Five of today’s Best-selling Christian Authors weave five unique yet connected stories together in this collection where misdirected floral deliveries lead to lives changed.Courting Calla, by Hallee Bridgeman.Ian knows Calla is the woman God has chosen for him, but Calla is hiding something big. Can Calla trust Ian with her secret, or will she let it destroy any possible hope they may have for a … destroy any possible hope they may have for a future?
Seoul in Love,by Alana Terry.
Love was lost a long time ago. A chance meeting in Seoul might change all that forever.
A Kærasti for Clari, by Carol Moncado.
Joel Christiansen delivered flowers to the palace and found his life turned upside down.
Clari Sørenson’s job as social media manager for Eyjania’s Queen Mother keeps her busy. An unexpected treasure hunt with a cute guy might be the vacation she needs.
Between clues and a snow storm, they’re drawn to each other. Her grandparents, and even the Queen Mother, have been after her to find a boyfriend, but is Joel the Kærasti for Clari?
Premeditated Serendipity, by Chautona Havig.
When Wayne Farrell hears about his niece’s floral fiasco, it sparks a plan to mix up his own orders in an attempt to play matchmaker. Reid has his reasons for not pursuing Kelsey… yet, and Wayne’s interference only makes an already difficult situation even more awkward. Premeditated Serendipity—because romance sometimes needs a little shove.
Out of the Blue Bouquet, by Amanda Tru.
When Brooke is left in charge of Crossroads Floral, she accidentally sends the flower deliveries to the wrong people. Unfortunately, some of those wrong people include all of the ex-girlfriends of the most eligible bachelor in town. Are Brooke’s mistakes a complete disaster, or can there be something beautiful in an out-of-the-blue bouquet?
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Courting Calla by Hallee Bridgeman
Calla’s car dies, blocking the exit to the parking garage and Ian comes to her rescue. Someone she’s had a crush on for 3 years. A mistaken delivery of a bouquet puts them into the position of getting to know each other. Calla used to do something different before her job as a file clerk in the building Ian works in. The little bit of mystery surrounding that, that is divulged somewhat earlier on, but what all happened to make that change is alluded to, but not expanded on until later. Beautiful story about forgiveness and healing/growing. Set primarily in Atlanta, we also get a glimpse of time in Haiti. Aside from Calla and Ian, we meet Al, Sami, Penny and some of Ian’s family, including Hettie, Mary Ann and his grandmother.
Seoul in Love by Alana Terry
Jolene has arrived in Seoul for her daughter’s best friend’s wedding. Running in to her ex wasn’t on her radar. A bouquet delivered to him, intended for his ex. These two have a lot of hurts and regrets to work through and Seoul, for reasons I won’t divulge though we are told fairly early on, brings back memories. The characters of Mena and Jin-Sun add a lot to the story and Jin-Sun’s story brings a lot for them to think about, though impacts them differently.
A Kaerasti for Clari by Carol Moncado
Clari is sent on a treasure hunt and Joel is her driver. Joels sister’s shop is part of the treasure hunt. We briefly meet her and her co-worker, as well as Clari’s grandparents and a few other relatives, including Thor. A hint of a mystery is alluded to as well, which is dropped in Clari’s mind as fanciful thinking on the relatives part. A fun story with the treasure hunt stops as well as Joel and Clari getting to know each other. Another enjoyable story.
Premeditated Serendipity by Chautona Having
Reid has been interested in Kelsey for a while now, but is holding back on telling her until his first year as a Christian is over, so he can focus on his relationship with Christ. Kelsey is trying to decide if she wants to move things along. Wayne, who is Reids friend, has his own ideas, just as Kelsey’s Uncle Mel has his. When Reid’s past brings up some unexpected trials, Kelsey realizes she has some things she hasn’t really dealt with. Beautiful story, with characters that reach out to you.
Out of the Blue Bouquet by Amanda Tru
Brooke’s boss, Helen, calls her to tell her she and Tylee are in charge of the flower shop that day and that Tylee has all the information. An unfortunate accident leads to a bigger mess than Brooke could even imagine. Part of her fixing things is heading out with Dylan Masters to make amends. Cute story, with likeable characters and good points of reminder throughout. Lovely story that ties the whole series together due to the flower shop.
