Book: Love Arrives in Pieces

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 brokenness, so instead of being beautiful, now she tries to make beautiful things, but she always falls short. So she keeps her passion for 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. 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 discover that the designer for the project is his old flame, Stella.

Forced to work together, Chase and Stella battle their chemistry and past as they struggle to compromise and work together on a vision for the theater. 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, while losing her trust in the process.

A near catastrophe, a fire, and a small-town gossip mill finally force 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 their brokenness.

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This is the second book in a series and it sort of works as a stand alone.  I kept trying to remember what happened with Stella's sister from the previous book since it's been about a year since it came out, but I actually don't think Stella's story was discussed much in the previous book.  So you get the story in bits and pieces throughout this book and I think that's the way it's intended.  If you read them both close enough together it would probably be better, or just read this one alone and you will get the story by the end.

I like Betsy's books because they are fun, but not completely out of touch with reality.  They're funny because the premise of the story are ridiculous situations, like finding yourself working closely with a scorned girlfriend.

She does deal honestly with the situations though and how relationships are never easy, cut and dried, but messy.  Good relationships are worth working through!

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Betsy St. Amant lives in Louisiana with her young daughter and has a heart for sharing the amazing news of God's grace through her novels. A freelance journalist, Betsy is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. When she's not reading, writing, or singing along to a Disney soundtrack with her daughter, Betsy enjoys inspirational speaking and teaching on the craft of writing.

I received this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for my fair and honest review.