The Writing Desk

August 23, 2017

Hardcover: 352 pages

Publisher: Zondervan (July 11, 2017)

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress comes a new captivating novel of secrets, romance, and two women bound together across time by a shared dream.

Tenley Roth’s first book was a runaway bestseller. Now that her second book is due, she’s locked in fear. Can she repeat her earlier success or is she a fraud who has run out of inspiration?

With pressure mounting from her publisher, Tenley is weighted with writer’s block. But when her estranged mother calls asking Tenley to help her through chemotherapy, she packs up for Florida where she meets handsome furniture designer Jonas Sullivan and discovers the story her heart’s been missing.

A century earlier, another woman wrote at the same desk with hopes and fears of her own. Born during the Gilded Age, Birdie Shehorn is the daughter of the old money Knickerbockers. Under the strict control of her mother, her every move is decided ahead of time, even whom she’ll marry. But Birdie has dreams she doesn’t know how to realize. She wants to tell stories, write novels, make an impact on the world. When she discovers her mother has taken extreme measures to manipulate her future, she must choose between submission and security or forging a brand new way all on her own.
Tenley and Birdie are from two very different worlds, but fate has bound them together in a way time cannot erase.
My Review

This book does have its charm. I just wished that I could have found more of it for myself. Of the two women, I liked Birdie more. Right from the beginning, she had spunk and more confidence. Tenley on the other hand lacked confidence. Also, I really didn't understand why she was hung up on her boyfriend. I did not feel the chemistry between them, even if they were in different continents. I mean, if someone proposes to you and you can't give that person an answer right away then maybe that person is not "the one". Whereas, Jonas was kind.

It was a little depressing regarding Tenley's story. She and her estranged mother really did not have a close relationship. Her mother was constantly picking on Tenley. Although, there was a moment that I did chuckle when Tenley's mother pointed out Tenley and her were "robe and slipper sisters".

I got half way through this book and it felt like it took a long time to get there as well as fast. The chapters were short and the flow was good but due to the fact that it was taking me a long time to warm up to Tenley and her story, it seemed slow. Yet, the second half of the story is where it improved.

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About Rachel HauckRachel Hauck is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of The Wedding Dress, which was also named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times and was a RITA finalist. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and two pets and writes from her ivory tower.