Book Review: "Altar Call" by Hope Lyda

You don't know what you've got till it's gone

Mari seems to having her life finally like she planned. She has great friends, a good job, a better relationship with her parents and .....a boyfriend. Her friend Sadie is about to get married and Mari, Angelica, and Caitlin are excited and nervous about their friend leaving the single life behind. Amid all the wedding plans (including ugly bridesmaids dresses chosen by the bride's sister) Mari starts to question her relationship with Beau. When her father becomes ill, Mari leaves to go back to her hometown. There she meets up again with Marcus, an old friend. Mari has to make the decision of whether she needs to be east or west.

I really enjoyed this book. I don't want to give away the ending, but I was really happy with Mari's decision about Beau. He started off great and then became ....typical male. And of course there would be an ex-girlfriend in the picture. Why are guys always clueless in this area, and then it somehow becomes the girl's fault? I'm glad she finally stood up to him, was able to speak her mind, and be able to have no regrets. I'm glad that this series focuses on women in their late 20s/early 30s having the time of their lives. Too many Christian novels have women marrying at 20, having kids by 24, and becoming grandmothers by 40. That is not real life. I thought Mari and her friends were very realistic. I also liked Caitlin's story and how she was finally able to stand up to her parents. I found Mari's ever changing ring tones to be quite amusing as well. This book was fun, not preachy, a great chick lit read.

If you haven't read Mari's first adventure be sure to pick up Hip to Be Square. It's just as good as Altar Call. I hope that someday there'll be third book in the series.

Altar Call by Hope Lyda is published by Harvest House (2006)