Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Review : The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt

*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

PublisherBloomsbury USA

Release Date: May 6, 2014
Pages: 304
Source: Own

The Story:

Sixteen-year-old Holly wants to remember her Grandpa forever, but she’d rather forget what he left her in his will: his wedding chapel on the Las Vegas strip. Whatever happened to gold watches, savings bonds, or some normal inheritance?    
And then there's Grandpa's letter. Not only is Holly running the business with her recently divorced parents, but she needs to make some serious money—fast. Grandpa also insists Holly reach out to Dax, the grandson of her family's mortal enemy and owner of the cheesy chapel next door. No matter how cute Dax is, Holly needs to stay focused: on her group of guy friends, her disjointed family, work, school and... Dax. No wait, not Dax.  
Holly’s chapel represents everything she’s ever loved in her past. Dax might be everything she could ever love in the future. But as for right now, there's a wedding chapel to save.
via Barnes & Noble

Rating
TWO Gold Stars!!



My Review

I thought the premise for The Chapel Wars was fantastic. But I have to say by the end of it, my reaction was simply "Meh." There was no bang, no spark. You know when you see someone you are crushing on and there is tension, chemistry? For me, The Chapel Wars didn't have that. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it but I didn't particularly like it either.

Opening Line:

Inheritance. I hate that word. Translation: Sorry someone you loved kicked the bucket; now here's your present.

Plot:

I liked the idea of Holly fighting to save her grandfather's chapel and being in competition with the cheesy chapel next door -- while dating the owner's grandson. But I feel as if Leavitt didn't milk the conflict for all it was worth. Many of the setbacks Holly faced and efforts she put in to saving her grandfather's chapel was pretty much glazed over -- hinted at in sentences in the past-tense. 


Overall, the plot premise (as mentioned above) was interesting and had plenty of potential. However, it fell flat. And the ending sucked. As I have mentioned in other reviews that I have written, I prefer my books to have happy endings (call it childish but there is plenty of real life grief to go around). 

Character Breakdown:

Holly - Holly was a tad more interesting than Dax but still too bland for me. However, I did appreciate how hardworking she was as well as the love and passion she had for her grandfather's chapel.

Dax - I didn't really get the chance to know Dax. He was wishy-washy to me. I couldn't really picture him in my mind's eye -- he didn't seem real. Other than that, I suppose he was okay. 

Here is one of my favorite quotes from 
The Chapel Wars:

Holly to Dax: "Sense? There is nothing about me sitting in a Gothic wedding chapel with a ridiculously handsome cowboy reading a letter from my dead grandfather that makes sense."
"Ridiculously handsome?"
"I meant to say ridiculous." 


***Check out Lindsey Leavitt's website for more information about her and the The Chapel WarsHERE

*My review on Goodreads

Happy Reading!


0 comments:

Post a Comment