Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through I Read With Audra for the purpose of this review.

Synopsis: Meri Newberg is the last of her group of friends to marry. As the last single young woman, she gets “the gift.” When she gets to her place for the summer, renting a room from her brother who will be away for the time being, she opens it. And gets a shock she was not expecting. It is a list. To be more specific, it is a newspaper clipping of advice from the 1950s on how to catch a husband. Yep, she is completely embarrassed and ready to throw it out. After all, who would really do these?

#2 Fake a flat tire or pretend engine trouble.
#4 Move to a state with more men than women. We recommend Nevada.
#16 Work as a waitress or nurse. Men love being taken care of.
#19 Go to you local fishing pier and feign squeamishness about baiting your own hook.
#21 Ask a man to take your photograph. Chances are, he’ll want his own copy.
#100 Get your personal ad in front of as many eligible bachelors as possible. Like on a billboard.

Kai, her brother’s roommate, gets an idea. As an up and coming cameraman looking for his big break, he talks Meri into actually trying some of the ideas out AND letting him film them to post online for a new series. They start with #33 “Go to a rodeo. Rescue the Lone Ranger from himself.” So, she buys a lasso and a bandana and tries to lasso a man. Following these up are getting stuck at the top of the Ferris wheel (thanks to Kai!), visiting a ball game and pretending to not know where the seat is, faking needing help at a pool (just to find out the man is married), and many more hilarious set-ups. The series, Meri Me, is a huge and immediate hit. Everyone loves watching Meri try to catch a husband.

Before long, Kai begins to wonder about whether this is really such a good idea after all.

My Thoughts

This is a fun, quirky, page-turner book. I absolutely adored the pluck and spunk Meri shows in all of her feats of auditioning men using The List. It was such a fun read that I couldn’t put it down. It was such a nice change to have a clean Christian romance. So many times, there is just enough “romance” in those types of books that I will not read them. This one? Not a smidge of the inappropriate. In fact, I handed it to my teenage daughter (she’s 17) because I knew she’d enjoy this too. And she did. She couldn’t put it down, either. We both thought this was such a fun look at dating and how the online world is integrated into life now. I appreciated also how the characters’ Christianity was included without it being such an “in-your-face” part of the story that it becomes unreal and unrelatable. I can heartily recommend this fun read to teens and adults alike.

A major plus? I really like the emphasis on knowing yourself and what you can and should be, that doing something like getting married before you are ready to be the person you need to in a marriage is crazy. I really like the ending. I won’t spoil it but it is quite surprise and brings a smile to the reader’s face. It is what I would hope would happen for every young man and young lady contemplating marriage.

About the Author

Angela Ruth Strong sold her first Christian romance novel in 2009, then quit writing romance
when her husband left her. Ten years later, God has shown her the true meaning of love, and
there’s nothing else she’d rather write about.

Strong’s books have since earned Top Pick honors in Romantic Times, won the Cascade Award, and been Amazon best sellers. Her book Finding Love in Big Sky recently filmed on location in Montana and will air soon. She also writes articles for SpiritLed Woman. To help aspiring authors, she started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho, and she teaches as an expert online at Write That Book.

Besides writing, Strong teaches exercise classes, works for an airline, and enjoys Harley rides with her husband and camping with her three kids.

Learn more about Angela Strong at www.angelaruthstrong.com, or find her on Facebook (Angela Ruth Strong Fan
Page), Instagram (@ang_strong), and Twitter (@AngelaRStrong).

And now for the giveaways!

I Read With Audra is hosting the giveaway for a copy of the book. Visit her blog to complete the Rafflecopter entries.
https://www.audrajennings.com/2021/08/win-copy-of-husband-auditions-by-angela.html This will end September 14, 2021.

Also Angela Ruth Strong is giving away a round-trip airline ticket. Visit https://mailchi.mp/50fe6fc73514/husband-auditions-book-launch to sign up for her emails and be entered to win.

Blessings,
Lori, At Home.