Georgina Havoc and her boyfriend Lance Broussard are taking the home improvement world by storm; however, after receiving news that upends their relationship, Georgina’s career is jeopardised when Lance asks for a break. Nevertheless, the show must go on, even if that means venturing the path alone. With one chance to prove herself to the network, Georgina leaves Nashville for Tarragon, a small town she spent the summer in when she was younger, to create a tv show that will prove why she’s the best for the job. Unfortunately, no adventure comes without its challenges, and Georgina faces plenty along the way — endless delays, her twin sister’s unexpected appearance, and an electrifying connection with Cassidy, a rugged ex-sniper she can’t seem to stay away from. Will Georgina restore her life to what it was or embrace a new design?

Cassidy Stokes is searching for purpose. Desperate to be part of something that matters, he accepts a job offer that will once again put him on the frontline; however, after colliding with the new girl in town, Cassidy’s future is about to take a detour. Is his decision to leave Tarragon the right one, or will his whirlwind romance with Georgina be the spark to show him a better way?

Pretty Little Pieces is a tribute to anyone looking for hope after sorrow, faith after disappointment, and love after heartbreak. When it seems like everything is falling apart, sometimes it takes being pushed out of the box for things to come together. While I wasn’t swooning over Georgina and Cassidy’s romance, I enjoyed watching their growth and how the Lord revealed Himself throughout the novel. With a relatable narrative, strong character arcs, and a come-to-faith message, Carmen Schober’s storytelling will captivate readers until the last page!

*Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with a pre-release copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own*

3.5 ⭐️

After loving Schober’s debut last year, I jumped at the chance to read her newest book.
Georgina and her boyfriend, Lance, are an up and coming duo on reality TV network, UpScale. Just when they are poised for greatness, Georgina suffers a miscarriage and Lance ghosts her. Trying to rebuild all areas of her life, Georgina enlists the help of her BFF Poppy who used to be her cohost until Poppy chose family life over the grueling TV schedule. Together they leave Nashville and find a new project in a small Tennessee town. Here Georgina meets Cassidy, an ex-sniper whose grief and past addictions shape his present. They fall for each other and work to overcome various obstacles.

What I liked:
-Schober’s characters are far from squeaky clean, which is often the norm in Christian Romance. I like that her characters have a past.
-Both Cassidy and Georgina have lots of emotional baggage and working through that was addressed in a realistic way.
-I love the setting of a home improvement reality show. They are such a pop culture staple now and I love seeing more and more books with this premise.
-I liked that the questions raised about faith between Georgina and Cassidy weren’t super preachy and were very logical.

What I wasn’t a fan of:
-I wanted more background with Georgina’s sister who has suffered from addictions. At the beginning of the book she was having some issues and by the end they had all suddenly disappeared.
-I wanted more in the romance with Cassidy and Georgina. They had instant attraction but I just felt they needed a little more to stand on.
-Cassidy takes a job as a hired gun and security for a company doing business in Central America. There are a couple scenes when Georgina expresses how much she hates guns, Cassidy pushes her on it, explains that he only kills bad people, and later takes her to a gun range. I am all for responsible gun ownership, which Cassidy exhibits, but the interactions felt slightly forced. In 2022 when people cannot even go to the grocery store without getting murdered, it felt a little tone deaf.

Overall, I liked the book but felt a little let down in a few areas.

2022 has been the year I discovered a love for Christian fiction and my heart has been filled.

Pretty broken pieces is a figurative and literal “fixer upper” story about what to do when everything falls apart.

Georgiana is an up and coming home reno star and the next “Joanna Gaines” but when a devastating heartbreak happens she knows she needs a change and a second chance. Insert a home show filming dynamic, complicated family relationships, coming to know a loving God, and a handsome sniper and you have a full bodied story.

