Shelf Full of Books: What You Won't Do For Love Blog Tour, Giveaway, Excerpt and Interview with Keleigh Hadley

What You Won’t Do For Love

By Keleigh Crigler Hadley

Publisher:

Published:

ASIN:

Amazon Synopsis:

Eden Price, an unlucky-in-love nurse finds herself in the midst of a heated love triangle. Globe-trotting missionary, Gabe Clark ignites her soul. Who doesn't want a man with a connection to God? Hard-working, Nemo Gates speaks to her heart. His past has caused a rift between him and God and Eden wants to help him heal.

She ultimately chooses the man that makes her passions come alive but did she make the right choice? Eden's marriage is blissful and the newlyweds are happy, when her husband stuns her with a desperate plea; to prove her love for him in the most unthinkable way - to help him die with dignity. What would you do for the love of your life?

"The freshest voice in Christian Fiction." - Delores Garland, Ladies of Light Bookclub

"Like an artist with a paintbrush, Keleigh is talented at creating stark visual images through words. Her unique wit and uses of metaphors promises to make What You Won't Do For Love an enjoyable read."- Michelle Lindo-Rice

"A touching story with language that makes you want to savor every word. Keleigh’s work always makes you ask questions that don’t have easy answers—starting with this title alone!” - Michelle Stimpson

Book Links

Amazon * Goodreads

Excerpt

“There goes that Price girl again.” Verdeen Washington exclaimed to her hard-of-hearing sister, Pearleen. They rocked in unison, in the twilight air on their front porch.

Eden Price noted the puzzlement in Verdeen’s booming voice as she steadily passed them by. Heck, the whole neighborhood could hear it.

“She’s a strange bird, if I ever saw one.” Pearleen looked over her thick glasses and pursed her wrinkled lips.

“Good evening, Washington sisters.”

Eden smiled, nodded and kept her legs pumping. She knew they shook their gray wigs as she passed them, but her jogging pace didn’t diminish and she kept on singing.

She knew she was a sight to see and hear.

“Wishing, and hoping and thinking and praying...

planning and dreaming each night of his charms…”

That’s it, Dionne.

Eden sang the tune to Dionne Warwick’s 1950’s classic song. The lyrics had been stuck on repeat in her head all day and the only way to get a song out, is to sing it. So in between breaths, she belted out the infectious tune.

So Dionne, is this the formula for catching a man?

The cushion in her Nike trainers flattened and rebounded as she reduced her pace from a slow jog to a brisk walk. She was two blocks from home and needed to start her cool down.

“...do the things he likes to do… wear your hair just for him… 'cause you won’t get him,

thinking,

and praying,

and wishing,

and hoping...”

Her worn out sports bra allowed too much jiggle and wiggle room for her girls. She could never hope to get a good run in anymore wearing three year-old running shoes and a five year-old bra, but budget constraints did not allow for such luxuries.

Eden adjusted ‘Ben and Jerry’ again to the safe confines of her bra, before she was arrested for exposing herself. Eden hunched over for a moment to catch her breath. Just a few more feet to go. She righted herself, hit her corner, and turned at the intersection of Third ave and 33rd place.

Three threes. The number meant something to her father, God rest his soul. It was his favorite number and one of the reasons he purchased a house on this block. But today, the number three held relevance to Eden too.

This was her thirty-third year of life, she was suffering from her third night of insomnia, and on March third, in three days her life would change - “for better or worse.

My Thoughts:

Just days before her wedding, Eden Price discovers via Facebook that her fiancé has been cheating on her. She cancels the wedding, the skiing honeymoon to Switzerland and heads on her own to sizzling Mexico to get over his betrayal. Within days of her return she has not one, but two men vying for her attention and very much likes them both.

I liked the quandary that Eden found herself in trying to decide between the two men she liked. Both had very admirable qualities. One would have been able to help her with one of “bucket list” goals. Her difficulty in figuring out what she should do was very realistic as any reader’s decision-making would be.

I didn’t like her friend’s advice about keeping that personal information she had about herself a secret from a potential spouse. I thought that was something that was important to discuss before marriage.

What You Won’t Do For Love had some very surprising twists and turns in its plot. Just when you thought the story was going to go one direction, you’d be surprised and it would go another way (sometimes). I thought the twists were unique but realistic.

I was not surprised by one of the twists presented in the book, but likely that’s because as a reviewer I read so many books that I am able to pick up on the small clues that authors plant in their stories to lead up to these crises. I suspect that many readers may have been as surprised as Eden was at that event. It was very emotionally charged. Ms. Hadley has a beautiful way with words that helps the reader to experience the emotions of the characters in the book as they experience them.

Eden was faced with one of the most difficult requests ever made by a loved one – to do something “out of love for that person” that was illegal and according to the Bible, morally wrong, yet could bring much relief. This is a contemporary issue today, hotly debated in many states and provinces and among many churches, believers and nonbelievers.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way the author handled this story with this theme. The characters were believable and interesting. Their dialogue was realistic. The whole book was very engaging and difficult to put down. I gave this book 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

Interview with Keleigh Hadley

Tell us about your book?

What You Won’t Do For Love is the story about how love forces us to make difficult choices. Eden Price has finds herself in the midst of a heated love triangle. One man connects with her soul and the other with her heart. She chooses one, (it would spoil the fun if I told you which one), but the honeymoon period is cut short, because he falls deathly ill and asks her to put him out of his misery.

What’s next for you?

I have a Christmas novella coming in November called, The Million Dollar Christmas Kiss. And in March/April a full length novel, The Reluctant Mistress. Working on four more projects as well.

Tell us about yourself?

I’m a girl who loves to see God at work.

What was the most difficult aspect of writing this book?

The death/dying scenes where tough. I didn’t want to go there.

Did you have to do any special research for your book?

Yes lots! I researched the states that allow assisted suicide/euthanasia. My home state of California does not, but people are fighting daily to make it into a law. I also researched the lives of people who have lived with painful diseases. It was heartbreaking and eye opening.

In five words describe your book?

A touching journey about love.

Excluding your own, name 3 books you would recommend to your friends.

Summertime by Adrienne Thompson, Seasoned With Grace by Nigeria Lockley, and The Favorite Son by Tiffany L. Warren.

About the Author:

If I were to define myself in one sentence, I would say, "I'm a girl who loves to see God working."

I write soul-stirring fiction, with real characters that stay with readers long after they have closed the book, (or turned the e-reader off.)

The only thing I love more than writing is reading, so let me know what you're reading.

Author Links

Amazon Author Page * Twitter * Goodreads

Tour hosted by WNL www.wnlbooktours.com