Sunday, September 4, 2016

Overture and a Prince

Overture and a Prince (Acts of Charity, #1)

Charity Pfeiffer knows acting will never be much more than a hobby, but that doesn't mean she can't take it seriously. When she prepares for a role, she even goes as far as imitating her character in real life. It's the least she can do for her off-Broadway audience. Off-off Broadway, really.

Okay, more like Off-Tulsa.

Being cast as Maria in The Sound of Music shouldn't take too much pretending. Love of music is a huge part of Charity's life. She already spends most of her time trying to raise her two children alone. And as far as the nun business . . . well, she hasn't had a date in ages, so it's not much of a stretch.

Car trouble isn't in the script, though. When Charity meets the mechanic who works at the end of the block, Ethan Foster does more than just throw a wrench in her plans. He encourages her to step out of character and embrace being authentic for a change.

No dress rehearsal could have prepared her for this real-life drama. If she's still waiting for a callback when opening night comes, will the play go on as planned?


My thoughts:  I'm going to preface this by saying this is the *only* collection I ever reviewed that vanished completely off Amazon, and not only that but some of the stories in it vanished as well. This--OVERTURE AND A PRINCE--is one of the vanishing stories. I can find it on Goodreads though so I am going to fulfill my obligation to review it.  And if you by some chance want to read this story then contact the author to ask how you can secure a copy. It maybe in a different collection right now. I don't know. 

OVERTURE AND A PRINCE is the story of a single mom of two, an insurance underwriter by day and a singing/dancing Disney princess by night. Active in the local community theatre, she has several personalities going when Ethan walks into her life, diagnoses her car with bad gas, pays the 3 cents due when she puts more gas in her vehicle than she has cash, and rescues her lack of lunch with a pack of peanut butter crackers. 

Written in first person, this is actually chicklit. Funny, sarcastic, crazy woman trying to deal with juggling too many balls in the air at once (or maybe trying to portray too many princesses at once) and everything is coming out... well, weird. 

If you love chicklit and love to read them, love stories written in first person, and don't mind "soft swear words" (which 99% of Christians don't mind, but there are the 1% that do--like me)  then OVERTURE AND A PRINCE is your sort of book. I hope you have better luck than I did finding it on Amazon. Or reaching the author. 


In case you are interested in the other books in the collection (which is how I bought it)

 

Whispers of Love (Chicago Wind #1)


A Change of Heart by Kimberly Rae Jordan
Only one thing stands between Ethan Collins and the job he desperately needs: office manager Makayla McFadden. She hates that he represents a major change in her family’s business, but finds herself intrigued by him, too. Will Makayla be able to see that change can be a good thing, professionally and personally? Or will Ethan be back to square one—in need of a job in a new city

Not This Time by Leah Atwood
Amie Reynolds wakes up on her wedding morning to find a note from her fiancé that he left the country. Needing to escape her heartache, she visits her great-aunt’s lake house for the summer and meets Drew Sullivan. Romance between them blooms, but will Drew’s secret tear them apart?

Homestands by Sally Bradley
A pro athlete stumbles across his ex-wife, the son she hid from him, and the rare opportunity to right his wrongs, but a secret from the past threatens their attempts to repair their shattered relationship.

Secrets of Sunbeams by Valerie Comer
One animal control officer with her own escapee goat. One solar architect whose report has been eaten. Can romance and urban farming blossom on the same city block?

Overture and a Prince by Christina Coryell
She’s an actress who can’t seem to get out of character. He’s a mechanic who puts little stock in imagination. Will their love story make it to the opening curtain?

Gentle Like the Rain by JoAnn Durgin
Isabella Caccavale’s stable life plunges into a tailspin after she buys her aunt's general store in Evergreen, Maine. When “runaway” lawyer Sidney Prescott roars into town, he jump-starts her wounded heart. Will Sidney find what he seeks in quaint little Evergreen or will he take Isabella’s heart with him when he returns to Boston?

Teapots & Tiaras by Autumn Macarthur
When their best friends’ wedding in London pushes medical missionary Matthew Coalbrooke and bubbly shoe-aholic kitchenware saleswoman Anita Kiernan together, it’s dislike at first sight. But God has a bigger plan for them than they can possibly imagine.

Oceans Apart by Lesley Ann McDaniel
This is the Inn at Crescent Cove's biggest weekend since Lily Duarte bought it last year—a wedding. Now if only she can stop dwelling on the last wedding she planned then called off at the eleventh hour…her own. When an employee quits and handsome best man Matthew Case steps in to help, Lily’s thoughts of what might have been start to fade away.

The Lifeguard, the Abandoned Heiress, and Frozen Custard by Carol Moncado
Adam Wilkerson is looking forward to a summer of fun working at the Serenity Landing Aquatic Center. Gwendolyn Cranston-Schmidt is looking for a fresh start. Can they see past both of their secrets to find their way to a real relationship?

Flight 259 by Staci Stallings
It was only a chance occurrence. When Jenna Davis happens to sit next to Dr. Scott Browning and his young son on the plane to Newark, she has no idea how that one chance decision will change all of their lives forever.

Smile for Me by Jan Thompson
A workaholic assistant principal who meticulously plans his schedule months in advance meets an easygoing potter and art teacher with no sense of time, living her life as the seasons come and go. Crossing paths again at the Summer-by-the-Sea Day Camp sponsored by his church in the Bahamas, how can they work together if they cannot see eye to eye?

The Other You by Marion Ueckermann
Five years spent searching for her identity brings photojournalist Taylor Cassidy no closer to the truth. When Taylor is sent to South Africa to uncover the story behind winegrower Armand DeBois’s flagship wine, Aimee Amour, their meeting raises questions that demand answers—for them both.

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