I really loved Cassidy. He has this no nonsense attitude for life because of his past and he brings out the best in Georgiana with his calm demeanor. Georgiana is an incredibly closed up character, but watching her slowly build a working relationship with her faith and with God puts her in a place where she finally lets go of perfection and finds peace.

This has a moderate faith vein that I enjoyed, especially this time of year. I love that belief in God unifies us in profound ways even when we belong to different faiths. There are a lot of wonderful ways to be a Christian and not one shoe fits all. Sometimes faith and belief is a lot more simple than we make it out to be.

I definitely want to read Carmen’s previous book.

Pretty Little Pieces
Carmen Schober

Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 (yeah I did do that but I have solid reasons and I'm gonna lay it out to you! )

Favorite Quotes
🎄He’s given Cassidy more chances than he can count, and Cassidy wants to make the most of them.

🎄There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him.

(Last one I think)
🎄Ask God. Ask in faith. No doubting.

(Just one more ;) )
🎄She always thought that some feelings were bad—like sadness, or desire, or cravings— but this weird little book has her rethinking it. Maybe those feelings can be holy, too, if God is involved.

Review:

Have you ever read a book that is so impactful that you not just highlight it but start thinking what the book means Or makes you feel? Well this is one such book. I'm not one for non fiction so Carmen Schober entered my life and made Christian romance with a hint of theology, a lot of truth and all that gooey stuff that I ADORE!

PLP is definitely not a book that's just a book that's a quick read it's meant to be taken in, pondered over, read again, meditate on it and continue reading and the cycle goes on! A book that's not just about the romance but about Christianity as a whole without the whole sermon going on. I love Christian fiction but only Carmen writes it so well she doesn't hesitate to call out when she sees wrong IRL and in fiction too and this book has it all!

𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙨, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙮 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧!

Georgina Havoc who has set the bar high and is compared to THE Joanna Gaines but what happens when her beau Lance Broussard breaks up the Hollywood dreams are shattered and she's hanging by a thread and is on her trial run for her dream program! Enter Poppy a sassy, hungry and very pregnant mama bear who's her bestie also a Christian who doesn't hide her faith in Christ which is kinda an uncomfortable subject for Georgina. Crossing the road is the handsome small town heartthrob Cassidy who is almost run over by Georgie, thankfully he escapes her, his heart is still set on someone but his heart can't resist her. He doesn't hide his faith which might be a breaking point for both of them, but when God's writing your love story he knows what's best and he'll put up all the broken pieces back together and make it a work of art.

The writing style is just perfection 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
The characters are 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
The concept 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
The cover 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
The plot 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

I really enjoyed Carmen Schober’s debut novel After She Falls and when she announced she was releasing a new book this year I knew I had to read it. She has an amazing way of writing messy, imperfect and relatable characters. The characters in Pretty Little Pieces were exactly that.

The MC’s Georgina and Cassidy go through some really hard things before they meet. They’re in different places when it comes to faith and their social circles are nothing alike. The dialogue between them is probably what I enjoyed the most-I felt like a fly on the wall witnessing the two of them figure it all out. This is a story about rebuilding what’s broken and having hope in what’s to come.


4.5/5 ⭐️ - I really liked it! 👏🏼

Content ⚠️: miscarriage

This is my second book by Carmen Schober and she did not disappoint. It felt a little different from her first book--maybe less heavy?--but it was just as compelling and thought-provoking. I wasn't sure I would like Georgina very much but my preconceived notions were wrong. Her story arc kept my interest and was satisfying to read. Of course including Cassidy the sniper as her love interest didn't hurt either. There's so much to love about this story--the supporting characters, the small-town charm, the amazing chemistry between the MCs, the spiritual threads, the list goes on. The theme that resonated for me was how God can use suffering to draw people to him. I really enjoy this author's writing and I hope Christian publishers do not shy away from inspirational yet realistic stories. This story was so well-done!
* I received a copy free of charge from NetGalley.

