Title: Tempting Tait
Author: Chautona Havig
Series: Marriages of Conviction, book 2
Major Themes: Abortion, Adoption, Christian Fiction
Synopsis: After saving a baby from abortion, Tait quickly realizes that he really needs a wife to help him raise his little girl—can Bentley help him find someone?
Emma’s review:
One of my favorite books last year was Blessing Bentley. It was such a different book, with a completely different approach to marriage than I had seen before—I loved it! Chautona gave us a teaser at the end, with the first chapter of the sequel, Tempting Tait. I’ve been looking forward to Tait for a year, and now he’s finally in his own book. And a wonderful book it is!
At the beginning of the book, Eden was terrified that her boyfriend would leave her, so she tried her mother’s trick to get him to stick around longer. It backfired—Tait watched in horror as the boyfriend abandoned Eden and left her injured. Of course, he helped her get medical treatment, but then she learned she was pregnant. There was no way she was going to raise a baby, so she just planned to get rid of it—Tait was horrified at that thought, too, and begged her to allow him to adopt the baby instead.
Fast forward nine months: Tait was now a single dad, and realized that it wasn’t working. God’s plan included two parents. Bentley had made marriage work for her; could she help him out? Who would be interested in marrying Tait just so that the baby he saved from abortion would have a mother? If he found someone like that, would Tait learn to love her—and she, him? Hold on for the wild ride as this story unfolds!
I actually read Tempting Tait twice, once as each chapter was written and again after it was all together. I loved it both times! I even found myself reading later than I should have one night, on the second time through, just because it was such a lovely story. It’s quite different from Bentley, but just as good. Don’t miss this book! It’s not only very much worth reading for the story, and for the spiritual truths that are shared so naturally all the way through, and the example of how Christians should respond to abortion, it’s funny! I loved the interactions within one family who feature strongly in the story, although I wanted to shake some sense into the one man. It was also fun to figure out Tait’s big secret throughout the story. This is easily one of my favorite books for this year. Oh, and in this book Chautona takes us right into the bedroom. She never does that—but there’s a good reason here, and I’m not going to tell you any more about it. You have to read the book to find out how and why.
I received a free copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.
Esther’s review:
I needed a gripping, easy read these past few weeks—and Tempting Tait fit the bill perfectly. Some books are perfect for some seasons, and for me, this was one of them. I really enjoyed this story, not just for the storytelling (which was great, although I did feel like the book could have easily been split into two different stories), but more for the characters. They shone in this story!
The book opens with Eden, who is desperately trying to figure out how to buy time with her boyfriend. However, when her lie doesn’t work—and leaves her injured at a rest stop—she isn’t sure where to turn. Tait, who just happened to be there at the time, feels like he ought to do something for the girl—so he takes her to the emergency room, and when she can’t pay for the help, he does what he can to cover for her. Things go from bad to worse, however, when Eden discovers that she is pregnant, and she soon decides she will abort the baby. As a Christian, Tait is horrified. How can he convince her to keep the baby? And how is he supposed to explain his actions to church friends who are fairly certain he’s close to, if not living, in sin himself?
As I said, I think this book could be divided easily into two books—Tait’s saving his adopted daughter’s life, and then his romance as he tried to find the wife God had for him. In saying that, though, it definitely works, even if it wasn’t quite as well woven as I would have liked—and I loved seeing the two examples of this man’s faith being lived out in two different ways. Neither path was easy for him, but he lived it with a great deal of dignity and trust in God and was blessed for it.
My biggest takeaway from Tempting Tait is that God’s way is trustworthy, and He provides the answers for the various roadblocks we face. I loved that reminder because lately, I feel like I’ve been focused a lot more on the problems around me than the Answer to the problems. It just takes walking ahead in faith and asking the Lord for direction for each of the next few steps.
There’s so much I could say about this story; I thoroughly enjoyed it. It isn’t the strongest plot I’ve seen before, and I don’t know why I noticed that more this time than others, but it is what it is. If you are interested in books about adoption and living out a pro-life life, you will find this book fascinating. And the whole theme of learning to rely on God was very encouraging. A recommended read!
I requested a free review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
No warnings!
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Book Depository: Paperback
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