Note: I just noticed this book review I wrote in February but never published to my blog. Hmmm. Well, hope you enjoy it now!
Thank you, Amber, for your thoughtfulness of buying this book, Runaway Heart by Teresa Slack, for me for Christmas. Amber recently became my daughter-in-law and we are so glad to welcome her into the family. She bought this book from an Ohio author at a craft show.
Ok, so I have to admit I was curious. I’ve read books either self-published or published by small presses that were less than expectation. That’s so sad to say because there are some really great authors writing great books that just can’t break in to the larger markets through the traditional publishing route. But there are also authors out there publishing books before they are really ready. So…I wasn’t sure what I was going to get with this book. I didn’t want to judge it before I’d given it a try, but my experience caused me to wonder. As I opened the book, I noted that Teresa Slack had published a half a dozen other books. Ok. That gave me hope. I wanted to like it. So I dove in.
A few chapters in I began to realize this lady can write. It had great flow, and interesting characters, it was free of distracting grammatical or spelling errors (that I find in many self-published books), and it kept my interest.
Runaway Heart is Christian fiction. It is sweet, wholesome, and heartwarming. Kya is a less than perfect character working through baggage left by her mother’s view of life and love.
Kya gets spooked when her relationship with Will becomes serious. Love became very real for her, but she has learned from her mother that men are users. Rather than face her fears, she runs. She quits her job and moves to her grandfather’s house out of state. Brandon, the young man next door who has been of great help to her grandfather, works his way into Kya’s life as well. Since Kya last saw him, Grandfather has been positively affected by his connection to his local church. Kya’s connection to church had been sporadic growing up since her mother uprooted her often. Now, in a small town where life is slower, Kya has a chance to grow in her faith. As she begin to rely on God, what direction will He take her? Toward Brandon? Or toward Will?
So thank you, Amber. I really did enjoy it! It just proves that sometimes authors have to work really hard to sell their books, even at craft shows, even after they’ve put the work and their heart into writing it, even after writing multiple books. If you see authors personally selling their books at a table out of a box, give them a chance to prove themselves! Runaway Heart is also available through bookstores and on Amazon both in paperback and for Kindle.