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SPLITTING HARRIET MEDIA
REVIEWS
LIBRARY JOURNAL
Harriet Bisset, preacher's kid and former party girl, is living
a well-ordered, straight life in her hometown of Franklin, TN,
until the unorthodox and hunky Maddox McCray is hired by First
Grace Church to revive membership by introducing a less stodgy
service and lifestyle. What ensues is delightful, romantic chick
lit at its best, with a quirky protagonist addicted to Jelly
Bellys who needs the spark that Maddox puts back into her life.
Well-drawn supporting characters add to the fun in this novel
that will certainly appeal to twenty- and thirty-something
women.
PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY
Romance author Leigh (Stealing Adda) mixes chick lit
with a treatise on the need for change in traditional churches
in her latest. Former wild child Harriet Bisset, 27, tries to
keep to the straight and narrow. Between living in a senior
citizens’ trailer park, her part-time job as a women’s ministry
director at First Grace in Franklin, Tenn., and waitressing at
Gloria’s Morning Cafe (which she’s saving to buy), she doesn’t
have time to get into trouble. But when the church hires hunky
30-something Maddox McCray, a former bad boy, as a consultant to
help attract new members (translation: bring in the guitars,
drum sets and programming), Harriet grapples with her own fears
about risk and change. Some readers will disagree with Maddox’s
breezy assertion that “today’s Christians have different needs
from past generations” and that programming and contemporary
music are the answer, especially when interest from young people
in more liturgical traditions is on the upswing. Church
marketing themes aside, Leigh crafts the expected romance, with
all the tensions and tingles, adding splashes of fun with
Harriet’s Jelly Belly addiction and cat-sitting dramas. The
novel’s elderly characters sparkle, and readers will hoot when
one “old biddy” takes out a no-good amorous lecher with a stun
gun.
ROMANTIC TIMES
-- 4 STARS
“In
this funny, feel-good book, gifted author Leigh weaves in good
lessons among the humorous parts: that you can change your life
to live the life God has planned for you, and that it’s OK to
have fun without developing bad habits.”
HARRIET KLAUSNER
“Harriet is terrific as she feels split between her rebellious
youth…and her prime and proper adult behavior that her dad
supports. SPLITTING HARRIET between the men in her life leads to
a humorous with a serious metaphoric geometric leap in her
addiction to jelly beans. With a deep look at this young woman
caught between traditionalism and modernization, Tamara Leigh
provides an enjoyable tale; of course her first name doesn’t
hurt her rating.
CBA
RETAILERS+MAGAZINE
“This Chick-Lit novel delivers deep spiritual truths between
chuckles. Female readers will find the tension between Harri and
Maddox provides a good read as they pursue God’s best for First
Grace and determine God’s plans for their future.”
COFFEE TIME ROMANCE -- 5 CUP RATING
This book surprised me. I found it so charming, funny and
engaging that I read it from front to back in one sitting. I am
not usually a fan of Christian fiction, but Ms. Leigh inserts
her character’s spirituality into the dialog so well it seems
natural rather than preachy. It took me the first half of the
book to warm up to Harriet, who is the most self-centered and
self absorbed character I think I have ever read. But, by that
second half, I was rooting for her to get a grip and get on with
her life. The romance between Harriet and Maddox, was touchingly
sweet, as were the secondary characters. I highly recommend this
book to all lovers of a good chick lit story whether they are
Christian or not!
SPLITTING HARRIET AUTHOR REVIEWS
"Tamara Leigh delights readers with Chick Lit that sparkles
and characters who come alive." ~Kristen Billerbeck, author
of The Trophy Wives Club
"A soul-satisfying read. Leigh's vibrant story of
forgiveness and grace is peopled with characters as colorful as
a club-sized container of Jelly Bellys." ~Siri L. Mitchell,
author of The Cubicle Next Door
SPLITTING HARRIET READER
REVIEWS
"Written with the same self-depreciating, conspiratorial
tone that made Bridget Jones' Diary such a hoot, Splitting
Harriet pulls off the difficult task of keeping the reader
firmly in the head of the narrator, while allowing the freedom
to see things from an outside perspective..." ~Mary
Grace, Reader, Writer, Homeschooler& Non-Profit Missions Partner
(website)
"I wasn't sure I'd like the book when I was offered a copy
for review as it's Christian Fiction. Since I'm not Christian, I
don't usually read Christian Fiction and so figured it wouldn't
be of interest to me. I'm glad I gave it a chance! I was
pleasantly surprised to find that not only did I enjoy the book,
I loved it!" Stars: ****1/2 (This review is part of the
Splitting Harriet Blog Tour.) ~Callista, SMS Book Reviews,
Windsor, Ontario, Canada (website)
"If you asked me to list some of my favourite books, every
one of Tamara Leigh's would be on it! Stealing Adda, Perfecting
Kate and her newest release, Splitting Harriet have that
undeniable "something" that make a book stand out, even amongst
all the other great books available. It is no surprise to me
that Tamara's leading ladies are delightful and engaging as our
correspondence across continents, tells me that Tamara has those
qualities in spades!" ~Rel Mollet, Australia, Relz
Reviewz (website)
Perfecting
Kate Reviews (2007)
: ::::
Stealing
Adda Reviews (2006)
Traditional
Romance Reviews & Awards
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