Book Review: "Life, Libby and the Pursuit of Happiness" by Hope Lyda

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

LIFE, LIBBY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
(Harvest House Publishers March 1, 2007)
by

Hope Lyda

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hope Lyda has always wanted to write. Ever since she was a young tyke with a spiral notebook in hand, she had the urge to fill it. Sadly, Peggy Meets the Midgets did not cause Hope to be deemed a child prodigy, so she continued her path of education. She was grade-obsessed but also truly enjoyed sharing laughs with her circle of creative friends.

Hope attended the University of Oregon and graduated with a double major in Journalism: Advertising and Telecommunications and Film. With aspirations to write screenplays or teleplays, she of course ended up doing public relations for non-profits until she entered the publishing field in which she has worked for 10 years.

Her passions are quiet ones—she loves a good read, an afternoon of free thinking time, writing, journaling, road trips, travel, and pondering life from her back yard pergola. She loiters in bookstores frequently, though has never been arrested for such. Her big hope is to encourage others to embrace their dreams and understand their faith journeys through the practice of journaling and the art of creative living. She hopes to also inspire such things through the themes in her fiction including Hip to Be Square and Altar Call. (There are also visions of a nice Casita with a hammock in Mexico—but one thing at a time.)

When not living in her head, she resides with her husband, Marc, in the Pacific Northwest.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Libby Hawthorne makes exotic trip itineraries but never leaves Seattle. She’d like to attend church but winds up at a bookstore. She longs for love—but who has the time? Delayed happiness has been worth it, because she’s about to get her dream promotion...

Or not.

So now what?

When a corporate merger leaves her demoted and disillusioned, Libby realizes she needs to start living authentically...and soon. But just as she tries to uncover her purposed life, her cruel and unusual boss, Cecilia, demands that Libby hide Seattle’s most famous homegrown rock star in order to keep her new, bad job. For the first time in years, Libby doesn’t have a step by step plan to guide her. She must trust her faith and her heart. But what is she supposed to do with her growing admiration for Blaine Slater, a new VP from Chicago, or the surprising kindness of the rock star living incognito in her Seattle apartment? Through the humorous twist and turns, Libby uncovers a big life truth—the detours we are afraid of might just be the perfect path to happiness.

Chick Lit makes Me Happy

I love chick lit. Yes I am the target audience of the genre and I don't mind one bit. This story had everything I wanted. Quirky characters, outrageous plot, 20 something heroine with a great job, celebrities all under the backdrop of Seattle, home of my favorite overpriced coffee. I really enjoyed the storyline. I love the bookstore that Libby frequents, it's prally someplace I would want to visit everyday as well. Her antics at her job were fun to read with the crazy coworkers and her relationship with her new boss. I really loved the book club scene where Libby has to endure the discussions about romance novels because she felt the exact same way I did about them. The scenes involving her former boss making her keep secrets and sneak around with music stars was hilarious. I had a good time reading this book. This book isn't preachy at all which is why I would recommend this to any chick lit fan and believe that they would enjoy it. I felt that it rivals mainstream chick lit and the cover is really cute as well. Hope Lyda is one of the best chick lit writers out there in my opinion, and I'm eagerly awaiting her next books.

Life, Libby and the Pursuit of Happiness by Hope Lyda is published by Harvest House (2007)