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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Why You Need to Dare to Dream Again

by Chautona Havig · 23 Comments

I saw the name—Alana Terry.  Without even reading the synopsis, I filled out the form to request a review copy.  See, I’ve learned something in the past year or so.  If Alana has written it, I want to read it.

Dare to Dream Again would be no exception.

Two months passed. Then the moment came.  My editorial calendar said I must read Dare to Dream Again and have the review up by October 23. Today I opened my Kindle app and began reading.  Now, to be fair, I didn’t even remember whose book it was by this point  That’s kind of important to know. Because as I read the first lines… the first paragraphs… the first page of the book, my heart sank. First-person/present tense. My nemisis.  Seriously. I HATE first-person/present tense.

I could not do this.  Crazy would be too normal for me long before I finished. I could not read this book.

A glance at the author’s name gave me a double take.

Uh, oh.

Seriously, I thought I’d found a book by Alana Terry that I couldn’t finish.  Kind of awkward when I’d requested the copy.  Double awkward because we’re in a few collections together. Triple awkward because we’re roomies in Las Vegas in just a couple of weeks.

Eeep!

One page turned.  The next. Relief.

It was just a stylistic device for a specific kind of scene.  I could handle a few of those sprinkled through the book.

So, with that relief still cleansing the panic from my spirit, I dove into the book with no idea of what I was supposed to be reading.

Why You Need to Dare to Dream Again

Note: links are likely affiliate links that provide me with a small income but it doesn’t cost you extra. Additionally, I requested a review copy of this book and subsequently chose to review it. Thanks!

Why You Need to Dare to Dream Again

I’ve been telling people all year that Alana Terry writes a really interesting book. She takes things we’re not used to reading and makes them happen.  Her Out of North Korea made my top 10 for the year so far because she not only told a compelling story, she did it in first-person, present-tense without me even noticing for the first three-quarters of the book.

Dare to Dream Again does something similar… and opposite. This time, Alana Terry takes familiar things that usually annoy readers and makes them work.  We have instant attraction working out in a reasonable, rational way for that character.  We have an abusive father…and a little pipsqueak of a kid who isn’t the horrible nightmare you’d expect–even while he is.

Every time something happened that would have annoyed me in any other book, I had to admit that it worked.  Not only that, but I liked how it worked. The main character, Gloria, had a personality and a history to make every decision that would have been rather overly-convenient in any other book fit perfectly in this one. She’s even annoying at first!

And Derek?  The guy would have moved way too fast and been much too invested far too soon—except his history set him up to be exactly where he was and act precisely the way he did.

A subtle lesson flows through the book, too.

When we’ve had our dreams fulfilled in beautiful ways, we often feel like we don’t have the right to keep dreaming, but the Lord loves to give “good gifts” to His children just like any father.  Gloria learned that in the book… and I got a nice reminder of it.

Look, I keep wanting to complain about things in Dare to Dream Again.

What Dreams May Come- Terry In any other book, I’d be telling you how implausible this or that is and how it just didn’t work for me. But the characters are realistic. They behave in realistic ways.  None of them are obnoxiously perfect. And all of them have something to teach us without being preachy.

And the next book? What Dreams May Come? Yeah. Already shelved that sucker in my Kindle Unlimited. I fell in love with Susannah (Gloria’s oldest daughter) in this book. I want to see where she goes in life.

My only quibble is that it’s a novella, and like many novellas, it ends much too soon for my taste.  Part of that is my personal objection to the shortness of novellas.  Most of it is just that I wanted more of Derek and Gloria.

And I can’t tell you how relieved that made me. I wouldn’t want to annoy her and later discover that Alana short-sheeted my bed or anything.  She’s already torturing me with “tenor rock” one night. Just sayin’.

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Comments

  1. Julie Waldron says

    November 7, 2018 at 7:02 am

    This sounds like my kind of book! Thanks for the chance.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      November 8, 2018 at 9:58 am

      It’s a lovely book.

      Reply
  2. Debbie P says

    November 4, 2018 at 9:18 am

    This sounds really good.

    Reply
  3. Linda Marie Finn says

    October 27, 2018 at 4:42 pm

    Wow… Out of North Korea was such a eye opener for me and now here you are with two other books… I need to catch up… sadly my Dad died and so did my pastor, so the last two years have been a blur… Cant wait to read these !!! Going to follow the blog tour !!!

    Blessings
    Linda Marie Finn
    Faithful Acres Books
    [email protected]

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      October 27, 2018 at 10:53 pm

      This book wasn’t as hard hitting. Just light and fun. 🙂

      Reply
  4. carylkane says

    October 27, 2018 at 6:25 am

    Thank you for the wonderful review! Sounds like a great book!

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      October 27, 2018 at 10:54 pm

      It really was. Just a whole lot of fun.

      Reply
  5. James Robert says

    October 24, 2018 at 3:16 am

    Good Morning! Thank you for the book description.These tours are great and we have found some terrific books so thanks so much.

