Maggie Blackbird

Today, I’m hosting author Quint Emm Ellis’ latest release For Better or For Worse, book two in The Sisterhood of the Tiny House Revolution series, a Christian contemporary romance.  Be sure to read my review.  And don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

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Title: For Better or for Worse
Series: The Sisterhood of the Tiny House Revolution, book #2
Author: Quint Emm Ellis
Genre: Christian Romance, Contemporary Romance

These ex-lovebirds are busy building a nest for one. But can she be convinced to make room for him, too?

Blurb:  Despite attending the same congregation and university, Ashe and Stephen’s circles had never seemed to cross.

One class project changed everything…for the better; until secrecy and youthful indiscretion pulled them apart.

Will an unexpectant reunion in their adult years allow Ashe and Stephen to rewrite a history riddled with regret and heartbreaking choices?

Goodreads | Amazon

She watched him visibly flinch before grinding his teeth, seemingly steeling himself against her onslaught.

She made a move to rise from the table.

“Now, Ashe,” he said, grasping her hand to stop her advancement. “We have to talk about this. If we’re going to work together you can’t just walk away again.”

“Me walk away? Again?” she hissed, looking up at her surroundings before calmly reclaiming her seat, glaring at him.

In as low a volume as she could muster she continued.

“You’re the one that walked away, Stephen. Well before I ever left.” And there it was; the quavering in her voice. The dreaded tightening of the throat that threatened to turn her words into the mewings of a lamb. But she couldn’t stop now. “And you didn’t feel the need to resolve things, then.” She wrenched her hand from his. “So if you have even an inkling of compassion reserved for me, don’t pretend to feel any obligation to patch things up, now.”

After managing to detangle her legs from the bench, she faced him. “As a matter of fact, the best thing you can do for me right now is leave me alone.”

She turned to stomp away, crashing into the muscled arm and shoulder of a man that’d been walking up to their table.

“Hey! Slow down there,” Luke grumbled good-naturedly as he steadied her with a gentle hand on her elbow.

Ashe swallowed, her eyes glistening even as her expression shifted from shock to embarrassment.

“Sorry,” she said quickly as she darted around him to continue her escape toward the house in search of a bathroom.

Stephen stood to follow her; but Luke smoothly slid his body to block his path.

“I’m telling you, Man. Whatever it is, it’s best to let it go for now.”

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I enjoy a good Christian romance, so when this came up for review, I was in.  I also liked the blurb.  Second-chance romances are my weakness.

Ashe, an African American woman, has a close bond with her newly-made online friends.  They are part of a community that is all about tiny houses.  Ashe, a very cautious lady, finally takes the plunge and decides to build her own tiny house, and the book opens with her meeting her new friends for the first time.  What Ashe doesn’t expect is a blast from her past building it for her.

Stephen is a divorced author.  He let true love slip through his fingers at the insistence of his Latino parents who believed the meshing of the two cultures would not work, so he caved in at the young age of eighteen.  Now he has the opportunity to try for a second go round with Ashe, the woman who dumped him when she unearthed their sneaking around in their youth wasn’t to preserve her reputation, but to hide her from his strict parents.  Stephen is building his ex-flame’s house.

Although this is a bite-sized read at 61 pages on my e-reader, it’s a sweet story about forgiveness, faith, and, trust, because these are the issues the two must tackle if they want a HEA.

I really liked Ashe and must confess I would’ve preferred to see more of her than sixty-one pages.  But the author didn’t let me down, because Ms. Ellis covered a lot of ground for Ashe’s character arc in this “tiny” story.  I say “tiny” because this is part of a series called The Sisterhood of the Tiny House Revolution.  LOL.  I enjoyed watching her overcome the barriers she set in front of herself with faith and forgiveness.

As for Stephen, he had a lot of crow to eat, but he wasn’t put in the position of grovelling.  He did his best by “showing” and never “telling” Ashe the regret he felt.

I must say this short story really came together nicely.  We not only get a look at Ashe and Stephen’s relationship, but also the cast of characters in this series who don’t overwhelm the main stars but are there to assist in Ashe and Stephen getting their HEA.

It’s a sweet read full of friendship.  I recommend you give this story a try.  It’s a fast read that can be taken in on a Sunday afternoon.

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Quint Emm Ellis enjoys penning plots centering around unabashedly nerdy, introverted, cinnamon-roll mantic, passionate, fallible women who happen to be black, who happen to be Christian, and who happen to love an uplifting and, possibly, inspirational story.

She enjoys listening to audio books, watching movies, finding great deals and spoiling her cat and dog rotten. Her dream is to be able to walk around in loose pajama pants all day and geek out while mastering niche crafts like music production, film editing and electro etching.

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” — Toni Morrison

Follow Quint:  Web Site | Facebook | BookBub | Amazon

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