"Chelsea Chambers is on her own. After a public split from her NFL superstar husband, Chelsea takes a bold step out of the limelight and behind the counter of the Higher Grounds Cafe, an old-fashioned coffee shop in dire need of reinvention. But when her courage, expert planning, and out-of-this-world cupcakes fail to pay the bills, this newly single mom finds herself desperate for help. Better yet, a miracle.
Then a curious stranger lands at Chelsea's door, and with him, an even more curious string of events. Soon, customers are flocking to the Higher Grounds Cafe, and not just for the cupcakes and cappuccino. They've come for the internet connection to the divine. Now the cafe has become the go-to place for people in search of answers to life's biggest questions. When a catastrophe strikes and her ex comes calling, Chelsea begins to wonder if the whole universe is conspiring against her quest to make it on her own. After a shocking discovery opens her eyes to the unseen world around her, Chelsea finds the courage to ask, and heaven answers in a most unexpected way."
A book about coffee, cupcakes, and miracles? Sign me up! Or so I thought.
I love Max Lucado's non-fiction and devotional books. At 184 pages it was a quick read but I feel that because of that the characters felt flat. There was no getting to know them or any depth to them.
I loved the concept of the human world as well as the spiritual. Seeing the light and the darkness.
I may be a bit disappointed that in a spiritual book everything was so easy. I know, I know, it's a book. It's fiction. But it was so unbelievable. In one day a small cafe made half of a tax payment due (that tax payment was over $9,000. Meaning I got hung up on the fact that a small struggling cafe could make $4,500 in one day!). Or that an unbeliever would ask God to help her uncle walk again and immediately he would take his first steps. Seriously? Was this inspiring? No, it left a sense that the author would rather make God do what the character wanted than show a real life struggle that could bring someone to God.
This book had so much potential. The storyline was fun and I saw how this could be an entertaining movie. If you want a quick, feel-good story this one will satisfy. Only if you go into it knowing that the storyline is a feel-good one at all costs. Meaning, completely unbelievable.
Disclaimer: This book was given to me by BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.
I have read a couple of books like that and had more questions than answers, so I know how you feel. Thanks for the honest review.
ReplyDeleteIt's disappointing when someone, who is so good at writing devotionals and inspiring books, is so wishy-washy in a fiction book. It was just begging to go deeper and have a little more inspiration to it!
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