Book Summary: Abandoned at the altar, Kelly Grace Pickens finds herself left holding not only the bouquet but also the exorbitant bill for an A-list wedding. Homeless, a once promising singing career floundering, and her life bearing an uncanny resemblance to one of her country music ballads, she reluctantly accepts a last minute offer to appear on a reality TV show akin to the bachelor. Pitted against silicon-enhanced supermodels in four-inch heels, Kelly feels confident that she will be among the first would-be fiancés to be excused. Only, when the mysterious bachelor from New York City, Dillon Black, invites her to stay, Kelly finds herself thrust into the vortex of a game she doesn’t have the first idea how to play. Nursing her hopelessly broken heart while avoiding the foils of her fellow contestants, Kelly is oblivious to Dillon’s affections as she wades through hurt and betrayal to discover, in the end, that she has landed firmly on both feet.
Leaving behind Nashville’s Music Row for the majestic Grand Teton mountains, Count Down To Love takes readers on a journey from duplicity to sincerity as Kelly discovers that being true to oneself is the first step in finding happiness and everlasting love.
My Review: I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to read this book again. I read it in January when I read all of the books nominated for Whitney Awards. I really enjoyed it then and even more so now! I love the character of Kelly. She starts out in the beginning not really knowing just where she's supposed to fit in. She's dumped at the altar by her fiancee Trevor and looking in the mirror on her wedding day she doesn't even recognize herself, what I thought was interesting was that she doesn't really see a problem with that on her wedding day, but as she moves through the Countdown to Love process she realizes that she needs to be her own version of herself, not Trevor's, her mom's, Dillon's, Sissy's or her dad's, her very own. I think that's really an important message for all of us to learn.
I like the idea of a story kind of "behind the scenes" in a reality series. There have been a few of those kinds of stories this year. I loved the love story of Kelly and Dillon, it's just so sweet. I love that it's clean, proving once again that a story can be clean and still interesting and great. Thanks to Julie for writing such a great love story and keeping it clean!
Purchase Countdown to Love: Amazon/ Barnes and Noble
Julie has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in English Literature from San Diego State University. In addition, she earned a Masters in Social Work from the University of Alabama. She has worked in teaching, childbirth education and family therapy. Besides writing, she spends many hours working along side her husband at their UPS Store franchise, but hopes to re-enter the Social Work field someday.
She is the author of three women’s fiction novels, The Woman He Married (March 2011) and No Holly for Christmas (November 2011), published by Whiskey Creek Press. The third, Count Down to Love (July 2011), published by Bonneville Books.
Currently, she lives in Nashville, TN with her husband, two daughters and one very feisty fish.
Find out more about Julie: Website/ Blog/ Facebook/ Twitter
Labels: blog tour, Clean Romance, Julie N Ford
