Contributor Review ~ Wish You Were Here by Beth Vogt

Author Bio

Beth K. Vogt is a nonfiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an air force
physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of
four who said she’d never have kids. She’s discovered that God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.”

She writes contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us.
Beth is also the author of Baby Changes Everything: Embracing and Preparing for Motherhood after 35, and she makes her home in Colorado.

Connect with Beth on her website.

Book Blurb

Allison Denman is supposed to get married in five days, but everything is all wrong. The huge wedding. The frothy dress. And the groom.

Still, kissing the groom’s brother in an unguarded moment is decidedly not the right thing to do. How could she have made such a mistake? It seems Allison’s life is nothing but mistakes at this point. And pulling a “Runaway Bride” complete with stealing, er, borrowing her best friend’s car doesn’t seem to solve her problems.

Can Allison find her way out of this mess? Maybe she just needs to stop orchestrating everything. Allison prefers being the one in control, and giving it up is not going to be easy. But to find her way again, she will have to believe that God has a plan for her and find the strength to let Him lead.

Reviewed by Rebecca Maney

I read the ending three times. It was that good.

Beth Vogt’s debut novel, Wish You Were Here, captured my attention on the very first page with gut-wrenching sincerity, tender romance, comedic settings, (an aunt who rehabilitates llamas and a trash-your-dress photo shoot, just to name a few!) and characters who kept me smiling, laughing, and crying through-out all three hundred-plus pages. “Never judge a book by its cover” was certainly true of this novel; a bright, flirty book cover whispered only a hint of a truly sensational story.

“She should never have said yes.” Allison Denman is about to get married in a dress that she doesn’t like, to a man that she really shouldn’t marry. So when she proceeds to share a spontaneous, passionate kiss with the groom’s brother, just five days before her wedding, life as Allison knows it begins to spiral out of control. Her confusion climaxes when she bolts from her own wedding and becomes a “runaway bride”; setting into motion a tumultuous series of events.

Seth and Daniel Rayner are two brothers who love the same woman. Seth has known and dated Allison for six years; being his father’s “favorite son” has pushed him up the corporate ladder of the family business; marrying Allison is just one of the carefully planned rungs in the ladder. Daniel, on the other hand, has known Allison those same six years, albeit from a distance, (literally) as he traveled the world, freelancing adventurous additions to resorts and vacation spots; sending Allison postcards; along with, unknown to him, pieces of his heart. (I loved the postcards at the beginning of each chapter; brilliant idea!) Allison loves them both, but finds herself about to marry the wrong one and cannot bring herself to think that she has the courage to love the right one.

To clear her head, Allison leaves her known world behind and moves in with her delightful aunt Nita, who becomes a life-line and confidant as Allison struggles with her past and tries to move forward towards her future. Daniel inadvertently ends up in the same town and notifies Seth of her location. One avalanche and several double- brother -troubles later, Allison separates herself from both of them in an attempt to find her true self. In the end, it is Daniel who loves her enough to let her go; they both end up renewing a relationship with God, the true lover of their souls, whose plan for their life brings them back together in a “happily-ever-after” for the record books.

Tenth Avenue North has a beautiful song titled “You Are More”. These words came to mind as I finished this wonderful story about a young woman who thought that she was just one big “mistake”. Most certainly not!

“You are more than the choices that you’ve made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You’ve been remade”.

What an awesome assurance from an awesome God! What a great story from a talented author! And did I mention that I read the ending three times?

Purchase your copy today at  CBD (Christian Book Distributors).