Welcome to Day 2 of the Amazing Jennifer Peel Book Giveaway! I hope you all enjoyed getting to know Jennifer yesterday, and finding out all about our fun giveaway planned this week. In case you missed it, be sure to check it out here.
I’m so excited to talk to you about this first book. Each day from here on out we will be posting a book review. If you want to win an e-copy book, be sure to enter the book competition by liking Jennifer’s Facebook page and My Facebook page, sharing this post, and then commenting on why the review sparked your interest in the book. The most intiruiging, alluring comment will win an e-copy of choice. So yes, you can enter every day, and then have the hard task of picking which book you want.
Also each share will enter you into the $25.00 Amazon gift card draw. The lucky winner of that competition will be announced in a video post end of this week. So be sure to like and share!!!
House Divided
Book
There is a law irrevocably decreed in the state of Alabama that you must choose a team. You’re either an Auburn fan or an Alabama Fan. There is no fence sitting or waffling. It’s one or the other. However, it doesn’t mean that you can’t fall in love with someone from the opposing side. They even have a name for it … House Divided.
Ellie Eaton and Brady Jackson were just such a couple, but unfortunately they were separated by more than just their loyalty to a university. Against the odds and against the rules, Ellie and Brady dove right into the forbidden current of friendship and then love. Their sweet, innocent romance was one for the storybooks, but old rules and family prejudices ultimately tore them apart, just as they were each ready to depart to their beloved universities, Ellie to Auburn and Brady to Alabama. But years later, when near tragedy strikes, they’re brought together again and given a second chance at love, this time with help from some very unlikely sources.
House Divided is a sweet romance filled with southern charm, a dash of humor and, for good measure, a pinch of lies and intrigue.
Review
As you can read in the blurb, this book is a real southern romance. Ellie (Ella Lu)Eaten was raised by her aunt LuAnne from a very young age. Her aunt was once a Miss America, and engaged to Isaac Jackson, until he married her friend Elizabeth.
Aunt Lu raised Ellie with 3 rules: 1. You’re an Auburn fan, 2. No beauty pageants, and the most important rule 3. No Eaton woman will ever date a Jackson man.
The Jacksons had their own set of rules: 1. You’re an Alabama fan, 2. You must date and marry a beauty queen, no exception, and naturally rule 3. No Jackson man will ever date an Eaton woman.
As you can expect, Brady, the youngest son of the Jackson clan seeks out Ellie. They first become friends, and their friendship develops into a beautiful, yet secret relationship. That is, until Brady decides to go public, and they are faced with the wrath of their parents. The strain becomes too much for them to bare, and Brady breaks up with Ellie, and ends up breaking Ellie (and himself in the process).
Fast forward 10 years and Elle (that is the name she goes by now) is a successful author of children’s books living in Atlanta. A call late one night brings her back to town to be with her sick Aunt Lu.
Now it seems like her aunt, who once was so opposed to her relationship with Brady, is orchestrating events to bring them back together again. Yet she doesn’t seem glad with the idea. Now Ellie and Brady must decide if they truly still have feelings for each other after all these years, and if they are able to withstand all the challenges placed upon them.
This book is a great fun. I found myself laughing out loud many times! All of the characters add such a great variety to the book. Ellie and Brady have a great chemistry, and you find yourself rooting for them throughout the whole story. Aunt Lu is hilarious. She is so set in her ways, yet so loving of Ellie, that she is willing to put her own hurt aside and Ellie’s happiness above her own. You cannot help but fall in love with her and secretly wish for an aunt like her. Brady’s parents are really something, especially his mum Elizabeth! You find yourself disliking her with a vengeance. Luckily Isaac gets to redeem himself somewhat as the book progresses. Benjamin and Kendra are great, and it’s nice to see someone root for Ellie and Brady from the start! And off course there is sweet Caroline, the little darling that has a key role in bringing the two back together. She is precious!
House Divided has a good touch of humour, great witty inner dialogue (which I find such a must!), great southern charm, a good story to it with a lot of intrigue, lots of heartbreaking moments and finally a nice ending where it all comes together wonderfully!
So if this is the kind of book for you, be sure to like both pages, and share :)!
In case you want to pick up this book asap, here is the link.
Jennifer is a fifth generation Colorado native who currently calls Alabama home.She is the mother of three amazing children who have grown up way too fast. Jennifer enjoys the mountains, vacations at the beach, date night with her husband, late night talks with her kiddos, touring model homes, and pink bubblegum ice cream.
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