance at an elite filmmakers' mentorship ignites fresh hope for a dream career. But as Val's community begins to expand, so do her insecurities, especially those heightened by her growing attraction to a certain friendly landlord.
Pastor Miles McKenzie returns home from a short-term mission trip to discover that not only does he have an intriguing new tenant living upstairs, he's also been reassigned to a local ministry on life support. Disillusioned and restless, he distracts himself by throwing his energy into a host of new projects--not the least of which is pursuing Val--without stopping to consider the future.
As Val struggles to stop hiding behind the camera and Miles wrestles with shattered expectations, they'll find that authentic love and sacrifice must go hand in hand.
Read an excerpt from All That It Takes by Nicole Deese on the publisher's website.
My Thoughts:Theoretically, All That It Takes by Nicole Deese lines
up with my bookish ideals. The flowing prose evidenced the author’s skill with
words. The novel bravely tackled heavy topics (disillusionment, unplanned pregnancy,
sharing one’s story, etc.) with compassion. Occasional wisdom-filled statements
made me stop and consider a spiritual truth. Yet, it took me over three weeks
to read All That It Takes. The plot felt slow to me. I didn’t
connect with Val until around page 200, when she explained partial details
surrounding her pregnancy to both Miles and the reader.
All That It Takes by Nicole Deese possessed positive
qualities and concluded with a stunningly beautiful ending. I know many fellow
readers love this book, but it is not a favorite of mine. 3.5 Stars.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of
this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.
