Jessica Kate’s heartfelt and romantic debut proves that love always comes in God’s own time.
Natalie Groves once had big dreams. But soon after her fiancé, Jeremy Walters, inexplicably broke off their engagement and left town, her father was diagnosed with cancer. Now tasked with keeping her family afloat, Natalie’s grand plans have evaporated . . . and God feels very far away.
Fast-forward … far away.
Fast-forward seven years, and Jeremy is back in Charlottesville with an infant son and years of regrets. When his niece, Lili, lands on his doorstep in need of a place to stay, Jeremy needs help—and fast.
An internship opening finally presents Natalie a chance at her dream job, but she needs a second income to work around it—and the only offer available is Jeremy’s. They could be the solutions to one another’s problems, provided they don’t kill each other in the process. When they join forces, sparks fly. But they both know there’s a thin line between love and hate . . . and that love will turn out to be the best decision—or the biggest mistake—of all.
This inspirational contemporary read is a standalone novel, though it also features characters from Jessica Kate’s forthcoming novel, A Girl’s Guide to the Outback (coming January 2020).
Book length: approximately 90,000 words. Includes a reading group guide.
“A stunning debut . . . This tale of love and redemption will stay with you long after you’ve closed the book. A must-read.” —Rachel Hauck, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress
“Witty. Charming. Heartfelt. I could go on and on about Jessica Kate’s debut novel. From its highly relatable characters to its pitch-perfect dialogue, Love and Other Mistakes is a delightful, romantic read filled with just the right amount of sass. I lost count of the number of times I laughed out loud as I watched Natalie and Jem navigate their relationships, careers, and faith. Definitely one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read lately, and I can’t wait to see what’s next from Jessica Kate!” —Melissa Tagg, Carol Award–winning author of Now and Then and Always and the Walker Family series
“Love and Other Mistakes wraps a poignant and warm look at relationships within a smart, sly, and knowing comedic voice. Readers of Sally Thorne and Bethany Turner will be immediately at home with Natalie: an all-too-real heroine who balances whip-smart agency with an endearing vulnerability and whose intersection with long-lost Jeremy helps her forge a path to confidence and discover the woman she was always meant to be. Kate’s unputdownable debut recognizes that all human relationships—familial, friendship, romantic—are worth the keen eye and clever insight of her talented pen.” —Rachel McMillan, author of the Van Buren and DeLuca Mysteries
“If you’re looking for a story with sass on top of style, or a fresh voice pumped full of fun, you need to read Love and Other Mistakes. Then after you’ve enjoyed this—and I’m confident you will—make a date with whatever this exciting new author writes next!” —David Rawlings, author of The Baggage Handler
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Ever since I read the premise for this book, I was eager to get my hands on it! This debut romance features witty banter and relatable characters while showcasing the messy things of life with strokes of humor.
First of all, I’m a fan of the love/hate trope because the story begins with a mountain of complications between the two main characters and it’s always interesting to see how things gets untangled. Another element that made the story engaging was the heroine. I found myself rooting for her success from the very first page!
All in all, this was a solid debut from Jessica Kate, and I’m looking forward to her future stories!
I received a copy from the author, all opinions are my own.
The book was full of emotions. If anything could go wrong to the cast of characters, it would. The story was a series of up and downs. At times I was laughing out loud, at others I was near tears. The lead characters felt very real to me. The issues that they encountered in the book are very relatable since they are things we each experience. I would recommend this book as it reminds us that we are all human and everyone makes mistakes. I received a copy of the book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I have conflicted feelings about this book. It is listed as a christian romance so, that will either be appealing to you or not. For me it didn’t really matter either way, as I read across a broad spectrum of romance. I had bigger issues with this book. To start, I really didn’t find the book romantic or even really a romance. The supposedly main couple is just two of many, many characters. Without giving away spoilers, some mistakes can’t be taken back and for me that was the case in this book. Add to that, the unlikableness of the large ensemble cast of characters and the almost watching at trainwreck feel to it all and this book just didn’t work for me. I felt for Natalie and I wish she had thought more of herself. She seemed like a genuinely good person and I thought she deserved so much more than she got from both Jeremy and this book. As for Jeremy….Seriously?!! Dude, what is wrong with you?!! Clueless, careless and unrepentant is not a good look on anyone, let alone the hero from what you are supposed to believe is a romantic story.
While this book was a good read, the romantic-comedy description just did not apply. There was a lack of humor for that to be the case. A few characters are likable, but there is an explosive train wreck of family dysfunction continuing to devolve. Some find restoration and renewal and readjust self-identity on a firmer foundation. There is not a typical happily ever after for others who devolve further in rebellion.
