This is an older title that I picked up as a free download in the Valentine’s Day Stuff Your Kindle promotion. I’m glad I did!
What Makes a Home is a romance featuring party-girl artist Jobie (short for Jobanna) and beige computer programmer Caleb. Caleb decides it’s time to adult up so he buys a do-up house, which happens to be just down the street from his old friend Jenna and Jobie, her hot roommate.
There were three things I loved about What Makes a Home.
First, Jenna’s natural faith.
Jenna and Jobie have been roomates for at least three years by the time the story starts. Although it’s clear from Chapter One that Jobie is not a Christian, it’s equally clear that Jenna has overtly judged her for her lack of faith. That opened th door for my second point:
Second, I loved Jobie’s conversion to Christianity.
Okay, so this could be considered a spoiler except that What Makes a Home is categorised as Christian romance, and good Christian romances do not have couples who are unequally yoked. I loved the natural way Jenna shared her faith with Jobie. And I loved the way Jobie took that on board and reflected it back to Jenna in her time of need.
And third, Caleb was a wonderful hero.
Sure, he has been accusing of being vanilla (and his taste in decor does tend to beige). but he has a good heart an is a perfect gentleman … even if he is a little slow to pick up on the fact Jobie is interested in him.
The other thing I liked about What Makes a Home was the realistic portrayal of physical attraction. No, there was nothing inappropriate (although it is clear Jobie has a history), but it was good to see both Caleb and Jobie acknowledging the temptation of physical attraction.
Overall, What Makes a Home is a wonderful example of a realistic Christian romance that focuses on friendship first. Recommended.
About Jaycee Weaver
When New Mexico resident and USA Today bestselling author Jaycee Weaver isn’t reading or writing, she enjoys dates with her brainiac hubby, crafting, pretending she’s a nature photographer, and making her daughters cringe.
She considers herself a recovering perfectionist and regularly battles the ADHD squirrels. Jaycee appreciates humorous books with banter, characters facing adversity, and guaranteed happy endings, so that’s what she writes. She does her best to live her faith in action, being open, honest, and authentic; letting God be Lord over the good, the bad, and the ugly even when it’s hard.
Find Jaycee Weaver online at:
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About What Makes a Home
An artist looking for love in the wrong places. A bored engineer searching for purpose. Can a fixer upper teach these opposites What Makes a Home?
Jobie Everett has built her life around teaching art to senior citizens, living green(ish), social media trends, and wild pursuits that inspire her muse. When her roommate introduces her to a God who personifies a love she’s never known, she discovers how full life truly can be.
Surely there’s more for Caleb March’s lackluster life than work and computer games. Desperate for change, he buys a run-down house near an old friend and her pretty roommate. Ready for more than “just friends,” Caleb will first have to reconnect with a God he’s been ignoring for far too long.
As Caleb and Jobie bond over renovations, a new development forever changes her and pulls the rug out from under him. Jobie needs a godly man who will support and pursue her. Can Caleb become the man she needs in order to finally give her heart a home?
Elizabeth Musser writes ‘entertainment with a soul’ from her writing chalet—tool shed—outside Lyon, France. Elizabeth’s highly acclaimed, best-selling novel, The Swan House, was named one of Amazon’s Top Christian Books of the Year and one of Georgia’s Top Ten Novels of the Past 100 Years (Georgia Backroads, 2009). All of Elizabeth’s novels have been translated into multiple languages.
From medical secretary to court reporter to property manager to owner of a special events decorating company, Carol’s resume reads as if she doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. But one thing that has remained constant through the years is her love for writing. She currently pens fun and fast-paced inspirational romance and romantic suspense stories. Her books have been nominated for a RITA® award and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award.
Terri Blackstock is a New York Times best-seller, with over six million copies sold worldwide. She has had over twenty-five years of success as a novelist. Terri spent the first twelve years of her life traveling in an Air Force family. She lived in nine states and attended the first four years of school in The Netherlands. Because she was a perpetual “new kid,” her imagination became her closest friend. That, she believes, was the biggest factor in her becoming a novelist. She sold her first novel at the age of twenty-five, and has had a successful career ever since.
Nate Beckett has spent his life fighting wildfires instead of the lies and rumors that drove him from his Colorado hometown. His mother begs him to come back now that his father has been released from prison, but it isn’t until he’s sidelined by an injury that he’s forced to return and face his past. But that means facing Brenna too.
Passionate might best describe Liz Tolsma. She loves writing, research, and editing. Her passion shone through in her first novel which was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. Nothing means more to her than her family. She’s married her high-school sweetheart twenty-eight years ago. Get her talking about international adoption, and you might never get her to stop. She and her husband adopted three children, including a son who is a U.S. Marine, and two daughters.