Pretty Little Pieces releases tomorrow!! I LOVED this story and think everyone should run out and buy a copy now! TV home renovation star Georgina Havoc suffers a series of personal catastrophes and finds herself back in a small town from her childhood. Sparks fly when she crosses paths with local ex-sniper Cassidy Stokes as she films her new tv pilot. The romantic tension is beautifully palpable; Cassidy is absolutely fantastic (think Ronie Kendig hero fantastic and better) and I loved the push-and-pull-banter he and Georgina share! Schober presents unvarnished reality and very real moral deliberations. With convicting C. S. Lewis quotes and clear on the page discussions about faith and Christianity, Pretty Little Pieces is a return to what Christian Fiction used to be and exactly what readers want to see more of. This book is also unapologetically non-woke without being in-your-face politically driven. If you liked After She Falls, this book is even better! I already want to read this again and can’t wait to see what Carmen writes next!

*I received a free copy of this book from the author and publisher. I voluntarily read and reviewed this title and was not compensated for a positive review. All opinions are my own.

This is my first time reading this author and it will definitely not be my last!
Pretty little peices is a book that is a very interesting blend of the things we know and love about contemporary romance, yet it has it's own blend of something that brings grit and realism into the mix.
It is heartfelt, heartwarming, romantic and deep.
I absolutely loved the hero! I always seem to love the ex sniper character and Cassidy was no different.
The heroine took me a moment to root for and be able to relate to, but I loved seeing her journey and seeing how she grew in the course of the story.
Loved the romantic tension and how the faith element was woven into the story.
It is a really good read, perfect for lovers of "Fixer Upper" and small town with heart.
I recieved a complementary copy of this book from the publisher through Netgally. All thoughts and opinions are honest and completely my own.

Do you love HGTV? Especially Chip & Joanna Gaines? Then you will love this clean, Christian, contemporary romance featuring Georgina Havoc and her effort to score her own show on a fictional network called Upscale. Her former professional partner and boyfriend has put her on "Pause" after tragedy strikes. Georgina calls on her bestie Poppy to help her out. They go on location in Tarragon, Tennessee, where the locals charming and welcoming -- especially Cassidy Stokes. It is not all sunshine and roses. Both Cassidy and Georgina have been bruised and battered by love. By God's grace, Cassidy has the spiritual maturity to help Georgina return to the faith of her childhood. I loved the nuggets of theology, precious Bible verses, and the realistic church connections. This is an author I will be so happy to read over and over. Also thrilled to find out that she lives just a couple of hours to the west in Manhattan, Kansas -- that's the little Apple if you were wondering.

A big thank you to Bethany House and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The starting part of Pretty Little Pieces broke my heart and I wondered what if this book would be heart breaking. Instead, this romance turned out to be one of the best books I read this year. Schober wrote a romance that had all the best vibes that made it hard to stop reading-a reality show interior decorator, small town, and broken hearts needing mending.
Georgina Havic seems to have it all as a TV personality home flipper, but behind the scenes her life is a mess. Her costar is her boyfriend who is emotionally distant, her family is estranged, and she has high anxiety. She is given a chance to reunite with her best friend/former costar and do a special flipping a cabin small town Tennessee where she once attended Bible Camp. It's there that she meets Cassidy, a widowed ex-military sniper who is getting ready to do work in El Salvador. Oh, and to add to the mix of stress, her sister leaves psychiatric care to be with her.
I usually have two to three books that I am reading, but Pretty Little Pieces had me put all the other aside to read it. It's the perfect story of opposites attracting, best friends and the of God's redemption in lives. I loved all the characters and their development, especially the role best friend Poppy played in the story. This book is a little steamer than most Christian fiction books, but it also preaches the Gospel more than most. I hope there is a sequel with Georgina's sister finding her true love.
I received a complimentary copy of Pretty Little Pieces thanks to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson Publishing, but all opinions are my own.