    Reply
  6. Alana Terry says

    October 23, 2018 at 8:01 pm

    Haha laughing my head off! No short sheets 🙂 Promise.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      October 23, 2018 at 11:00 pm

      I’m more nervous than ever. Remember, any torment you do to me you have to live with the aftermath. I’m just sayin’.

      Reply
  7. Joanna says

    October 23, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    Wow! Thanks for the review. I’ve met some good books and authors because of your reviews. I like Alana Terry, so am so happy I visited her website — and got a free book. Woohoo! Thanks to both of you!

    Reply
  8. Amelia says

    October 23, 2018 at 12:32 pm

    I loved this book! Thanks for the giveaway!

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      October 23, 2018 at 5:02 pm

      I thought it was really sweet without being sugary.

      Reply
  9. NZ Filbruns says

    October 23, 2018 at 11:18 am

    I’ve become quite a fan of Alana Terry, too! This one was really good. Your comment about being annoyed with novellas amused me–one of the things I like about your books is that they’re long!

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      October 23, 2018 at 5:03 pm

      Even my novellas are as long as they can be without stretching into novels. Snort.

      Reply
  10. Kay Garrett says

    October 23, 2018 at 9:11 am

    Thank you for your review and for being part of the book tour for “Dare to Dream Again” by Alana Terry. Loved reading about the book and I’d love the opportunity to read about Derek and Gloria.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      October 23, 2018 at 5:03 pm

      It really is a lovely little book.

      Reply
  11. realworldbiblestudy says

    October 23, 2018 at 6:38 am

    I feel the same way about novellas. The only good thing is that they don’t give me “readers hangover” – if I get sucked in and read the whole thing in one night, at least it’s not so late!

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      October 23, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      That is true. It’s always such a delight to look at that little bar on the Kindle and go, “WAIT! It’s half done!?!?! I just got started!” (being a fast reader has its perks.

      Reply
  12. Patty says

    October 23, 2018 at 5:42 am

    For some reason I have found that I really enjoy reading Novellas on my kindle. I don’t read a lot of following books on it, but for some reason the novella length plus the Kindle works for me? Sounds like this is one I need to check out.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      October 23, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      Just be prepared to want the next!

      Reply
  13. James Robert says

    October 23, 2018 at 5:30 am

    Thanks so much for bringing to our attention another great book out there to read. I appreciate hearing about them since I have so many readers in my family.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      October 23, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      I love sharing books! Happy reading!

      Reply

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Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 231: A Chat with RomCom author, Shannon Sue Dunlap
byChautona Havig

Shannon Sue Dunlap isn’t new to rom-coms, and her first book in the Sweetheart Series promises to be a literary riot, and it lives up to that promise. I’m only halfway through it and am thinking mean, ugly thoughts of everything keeping me from being able to escape into the crazy small-town politics and quirky characters. So far the com far outweighs the rom, which makes me thrilled to bits. Listen in to discover what makes Lone Star Sweetheart so much fun.

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Why Did This Author Write a Rom-Com about a Loveable Shrew?

Well, I think we can safely blame Shakespeare for that. Shannon Sue Dunlap has taken inspiration from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in her Katherine, but unlike Katerina, Dunlap’s character is actually trying to learn to tame the tongue. Maybe someone should send her over to the book of James. There’s that whole bit about not being able to tame it, being an “unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

Kate’s isn’t that bad, but not for lack of trying. Or something.

Shannon Sue Dunlap isn’t joking when she says that her Katherine is a “loveable” shrew. Seriously, I love this character. She’s forthright, no-nonsense, and “what you see is what you get” in her approach to life. I respect that. Add to that her boss who has shaken up the town of Sweetheart, Texas, and you’ve got the makings of a great story. I’m loving Lone Star Sweetheart.

But this isn’t all Dunlap has written.

Under the pseudonym, Shannon Kent, you can find her sweet and clean romances (including one Christian romance) inspired by Korean dramas. If you said I’d be not only chomping to read a sweet and clean romance about Korean tour guides and all that entails but also ready to watch a Korean drama on Netflix… Okay, I might not have laughed in your face, but I’d’ve been laughing on the inside.

Best part… one of them ties into her Sweetheart Series

Lone Star Sweetheart by Shannon Sue Dunlap

Katherine Bruno’s passionate, unfiltered temper makes her the shrew of small-town Sweetheart, Texas. When she’s drafted to help the mayor’s wife run against her own husband, Katherine meets opposing big city political consultant Ryan Park. The good-looking, flirtatious campaign manager gets under her skin, but fraternizing with the enemy is off-limits.

Katherine must battle her lack of experience, campaign sabotage, and her growing feelings for Ryan as she strives to succeed. His unprejudiced acceptance of her strong-willed character beckons her heart, but his jaded rejection of God is an insurmountable barrier. Will Ryan return to his faith and stay with her in Sweetheart or leave when the election ends?

You can find out more about Shannon Sue Dunlap AND get that first novella in the Korean Crush series free on her WEBSITE.

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