Book Review: A Billion Reasons Why by Kristin Billerback

A Billion Reasons Why by Kristin Billerbeck

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publish Date:February 1, 2011

Paperback, 320 pages
Fiction, Chicklit, Christia, Romance

My Review:
Why I read this:The blurb sold me and I really wanted to read it.

How is the novel driven: Character, I loved watching Kate and Luc.


My thoughts: If you are looking for a fun, light story with interesting characters and really sweet moments then this is the book for you.  A Billion Reasons why is one of those books you can read when you are in a sour mood and when you finish you will find yourself smiling.  You just cannot help it.

First off the characters.  I loved watching Kate come to life, she's spirited and fun and a match for Luc in every way.  Luc is a driven business man but I loved watching him become a romantic and a man willing to do anything to show the woman he loves that she is the only one for him.  Their interactions have sparks flying off the page, some times in good ways and other times in feisty ways, but all the time interesting.

The plot is pretty simple, but when you have characters dominating the story that is fine.  When I say simple I don't mean that in a bad way.  The book is about the boy chasing the one he let go many years before.  I loved learning the back story a little bit at a time along the way, that really added to the story and helped the characters develop and change through the story.

I also loved the 40s references.  While it is not a time I am completely familiar with it has been one I have read more and more about in historical fiction lately.  The romance, music and fashion of the era shine through in this book.  I love a character that enjoys retro-fashion and that is just what Kate does and Luc appreciates this fact of her character.  It was just a nice extra-dimension to the story.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the setting.  A look at New Orleans without portraying it as the ultimate sin city.  Instead a look at the genteel southern side that has nothing to do with the overindulging touristy side.  I loved this and I felt like I was walking down the streets with Kate and visiting the various landmarks.  Ms. Billerback has a definite way with the scenery to make it come to life on the page.

A charming read, a wonderful love story, and I consider it more romance than chicklit, though it definitely has the elements of chicklit as well.  Ms. Billerback tells a wonderful story that I found hard to put down and it left me with a big smile and a good mood at the end.


My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:

There are a billion reasons Kate should marry her current boyfriend.

Will she trade them all to be madly in love?

Katie McKenna leads a perfect life. Or so she thinks. She has a fulfilling job, a cute apartment, and a wedding to plan with her soon-to-be fiance, Dexter.

She can think of a billion reasons why she should marry Dexter…but nowhere on that list is love.

And then in walks Luc DeForges, her bold, breathtaking ex-boyfriend. Only now he's a millionaire. And he wants her to go home to New Orleans to sing for her childhood friend's wedding. As his date.

But Katie made up her mind about Luc eight years ago, when she fled their hometown after a very public breakup. Yet there's a magnetism between them she can't deny.

Katie thought her predictable relationship with Dexter would be the bedrock of a lasting, Christian marriage. But what if there's more? What if God's desire for her is a heart full of life? And what if that's what Luc has offered all along?

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***I received this book from The B&B Media Group, Inc. and Thomas Nelson for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  I do not receive money for my amazon links since I live in NC (something about some law), so they are up purely for my readers to have a place to check out the book.***