Blind Dates Are for Wimps!At least, that’s what Adric Garrison thinks.Can you blame him? Thanks to his sister and brother-in-law, Adric is about to embark on a year of month-long, chaperoned, blind dates. awkward.He didn’t ask for it. But Adric still finds himself living what seems more like a bad TV reality show than a new life in Fairbury. Once an ordinary (if prematurely gray and vertically … prematurely gray and vertically challenged) guy, Adric is now Fairbury’s newest “most eligible bachelor,” and dreams of permanent bachelorhood loom on the horizon. Will he call it quits before the year is out, or will one of his “girls of the month” change his mind?
One man, twelve women, one happily ever after.
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“…Women have rearranged their lives to do this, and I think it’d be rude to cancel for anything less than me already being in love with someone else.”
Adric Garrison is a single man. Recently he moved into his Grandmother’s house and farm. Now, he’s on an adventure only his sister and her pastor husband could pull off: Over the next 12 months he would welcome 12 women, plus their chaperones into his house and quietly and prayerfully find a possible helpmeet for the rest of his life. If anything, this is a lesson in trust and truth, as everyone will find out.
When I first started this book I got about 30% in and had to set it aside. It started out disappointing to me. However,I just read the rest of it in one sitting. Yes, it picked up. Yes, it was entertaining. Yes, the characters made better sense as the book went on. And, finally YES, I am so glad I kept reading. As usual, Chautona Havig has written a contemporary story about a contemporary couple and set it in the Rockford area. I have read many of her books set in this area she has built over the years and I have enjoyed each visit. Adric’s story continues that tradition. Highly Recommended 5/5
5 Things from Thirty Days Hath by Chautona Havig
5 things from 30 days Hath By Chautona Havig
1)Christian Contemporary (I’m going to say the genre is Christian Contemporary Chautona Havig. Because her writing has its own genre.) Marriage of convenience… sort of.
2) Adric’s Brother-in-law/ pastor set’s him up with a unique system to find a wife. Each of the 12 women will stay at his house(with a chaperone) one month to see who he will want to marry. (Coordinated with the ladies’ pastors.)
3) While I was told this book was nothing but fluff, Yet again, the author had me contemplating and evaluating myself and my marriage.
4) Know yourself! I can relate to Miss April, Becca. Where it isn’t bad to genuinely not have an opinion and want to please the other person, it surely makes life hard down the road when you finally feel like asserting yourself, and either no one takes you seriously or you end up resenting yourself because you couldn’t voice your thoughts.
5)gift-card stockpile shopping spree. As many different perspectives and women to follow. Different dates, different churches, different families. Chaperones ranging from delightful to disengaged. to even offering if Adric doesn’t find “the one” she’d be willing to be considered.
Such a unique concept! If anyone can pull off a Christian Bachelor reality show it is Chautona Havig!
Fun, thought-provoking, and unique
Thirty Days Hath
Forced into a year of dates with twelve eligible women, was not Adric Garrison’s idea of fun, more like dread and torture, but at the insistency of his sister and bother-in-law, he reluctantly agrees to give it a try.
This fun Christian version of The Bachelor, Thirty Days Hath, was an enjoyable story of a man spending an entire year with twelve available women in hopes of finding a woman he loves and wants to spend the rest of his life with. This story was full of laughs as each woman brought new challenges to the table. I actually felt sorry for Adric as the process went on as I myself was thinking this is never going to work out for him, but then a new one would show up and give me hope again. I especially loved how the author threw in a few twists in the end adding to the excitement of the story.
If you are looking for a fun, light story to read, give this book a shot!
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit, but was not required to give a positive review. This is my honest opinion of this book.
Thirty days Hath
This kinda like the Bachelor series but the Christian version. Adria is meeting a different girl each month. Each one had filled out a questionnaire form. So many different personalities. While reading the book you may find your favorite girl may be different from his,
I found the book interesting and fun. I did get tired of reading the questionnaire answers after a few of them. I am not going to say which girl was my favorite. The idea was having a month to get to know each one was definitely a different one. Which one will he choose?
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write an positive review. This is my own opinion.
