Becoming a Christian is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to Sarah Hollenbeck. Best because, well, that’s obvious. Worst because, up to this point, she’s made her very comfortable living as a well-known, bestselling author of steamy romance novels that would leave the members of her new church blushing. Now Sarah is trying to reconcile her past with the future she’s chosen. She’s … still under contract with her publisher and on the hook with her enormous fan base for the kind of book she’s not sure she can write anymore. She’s beginning to think that the church might frown on her tithing on royalties from a “scandalous” book. And the fact that she’s falling in love with her pastor doesn’t make things any easier.
With a powerful voice, penetrating insight, and plenty of wit, Bethany Turner explodes onto the scene with a debut that isn’t afraid to deal with the thorny realities of living the Christian life.
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Not your run of the mill Christian romance. It’s fun! I’d love to recommend this to those looking for something fresh and entertaining.
Note: you might giggle out loud at several parts. You have been warned.
Bethany tackles issues they don’t cover often in Christian fiction but should more often! Plus her voice is funny and original. 😀
I really enjoyed this story.
I loved most of the characters, especially Sarah, Piper and Ben.
I liked how each of the chapter titles (1) played an important part of that chapter of the story and (2) were also written into the dialogue of that chapter.
This is an engaging story that had me hooked right up to the very end.
I look forward to reading Bethany Turner’s other books.
This book has such a unique storyline, I’ve never read anything like it, and I can’t believe this was Bethany Turner’s debut novel. It’s filled with the timeless truth that God’s salvation is for all, no matter your past or your occupation. While it won’t make my top reads list this year, it is still a very engaging story that had me hooked right until the very end. I look forward to reading Bethany Turner’s other books!
Unique and refreshingly realistic for inspirational fiction. Our lives are not neat and tidy, and neither is Sarah’s or the other characters’. I love that. And Turner’s style is fresh and conversational. Love it!
This is a hilarious must read! The character Sarah Hollenbach is just hilarious. I enjoy a book when it makes me laugh out loud! This one did this over and over! Take a moment and enjoy some laughs from author Bethany turner.
This one made me laugh out loud in the coffee shot, several times, earning me strange looks which were totally worth it!
Hilarious, sweet, and challenging, The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck is a refreshing and uplifting addition to the Christian Fiction romance genre.
Like many divorcées, Sarah struggles to find her identity outside the marriage that once defined her. But unlike most divorcées, she creates an identity as the mysterious author of the latest steamy novels to top everyone’s guilty pleasure list. When she discovers a relationship with God, though, Sarah (somewhat accidentally) jumps into a new life with both feet, not only with prayer and faith, but also with a whirlwind romance with a highly regarded man of God. The only problem: her identity as teller of torrid tales hasn’t gone away yet. Needless to say, her newfound faith, friendship, and love are all about to undergo a test as epic as the score from the Sound of Music.
A great deal of this novel’s charm resides in the fact that Sarah Hollenbeck, with her “colorful” past pursuits, overactive imagination, and affinity for Stevie Nicks and Star Wars, feels like a character that has been unceremoniously dumped into a Christian Fiction novel from some other genre and is left to flounder away with humorous, yet authentic results. She fares, perhaps, as many of us sanctified, yet unmistakably earthen vessels might fare in such a setting (if we were genuine). Nevertheless, she has her chance to triumph, as all believers have their chance to triumph, with honest, loving relationships and the extravagant grace of God.
This book had me laughing at unseemly hours of the night, but it also made me rejoice in the truth that there is a stunning diversity of gifts in the body of Christ with plenty of grace to redeem even the most outlandish secret life.
Entertaining, but may plot elements weren’t realistic.
(Read Nov/2017)
5+ STARS!!
I enjoy romance in my fiction, even if it’s just a minor sub-plot, but romantic comedy is by far my favorite sub-genre. Unfortunately, I rarely find rom-coms that tick all the boxes of what I want or enjoy within Christian fiction. Of course, this is a generalization, but I find if humor is the focus, the story will sometimes lack the poignant romance that I crave. On the other hand, maybe it will have a poignant romance, but I won’t connect with the “humor.” There are a few authors that are my comedic soul-mates, while at the same time deliver authentic, deeply poignant, and original romances. I think I just discovered another one.
To say I enjoyed this story is a considerable understatement. I was transfixed. Giddy. Heartbroken. Enchanted. Convicted. Blessed. And I loved every single minute of it! The boxes I mentioned; Bethany Turner ticked each one:
Truly Humorous and/or Quirky
Deeply Romantic and (yes) Sexy
Original Storyline
Heroine I Like and Connect With
Well-Developed Main and Secondary Characters
Communication in Abundance and Great Banter
Transparent Faith Thread
This book couldn’t have been more perfect for me. I loved Ben, Sarah, and best friend Piper. I’m sad to say goodbye, but hope to see more works like this on the horizon. I highly recommend this book to those who like to see “Christian” in their Christian fiction along with all the extras this author has to offer.
Hilarious!
This romantic comedy had me laughing….and sighing. What a clever twist to unforeseen problems! I liked the characters, their unusual issues, and the beautiful way love and forgiveness blend together in this story. My favorite quote: ‘The past has absolutely nothing to do with the future God has in store for the two of you.’
Excellent story, well written, humorous, and relevant. I enjoyed every page of this book!!
