Love Arrives in Pieces by Betsy St. Amant | RE:View

First off, with a name like Stella for a main character I knew this book was going to be good. Follow that up with sarcastic whit, a handsome man named Chase, and a past history that's come knocking and you've got a great read in Love Arrives in Pieces. 

Stella Varland, former beauty pageant queen, struggling interior designer, and closet artist is broken. It's not just her divorce that tore her apart but a past history with none other than Chase Taylor.

Chase, handsome construction foreman and former heart breaker is also struggling with his own type of brokenness. Add in a mutual project where the two are thrown together, an interfering mother, an unlikely voice of wisdom, and some sparking chemistry and you've got yourself a great summer read. Not to mention the fact that Betsy isn't afraid to tackle the difficult aspects of life - death, divorce, and how the past affects the present.

I enjoyed Betsy's writing (this was my first book of hers) and found myself comparing it to the descriptive and sometimes, other-worldly writing of Rachel Hauck with the zinging twist of humor you're apt to find in Melissa Tagg's books. There is a lot of emotion-based description that helps their reader get into the head of a character and, though most of the time I found myself loving it, there were a few times I felt it was a bit much. Aside from that, I'd definitely recommend this to fans looking to enjoy romance that blossoms against all odds!

Rating: 4*

Purchase: Love Arrives in Pieces

Book Description 
(from Betsy's website)

For so long, Stella was known for her beauty. Now, with her heart stripped bare, she must discover who she really is.

Former pageant queen Stella Varland doesn’t trust beauty anymore after her divorce. Her appearance betrayed her and led to her brokenness—so instead of being beautiful, now she tries to make beautiful things, but always falls short. So she keeps her passion for her secret art to herself and focuses on her interior design work. But if she doesn’t get another job soon, she’ll be stuck living with her parents.

Contractor Chase Taylor is determined to live a life of no regrets after losing his fiancée in a car crash. Now he lives life at full speed, striving to see how much he can accomplish. He knows if he slows down, he’ll fall apart. So he returns home to Bayou Bend to renovate the town’s old theater, and is shocked to learn former flame Stella is the designer for the project.

Forced to work together, Chase and Stella battle their chemistry and their pasts as they struggle to compromise and come together on a vision for the theater. Chase doesn’t understand why Stella is such a subdued version of herself, while Stella doesn’t get why Chase thinks he understands her. Their wills clash as they attempt to hide their brokenness—and their unresolved feelings for each other—until Chase discovers the hidden parts of Stella, losing her trust in the process.

A near catastrophe, a fire, and a small-town gossip mill finally force both Stella and Chase to realize that they have a choice—to hold on to the shards of their pasts, or surrender their fragmented pieces to the One who makes a beautiful masterpiece from the broken.

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I received a free copy of this book for review purposes, but was under no obligation to read the book or post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.