Fixer Upper meets American Sniper in Pretty Little Pieces! It’s hard not to love this delightful cast of characters - they will tug on your heartstrings and make you wish you could be friends in real life! Georgina is very different from the heroine in Carmen Schober’s debut novel, After She Falls, but Carmen's willingness to tackle difficult issues remains the same. This is no fluffy romance novel; it’s full of grit, hard questions, and real faith.

Georgina faces the darkest days of her life right at the beginning of the story, leaving her to try to pick up the pieces. She grows in every area of life throughout the book, thanks in part to her sister Savannah and her friend Poppy. (I would love to see a sequel featuring Savannah!) While she deals with some hard questions, don't think this isn't a fun read! Witty banter, home renovation, and a handsome former Army sniper who is in the right place at the right time - what more could you ask for? I highly recommend this book, especially to fans of Susan May Warren and Becky Wade.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I DNFd this book pretty early. It was too heavy for me with the miscarriage, awful boyfriend and divorced coworkers possibly getting back together later.
This would be a perfect book for someone that needs encouragement (at least I’m assuming that will come) during tough times.
I enjoyed this authors first book, but this one just isn’t my cup of tea.
Thank you Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review. This is my personal opinion.

This book was much different then what I expected. I was hoping for a romance, and while it is a romance, I would label this as a Christian Romance. This book was hard for me to read and it is going to be hard for me to review. While I am a Christian, I have to be in a certain mood to read a Christian book, and I don’t know that I was in the personal head space to read this book at the moment. Maybe it was a good thing I did. It has me thinking which is what all good books should do. I appreciated that neither Georgina nor Cassidy was perfect. Though to be a true Christian book they can’t be, because God would help them find a path through their imperfections. I enjoyed how Cassidy didn’t try to force his beliefs onto Georgina, he allowed her to come to her own ideas over time. Cassidy’s asking questions vs. preaching at Georgina was a nice surprise as many churches and Christians tend to try and bring you to their side through preaching instead of a conversation. Overall, I enjoyed the book. Just was a hard read for the year that I have been having.
Thank you to Bethany House and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Pretty Little Things is a sweet, Christian romance novel about a 30 something interior designer who visits a small town to do a renovation and meets a town local who challenges her in many ways to rethink what she wants in life. Evenly paced with Joanna Gaines vibes, this novel is a feel-good book for Christian readers.

Thank you to Bethany House and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you enjoy reality tv and home flipping shows, this could be a good fit for you. It was fascinating getting an inside look into what goes into a home design show. It made me want to check one out or participate in a big project like that. It was crazy seeing a little bit about how the media affects things, and how non-disclosure agreements can really hamper the truth from being revealed.

I enjoyed Georgina and Cassidy and it was interesting seeing them try to deal with all their differences. I feel this book sets up additional books well and I hope there'll be more about Savannah. I thought it was very enjoyable.

Thank you to Bethany House for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The fact that I read this entire book is testament to the author being good at her craft. I am not one who typically enjoys contemporary romance, but this author did a very good job of combining the romantic element with characters who had imperfect lives yet believed in a Savior! Really enjoyed that aspect of the book.

I received this book from the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review.

Pretty Little Pieces by Carmen Schober is another splendid romance. Relatable characters, an entertaining plot, and strong messages of faith and second chances make for a novel that readers will not want to put down. Schober is no doubt a talented author, and one who does not shy away hard topics. What I appreciate most about her is her no-nonsense style of writing. Romance novels often bother me for the fluffy, boilerplate, feel-good language. Carmen Schober is honest and sometimes blunt. A sharp jawline, stunning eyes, and a muscular physique may make Cassidy a cliché male character in the physical sense, but he has his demons. So does Georgina. But they help each other fight their individual battles, while also fighting together for a promising future.

