Hatteras Girl by Alice Wisler ~ 3 stars

Hatteras Girl

Alice Wisler

Bethany House

About the book:

Fall in love with Alice J. Wisler's charming characters in this delightful story set in the beach communities of North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Jackie Donovan prays for two things: an honest, wonderful man to marry and to own a bed-and-breakfast on the beautiful Outer Banks of North Carolina. In the meantime, she works for Lighthouse Views, writing articles about local business owners, and intrepidly goes on the blind dates set up by her well-meaning but oh-so-clueless relatives.

There's one specific property Jackie dreams of purchasing: The Bailey House, a fabulous old home located right next to the ocean, a place where Jackie spent many happy childhood afternoons. But the Bailey House has strange stories and secrets surrounding it—not to mention its outrageous price tag.

When Jackie meets handsome Davis Erickson, who holds the key to the Bailey property, she believes God has answered both her prayers. But as Jackie learns some disturbing details about Davis's past, she begins to wonder if her heart has lead her astray. Will she risk her long-held dreams to find out the truth?

My review:
Well, I hate to give an unfavorable review, but I will be honest regarding my thoughts on this book.

There were some things I liked about the book. The setting. The dream Jackie had of one day owning the Bailey House. But, the things that I didn’t like seemed a little louder than the things I did.

*The rest of this review will have some spoilers, so beware* I found the dialogue in some places to be unbelievable. (Such as when she confronts Davis at the Grille.) If I was having an argument and someone was speaking that way to me, I would think they were mentally unstable. It was very random dialogue.

Also, Jackie didn’t seem to have any spiritual growth throughout the book. There were moments early on where she asked questions regarding God and why He let certain things happen, and I never felt like she was resolved with any of it.

Finally, the book broke one of my pet peeves. That is when there is more romance (and focus on the relationship) between a heroine (or hero) and the person they don’t end up with than there is with the person that they do end up with. That bothers me, but I know it doesn’t for everyone.

There were a couple other things too, but I don’t want to go on forever on the book’s issues. I think there will be some people who enjoy this book, but, sadly, I wasn’t one of them.

Thanks to Bethany house for my review copy of this book.