What Jessica Kate emphasizes is placing our identities in things, approval, people or anything that results in quicksand. The power of forgiveness for self as well as others is illustrated well her. Both make this a worthwhile read and the catalyst for me to finish to the end.
I received a complimentary copy of the book without obligation. This review is my opinion.
This is my first book by this author and my Christian fiction book. I didn’t know there was such thing as Christian fiction when I requested this book. I did put the book on hold a couple of times before I finally picked it up and finished. I am use to reading contemporary romances and rom coms. I not sure I would pick this type of book again. When I read the blurb I thought the book would be about something different.
A fun, entertaining read with flawed characters and realistic issues. An interesting debut novel from this author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.
Thanks to #netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review purposes. Overall I really liked this book. The only thing that downgraded it for me is that I felt like some of her tone was almost too personal and slightly inappropriate (i.e. referencing body parts) for a Christian fiction. Chattiness is fine, but some parts were too much. I would still classify this as Christian fiction chick lit.
That being said, this is a wonderful book about the importance of second chances and especially about forgiveness. In this world where a record everything is kept digitally, letting go of hurt can be hard. While some of the issues were resolved by the end of the book, several more were not. I think that reflects real life. I would definitely read more books by Jessica Kate in the future.
Natalie Groves was dumped by her fiancé 7 years earlier and her father diagnosed with cancer. God just doesn’t care about her. So she thinks. Now Jeremy is back in town with a baby son and Natalie is helping her parents with their finances after the medical bills pile up. She just lost her job and she agrees to nanny Jeremy’s baby. What? Lots of issues in this debut novel, and they are handled well by the author. Redemption really works as both Nat and Jem discover and God wasn’t so far away after all.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers via Net Galley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
While I was reading this book, a song from the 1970’s kept running through my head: “If There’s a God in Heaven (What’s He Waiting for?)” by Elton John. Most people who believe in God have occasional lapses in faith when they look around and see the poverty, suffering and pain and a Creator who doesn’t seem to be paying attention to any of it.
The main character in this book–Natalie–doesn’t use those words, but is definitely subconsciously asking “Where’s God?” throughout this book. She’s dealing with a pile of problems that just seem to get bigger. Three of her biggest problems: 1) A father who has cancer; 2) mounting medical bills that she can’t pay; 3) Her company just decided to close the local branch of their office and eliminate all of the jobs in it, including hers.
Then in marches problem number four to add more stress to her life. She’s just run into her ex-fiance, who dumped her 10 weeks before their wedding and left town with no explanation. Jeremy “Jem” Walters is back—seven years later—and he’s not alone. He’s holding a nine-month-old baby boy named Oliver who calls him ‘da-da.’
Natalie is angry that he moved out of her life so easily, pursuing his dreams of a college education and becoming a journalist. Her life was shattered when he left. Then, her father fell ill shortly after and she had to forego college and a dream career in youth ministry so she could take any job that would help pay her father’s medical bills.
She heart rips painfully when she realizes that he fulfilled another one of their dreams—to become a father. They had talked about having a family together. Oliver wasn’t her child—but another woman’s child.
Then, to make matters even worse, Jem asks her to take care of his son during the day while he goes to his job at a local newspaper. At first she refuses. But she has no luck finding another job and the medical bills keep coming, so she decides to take the job, provided Jem allows her to also pursue an internship with an Australian minister who is extending his world famous youth ministry program to their town.
Of course, the more time they spend together, the more their attraction and love is rekindled. But there are many problems they need to overcome. Oliver gets very sick, and they discover he has diabetes. So they are forced to work together to ensure that Oliver stays healthy and his blood sugar remains constant.
Then there’s the problem of Jem’s 16 year old niece, Lili. She’s living temporarily with Jem because her parents (Jem’s brother Michael and his wife Stephani) are having marital problems. Lili is devastated when she finds out her father is having an affair with her art teacher. That’s bad enough, but the art teacher is also the aunt of her good friend Nick. Keeping the secret of the affair is tearing Lili up inside. Unable to deal with the lies and deceit, she runs away.
As more and more complicated problems erupt, Natalie fights to keep her faith in what seems like unjust and unfair consequences for leading a life that she believes God asked her to live. Will she overcome the problems? Will they find Lili? Will the affair between Michael and the art teacher be exposed? Will Michael and Stephani be able to reconcile? And will Natalie enjoy her HEA (happily ever after) with Jem and Oliver?
Guess you’ll just have to read the book to find out. (Sorry—I can’t spoil it for you!)
This book makes you realize that no matter how dismal and dark you own life seems at the moment, that there are others in our world who are also facing difficulties and painful situations. And that God works in our lives in unexpected ways to bring out the best possible outcome—often an outcome you and I could never had imagined.