I must say this is such a different type of book that I’ve read from the author. It is definitely unique as the author takes on a controversial show such as The Bachelor and tweeks it to fit a Christian prospective. Adric is a bachelor and has taken on a very unusual task. There are twelve women he has chosen to spend a month with and try to find true love. I liked that each woman had one month one on one with Adric and that there was a chaperone every time.
As I started reading I began to realize a few things. Each woman was different but similar. They each had their little quirks but some of them were just so wrong for him. The chatterbox woman needed to be thrown out the door immediately. I was rooting for one woman in particular and won’t say who it is. The author does give us a glimpse into flaws we all have and how none of us are perfect. Adric found himself looking inward at himself and knew he had some work to do. There is nothing better than having to face the hard facts.
I appreciate how the author delves into insecurity, trust issues, communication skills and learning to love yourself. If you really look at the story deeper, the author supplies great questions we all need to answer with truthfulness. I liked the book because it was more than finding a mate. It was really finding yourself and making a better you inside and out. I didn’t like the last part of the story where it got a bit dark. I thought it took away from the story and wished it had been left out. I’m not surprised who Adric ended up with, but it wasn’t my choice for him.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
When I first started reading this book, I was skeptical at best. The concept is not something I could ever see happening, and as a (ahem) older single person who has lived alone for years, I don’t know how anyone could give up their quiet solitude and have not one, but two complete strangers live with them every month. FOR A YEAR. I’d go crazy! Yet, despite my initial hesitations, I gave it a chance and was delightfully surprised to enjoy it as much as I did.
Adric is one of the good guys, and I saw it most of his interventions with the women he spent time with (and sometimes their chaperones). Even in his disappointments, this man continues his commitment to his brother-in-law and the women. No, he’s not perfect. He has some flaws—anger and difficulty expressing himself at times—but when he cares, he does so deeply.
I can’t overlook the work Chautona Having put into this book. She developed thirteen characters with profiles, backstories, and their own mini-story within the completed book in addition to several of the supporting characters (Adric’s family, the townspeople, and the chaperones).
While this is a lengthy book and yes, there were times the pace got bogged down in the routine and details of the month, but the question of who (or if) Adric would choose kept me interested enough to get through those few places. And I was pleased with the way it ended.
Thirty Days Hath is a study in several different approaches and avenues to relationships and finding love—some find it immediately, for others it has to grow, and sometimes it doesn’t workout at all how you hoped—forging friendships, and in some cases, the dangers and heartaches involved in giving away a piece of yourself to the wrong person.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Blind dates are for wimps!
It’s been six and a half years since I have read this book, but I still vaguely remember the events in it. And remembered that I liked it enough, when I saw she had re-imaged and revised it, I knew I wanted to read it again. So I did.
The concept of the book is unusual among Christians. I mean, really, how do you take a Christian man and put him in a situation where once a month for a year, a new woman will come live in his house so they can determine if they are compatible enough to pursue marriage. And keep things nice and clean and platonic. (Hint: you send chaperones along. And have Ms. Havig write it, of course.)
Having married young, I don’t necessarily relate to the motivations of Adric and the twelve women who agreed to this experiment. Yet I was able to relate to them in other ways and understand exactly why they were there.
Part of what made this story so enjoyable was that there weren’t just two main characters. With Adric, his sister and her husband, twelve women, and their chaperones, there were so many (quirky!) people to get to know. Each one had their own baggage and way of dealing with it – or not. Some were strong in their relationship with the Lord, some were insecure, some were wonderful, and some were not. I found myself really liking more than one of the women and feeling bad for Adric for having to make the choice between them.
What made the story even better is that while it was about romance, many spiritual truths were presented in an entertaining and compelling way.
Being as it has been so long since my first reading, I can’t tell you if the new version is better or worse. I can’t really put a finger on what is different other than a few references to characters in an upcoming story. I did have a recollection of one of the women and as I reached beyond the halfway point I wondered if she had been written out and replaced by another. Oh, but then she showed up. Just later than I recalled. Yeah. She was interesting!
If you have read other books by Chautona Havig, then you already know you need to read this one. If you haven’t, this is a great one to start with.
Read my review of Thirty Days Hath by Chautona Havig at AmongTheReads.net
I was given a copy of this book. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own.