Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist is up on CFBA with bonus review!

This week, the





Christian Fiction Blog Alliance





is introducing




Maid to Match Bethany House (June 1, 2010)




by Deeanne Gist



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After a short career in elementary education, Deeanne Gist retired to raise her four children. Over the course of the next fifteen years, she ran a home accessory and antique business, became a member of the press, wrote freelance journalism for national publications such as People, Parents, Parenting, Family Fun, Houston Chronicle and Orlando Sentinel, and acted as CFO for her husband’s small engineering firm--all from the comforts of home.


Squeezed betwixt-and-between all this, she read romance novels by the truckload and even wrote a couple of her own. While those unpublished manuscripts rested on the shelf, she founded a publishing corporation for the purpose of developing, producing and marketing products that would reinforce family values, teach children responsibility and provide character building activities.


After a few short months of running her publishing company, Gist quickly discovered being a "corporate executive" was not where her gifts and talents lie. In answer to Gist’s fervent prayers, God sent a mainstream publisher to her door who licensed her parenting I Did It!® product line and committed to publish the next generation of her system, thus freeing Gist to return to her writing.


Eight months later, she sold A Bride Most Begrudging to Bethany House Publishers. Since that debut, her very original, very fun romances have rocketed up the bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere. Add to this two consecutive Christy Awards, two RITA nominations, rave reviews, and a growing loyal fan base, and you’ve got one recipe for success.


Her 2010 books, Beguiled and Maid To Match are now available for order.


Gist lives in Texas with her husband of twenty-seven years and their two border collies. They have four grown children. Visit her blog to find out the most up-to-the-minute news about Dee.




ABOUT THE BOOK

Falling in love could cost her everything.


From the day she arrived at the Biltmore, Tillie Reese is dazzled, by the riches of the Vanderbilts and by Mack Danvers, a mountain man turned footman. When Tillie is enlisted to help tame Mack's rugged behavior by tutoring him in proper servant etiquette, the resulting sparks threaten Tillie's efforts to be chosen as Edith Vanderbilt's lady's maid, After all, the one rule of the house is no romance below stairs.



But the stakes rise even higher when Mack and Tillie become entangles in a cover-up at the town orphanage. They could both lose their jobs, their aspirations...their hearts.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Maid to Match, go HERE.



Join this SPECIAL GETAWAY (Click on the Button):

My review:

I have yet to read a historical romance written by Deeanne Gist that I haven't totally adored. She has a way with words, setting, and edgy romantic elements that is just hard for other authors to beat. Maid to Match was a real page-turner, in my opinion, but it was more than that. It was truly insightful and inspiring. I loved how the story delved into what true riches are and how status and a good job can only go so far when it comes to truly satisfying work in this life. For a person of faith, there is always something more that the heart yearns for. Gist did a fantastic job showing that side of things.

This awesome historical was also a sizzling romance. Gist clearly understands that many historical romance readers want not only to feel like they are living in a different era, but that we want yummy romantic tension in the story, and she delivers every time. This is not a quick-peck-on-the-lips-kiss-at-the-end CBA novel. But it's not just a relationship built on physical attraction either.

The many hours the characters spent working together and getting to know each other better at the mansion were precious and sweet. I loved how the mutual caring between the hero and heroine developed in a subtle, yet powerful fashion. Then when they finally kissed it was like, WOW! It was hot. The sparks flew off the pages. I SO loved that moment and the many other rendezvous they had that followed. And those barn gatherings/games were something else.

The cool sub-plot regarding the orphanage was well developed, too. The scenarios with the children and the issues that arose were believable and well done. I loved that the Biltmore was a real place, even though Gist explains that the orphanage itself was completely fabricated. It felt real to me, and that's all that mattered. My heart ached for the children and for them as a couple. The end of this story was so satisfying and sweet that it's making my best fiction of 2010 list.

Maid to Match was published by Bethany House and released in June 2010.