For me, there is a difference between “won’t want to put down” and “can’t.” The can’t novels are thrilling, edge-of-your-seat, the-character-might-die-if-you-don’t-keep-reading stories. They are the ones that keep you up at night, the ones you contemplate while you are at the grocery store. Pretty Little Pieces by Carmen Schober is not that. It is not suspenseful, nor does it have life-in-the-balance high stakes. Instead, the book focuses on more normal things. To a certain extent, anyway. I do not know about you, but my life involves no questions about television shows or cookbooks! However, I must contemplate where my future might lead—and with whom I might share it. I did not want to stop reading Pretty Little Pieces because I bit my nails; I read it because I genuinely grew attached to Georgina and Cassidy. You can read it at night and not worry about losing sleep!

The only things I did not like about the novel: First, Georgina’s twin sister. I will not go into details in light of potential spoilers, but I could have gone without her presence in the story. She is…very much a problem child, and she definitely makes things “extra messy,” as the book’s excerpt notes. Her entire demeanor felt very juvenile to me. If I had not known she and Georgina were twins, I would have thought her much younger—in her teenage years. She really got on my nerves.

Second, the romance got a little too heated for me at times with this being a Christian romance. There’s no funny business. No veiled allusions to bedroom scenes. But the novel does talk of intimacy in manners I typically only come across in secular works. This, perhaps, goes back to Schober’s blunt honesty, as I mentioned in my first paragraph. Christians aren’t immune to lust or attraction; Pretty Little Pieces definitely demonstrates that.

Overall, Pretty Little Pieces by Carmen Scober is a very good addition to the Christian romance genre. I did not enjoy it as much as After She Falls, but I still recommend it and would read it again!

Another wonderful book from Carmen Schober. To start, Carmen has a wonderful, distinctive voice. One thing I like in particular is that she writes in third person present. There aren't many books that use this POV, and I love how it sets the reader immediately in the story but from different angles.

The love interest in this book is just as swoony as Max in her debut, AFTER SHE FALLS. He is any cuteservative's dream man, and I loved watching as Georgina fell in love with him.

Georgina had a lot of growing to do from page one of this book up to the end. The book begins with her undergoing a very traumatic event, one that I have never seen expressed on the page in such a way. It isn't for the faint at heart, but it's a must-read for those who need answers to some of life's most complicated questions.

While this is a Christian romance, it has a fair amount of spice, but nothing unbiblical. As a result, there are many tough topics addressed, and I loved how Carmen didn't shy from hard truths!

This is my second novel by Carmen Schober and it seems she is consistent at delivering both the expected and unexpected. I know the author strives to include harder circumstances/struggles/backstories in her books - which I love and am always looking for in Christian fiction. But she also manages to churn out a sweet love story with strong faith elements. The heroine is not little miss perfect and the hero made a big decision which I would not call romantic, but made me love him even more. The characters were multifaceted and complex which I always appreciate, and the plot did have me wondering a few times exactly how it was going to end. I’ve seen some reviews subtracting stars because of curse words (like crap), so be aware if that’s a deal breaker for you, but I celebrated those words lol because there weren’t many but it made the characters seem more realistic, like people I actually know! And along with those frank reactions came frank conversations about faith. I hope to see more books like this in the future. It’s what I prefer to read and it’s what I’m trying to write!

Georgina and Lance were a couple. They worked together and will host a new design series flipping homes in Nashville. They seemed great together until Georgina told him she had a miscarriage, and he did not know she was pregnant. Now he needs space. She is left in Nashville with her best friend to help her, but nothing seems to go smoothly. They are renovating a cottage in Tarragon, the land where her mother and Georgina went in the summer. To complicate matters, Cassidy, the owner, is a kind man and Georgina seems to spend too much time thinking about him. Their attraction is overwhelming, but he works in foreign countries where dangerous things are going on and Georgina is committed to redesigning homes. Both love their jobs. Great book about making decisions and working through issues that are uncontrollable with prayer and trust in God. I loved Cassidy’s mother and her talent for baking and being a hostess. Savanah, Georgina’s sister, helps her make the transitions she must make and was a stable force in her life. This book is proof that when bad things happen, other opportunities surface.