Bethany Turner’s debut novel The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck is such a fun romantic comedy that readers will love. This is unlike any Christian fiction novel that I have read before. She explores the messy, real-life issues that Christian couples face and aren’t often discussed in other Christian fiction books. She is not afraid to push the boundaries in her writing, and I love her honest portrayal of the difficulties and temptations that Christians face. She includes many references to pop culture, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Bethany Turner knocked it out of the ballpark with this one! I can’t remember the last time I have laughed so hard when reading a novel before. She brings a refreshing, powerful voice to Christian fiction, and I can not wait to read more from this author!
Squeee! THIS BOOK IS SUPER AWESOME! I despised having to set it down, found myself reading it at every opportunity, and as soon as I finished I was instantly craving a reread! I’m serious, TSLOSH is happiness in book form! I swooned, laughed until my face hurt, and turned the final page with a contented sigh and a heart that was renewed, uplifted, and inspired!
This is a MUST READ for all Christian rom-com fans!
I read this book for pure pleasure. No review required.
I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel and look forward to more from this author. Not your usual romance by any stretch of the imagination, but a great read. She knows how to keep you turning pages. I highly recommend it.
Oh my goodness – Sarah battles similar issues it seems that every Christian may face – sometimes you don’t always follow in the ways preferred but what you are doing is not necessarily wrong either. Battle of conflicts – then Sarah falls for her pastor LOL Way too funny! A delightful weekend read!
Wonderful Christian read with interesting characters.
I loved this book for the humor and the various perspectives on modern mainstream Christian life, from the new convert (Sarah), to the lifelong member (Piper), to the young pastor (Ben). It was written in a way that had me hooked to not just the story, but the characters, and how they dealt with the drama in their lives. The romance between Sarah and Ben developed quickly but I enjoyed the time we got to spend *in* the romance, not just leading up to it, and all the great and important conversations and interactions that took place. A great debut novel!
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)
Someone once said, “I am a reader, not because I don’t have a life, but because I choose to have many.” Hence I read…I read all sorts of genres. Never was I so glad that I did then when I read The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck because in it I discovered a delightful life and I so enjoyed the experience. Bethany Turner’s book is a Christian romance with lots of humor. It was just the book to read after I had finished a dark fantasy. I guess you could say it cleansed my palette. It captured me from the beginning with true to life characters, fresh wit, an enchanting love story, and a non-preachy look at the process of salvation. This book is a refreshing, uplifting, slice of life.
“I wanted to explore the temptations that Christian men and women experience while in the pursuit of a Christ-honoring romantic relationship.” (Sarah Hollenbeck) ~ pg. 81
Bethany Turner is a fresh new voice for me and boy did she blow me away with this story! First off, if I were to judge this by my four unlikely-to-read-this-book scenarios, I would have never picked it up. Only curiosity of why my most trusted reader friends were raving about did I even consider placing it on by TBR pile! It’s reviewed as women’s fiction (strike one), chick-lit (strike two), contemporary (strike three), and lastly it’s strictly from the first person point-of-view (strike four); whereas 90% of my “normal” reads are historical and from multiple points-of-view. So for an author to completely enthrall me in spite of all these strikes against the book is saying a whole lot! I think it’s safe to say, she made a forever fan out of me.
I read a lot of romance, and by that I mean every single book I read has romance in it. So I know a thing or two about what it’s “suppose” to be like. Well, throw that theory out the window right quick, because surprisingly, it’s not your typical boy meets girl, fall in love and gets married type romance. No, this is so much more than all that! Not that I ever watched the movie “It’s Complicated”, but that’s how I’d describe this story. It has a whole lot of factors to it that the characters have to deal with on a daily basis. Falling in love with a Pastor sounds complicated enough, right? Well, try being like Sarah who is a newly created, born-again Christian woman who also used to be a steamy romance writer in her old life. Pure and clean meets sordid past trying to reconcile that new life into a whole new set of rules & regulations. It’s like trying to not to throw the baby out with the bath water! And can I just add that Bethany Turner must have gotten into my head and lived there because almost every single thought Sarah had was exactly what I would have thought? Oh my word, but I LOVED that, even as scary as it was! I absolutely cannot describe the emotional depth of this in any semblance of sense to convey how much I think every reader needs to read this one. I loved how Ben and Sarah fought within themselves to remain true to God and at the same time fight their overwhelming attraction to each other without crossing a line that would mar their characters. It’s quite evident from the get-go how much these two are drawn to each other, and I absolutely admire them for keeping each other accountable, as difficult as it was. Who hasn’t struggled with passion and attraction towards a person of the opposite sex while trying to keep their thoughts pure and in line with God’s parameters?
“I never would have imagined that there could be something more powerful than the desire I felt for Ben in that moment, but the desire to not tarnish the love God was building between us was overpowering.” ~ pg. 160
And I absolutely had so much fun with the humor packed in every page. Laughter is good for the soul, or so they say, right? If you like spiritual depth, you’re going to be in for a treat. You can definitely call this a Christian fiction and know you can read it without feeling embarrassed or ashamed for picking it up in the first place. Lastly, I loved this story of how God can take our not-so-good pasts and shape it into a future that is more enriched because of the things we’ve been through and how, if we surrender to Him totally and without reservation, He will reward us with something even brighter and better than our most vivid imaginations!
THE BEST BOOK OF 2018 BY FAR FOR ME!
“God doesn’t look at you and see Raine de Bourgh, and neither do I. I look at you and see someone strong enough to have found a way to survive some rotten breaks—and not only survive but come out better on the other side.”(Ben to Sarah)~ pg. 119
“Our pasts shapes us and our past prepare us, Sarah, but our past does not define us.”~ pg 258