Liked how the stories connected to each other
I enjoyed all of this book. And the surprise at the end of the book to bring all of the authors stories together was nice.
Enjoyed. Good story.
This collection was fun to read. Each book was different in place and characters and style of writing, but it was interesting to see how they all fit together. I highly recommend this.
Relaxing and interesting book!
This is a collection of several stand alone Christian romances that all tie together in the end. Good character development and story diversity.
really enjoyed, would recommend
I loved 4 of the 5 stories. Looking forward to more.
Enjoyed reading all the stories all very different but great read.
Cute how all the short stories linked and then the introductions were nice too. Recommend for light reading.
I read these a while back and loved them. Don’t remember exactly why, but I do remember that I really liked them. With the amount of books I read, remembering them
says a lot.
I at first didn’t think I would get beyond the first couple chapters but as I continued to read the book continued to get better.
Intriguing!! These stories blend beautifully and are very entertaining, while being inspirational as well! I thoroughly enjoyed this read!!!!!
Great reading. I got lost in the pages of the book and couldn’t put it down.
Most of the books aren’t that good in this bundle. But the very last book. Out of the Blue Bouquet. Pure gooey sappy romance. Really enjoyed it.
This is a VERY full bundle with full length stories by some fantastic authors! Well worth purchasing and taking the time to read!
Premeditated serendipity
A story about second chances. Reid is trying to succeed in his new job and new life. I definitely do believe in second chances especially with Christ in our lives.
I love that the old book store was made into a prayer room. It sounded like a really nice place. Kelsey played an instrument there and sometimes would sing. Reid goes there to see Kelsey and hear her sing. They are attracted to each other but both are afraid of being rejected.
This is an novella so it is an short read. Sometimes it can be nice to read an novella to have an break from an regular novel. It is a complete story. Definitely would recommend the book.
I received an complementary copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write an positive review. This is my own opinion.
This review is for Premeditated Serendipity, one of the novellas in this collection. I haven’t gotten to the others yet :).
Ok. So let’s talk about a book that made me laugh and cheer and maybe even feel a little righteous anger. And all in a hundred pages or so. That’s par for the course for Chautona Havig (she did, after all, write the funniest book I read last year). But Premeditated Serendipity will also make you think. It stirred up a question that wasn’t new territory for me. In this story, a character gives a new believer a prophecy that might change the course of his life. Prophecy is a hot topic in the Pentecostal tradition, but many believers, from many traditions, don’t know really know what to do with it. Some assume prophecies today are just fake, and others assume that a prophecy should always be trusted and followed, especially if spoken by someone they love and respect. So how do you know if a prophecy is really from God?
#1 Pray Early and Often
My friend Joey told me a long time ago to “to take everything with a grain of salt, and season heavily with prayer.” He was talking about seminary books, but the advice stands here too. It’s great to hear God’s word from someone else, but train yourself also to hearing his word for yourself by spending time in prayer and reading the Bible. As you learn to hear God’s voice in prayer, the Holy Spirit will assure you if a prophecy is really from God and is something you should pay attention to, and alert you if something is not quite right.
#2 Test it With Scripture
If a prophecy is really from God, it will line up with Scripture, and it won’t contradict God’s own Word. 1 John 4:1 reminds us to test the spirits and not believe everything we hear. John tells his readers that any spirit that does not confess Christ is not from God. It follows that the same goes for anything that is in contradiction to what is clearly taught in Scripture.
Another note here that Chautona brings out in Premeditated Serendipity: if you have to take Scripture out of context, make it mean something it never meant, in order to make it “work with Scripture,” that’s no good. God is never going to ask us to misinterpret his word.
#3 Seek Wise Counsel
If you want to know if a prophecy is really from God, seek wise counsel, from folks who have been doing a lot of #1 and #2. In a multitude of counselors, there is safety (Proverbs 11:14).
Would I Recommend Premeditated Serendipity?
Yes! This book, part of the Out of the Blue Bouquet collection on Amazon, is a sweet, funny romance that will make you think about more than fluttery hearts, the meaning of flowers, or even whether a prophecy is really from God.
I received a review copy of this book; all opinions are my own.
Multiple novellas woven together through a concluding story