Happy First Line Friday! Today I am featuring a new release by one of my go-to authors – All That It Takes by Nicole Deese.
“As the door to our new life swung open and my ten-year-old son rushed across the threshold to explore the second-story apartment, the you-break-it, you-buy-it policy flashed across my mind like a hazard warning.”
All That It Takes by Nicole Deese
The Basics
Title: All That It Takes
Author: Nicole Deese
Publication Date: April 5, 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Women’s Fiction
My Rating: 5 Stars
From the Back Cover:
When the ever-cautious Val Locklier finally agrees to a cross-country move with her nine-year-old son to take a job with her best friend, Molly, everything she had planned for the future unravels within the first week. After pushing aside her anxieties about renting an apartment from Molly’s twin brother, whom she barely knows, she accepts an invitation for an elite filmmaker’s mentorship. Caught between her insecurities and new possibilities, she feels completely unprepared for the challenges ahead.
Pastor Miles McKenzie returns home from abroad to discover that not only does he have an intriguing new tenant living upstairs, he’s been banished to a ministry on life support. Disillusioned and restless, he pursues a relationship with Val without stopping to consider the timing or asking God to direct his steps.
As Val struggles to stop hiding behind the camera and Miles wrestles with shattered expectations, they’ll find that authentic love and sacrifice must go hand in hand.
My Review
All That It Takes is a charming story – the perfect blend of lighthearted moments, sweet romance, spiritual truths, and characters who tug at your heartstrings. This book picks up where All That Really Matters left off, although it can be read as a standalone. Val and Miles, who we met in the last book, are both facing major changes in the trajectory of their lives.
Val’s story is one of facing her fears and stepping outside her comfort zone. Her realization that God can use her story to change lives in dramatic ways is a powerful example of vulnerability and authentic faith. Miles faces his own crisis of faith in a way, as his plans for his life are knocked off course for reasons outside of his control. His eyes are opened to new ways of doing ministry, in a way that is moving and thought-provoking. And of course, Val’s son Tucker brings plenty of fun and laughter to the story!
While I would put this book in the contemporary romance genre, it is so much more – it is full of real, relatable characters who experience both the grit and grace of life. I highly recommend this series, especially to fans of authors like Becky Wade and Courtney Walsh!
Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below. Don’t forget to head to Reading is My Superpower to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I’ve seen this book being featured somewhere else as well and it does seem like a compelling read.
Have a good weekend and happy reading!
Elza Reads
I loved this book, glad you did too! It’s a difficult one to review and convey how good it is!!
Excellent review. I really loved this book!
Happy Friday!
I’m currently finishing up The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray. If you love Austen’s novels, you will love this book. It’s so good!
“As much as Juliet had learned of the arts of deception of late, she knew she was as yet not proficient.”
Hope you have an excellent weekend. Happy reading! 😊
We’re book twins today! I loved All That it Takes, too!!
All That it Takes was a fabulous book!
My first line comes from Written on the Wind by Elizabeth Camden:
“Natalia Blackstone always considered the third floor of her family’s bank the most fascinating five thousand square feet in the entire United States.”