Review (and a Giveaway!): A Twist of Faith by Pepper D. Basham

“Ain’t is not a word.”

“Put your ‘ing’ on the ends of words.”

“Light is made up of a diphthong, not one long, flat vowel.”

“Stand up straight.”

“Put away your toothpick.”

These are just some of the “bossy’ (per Reese) reminders that Dr. Adelina Roseland passes along to Reese Mitchell, as she teeters across the fields in her heels to conduct their speech lessons while he tends to his cows.

If you love books that come with a dose of humor as well as faith, family, and flirting, then you need to be running right out to preorder a copy of this delightful book!

Series: Mitchell’s Crossroads #1
Genre: Christian Fiction, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas
Publication Date: April 6, 2016
Number of pages: 308

“A witty, sweet romance with memorable, honest characters…”~ RT Book Reviews

Love does not have an accent …

Dr. Adelina Roseland has worked ten years in research as an accent reduction specialist to attain her dream job. But a secret wager to transform Appalachian cattle farmer Reese Mitchell into corporate material challenges Adelina in ways she never expected, threatening her new position.

For one, Adelina didn’t plan for the faith and friction of Reese, or the unexpected influence of his chaotic family. Now, drawn into a culture she’d tried to forget, Adelina finds the warmth of family, the hope of faith, and the joy of love melting away the deep wounds of her past.

But when Reese discovers that he’s a pawn in her climb up the academic ladder, will he forgive Adelina s deceit or will their miscommunication end in two broken lives?

Basham weaves a unique tale sure to please the romantic at heart. ~ Denise Hunter, bestselling author of Married til Monday

“PhD was NOT supposed to smell like this.“

I have been trying for several days now to decide what I could say about A Twist of Faith that would adequately convey how very much I adore this book. Y’all know by now that I love Pepper Basham’s historicals (The Thorn Bearer & The Thorn Keeper thus far) – they are exquisitely poetic and full of grace and redemption.  But this book… oh, this book. I need more bubble hearts to convey my love for this book.

Because… A Twist of Faith speaks my language.  It’s funny. It’s endearing.  It’s heartwarming.

And it’s got a swoony hero who chops firewood and has darling kids and says things like:

or how about this one…

Reese and Dee have so many great moments like this throughout the book. In fact, I spotlighted A Twist of Faith on New Years Eve so if you want to check out some more snippets or info, click here or here. Their chemistry is both palpable and delightful as well as grin-inducing.  Stacey over at Down in the Hollow summed up my own thoughts pretty perfectly – “Sparks fly between Ms. ‘Is Not” and Mr. “Ain’t” creating mayhem and attraction that had me laughing till my sides hurt.”

AND THE KISSES!!!!!!!!!!! I must. mention. THE KISSES!!

Whew.

Goodness.

Look for this book in a future KissingBooks 101 post 🙂

That’s all I’m gonna say about THE KISSES because otherwise I’ll either be a) talking about them the rest of the day or b) melted in a puddle of swoon and thereby useless to everyone. You’ll just have to read it for yourself and make sure you’re properly supplied with at least one fan (having a backup wouldn’t hurt), a fainting couch, a freezer, alternate sources of oxygen, easy access to paramedics should resuscitation be required… You know, the usual. 😉

But something I love the most about Pepper Basham’s books – and A Twist of Faith is no exception – is that, if I took away the humor and the chemistry and the swoony hero chopping firewood and THE KISSES, I would still be left holding a beautifully written story of family and faith and friendship.  I fell head over heels in love with not only Reese but also his family – his kids, his mama, his siblings. If I had more time and space, I would wallpaper this post with my favorite quotes from his daughter Lou and his mama because I simply adore how they got under Dee’s skin and into her heart maybe even before Reese himself did.  The way Dee blossoms in her own spiritual journey as she observes the Mitchells’ steady and natural faith is one of my very favorite parts of the book, and it reminds me once again WHY I love reading Christian fiction.

Because, let’s face it…. love in real life isn’t a fairytale.  Actual kisses rarely measure up to fictional kisses. I love my husband, but if he ever went outside to chop firewood I would be too concerned to swoon.  But laughter and faith and family and redemption – these are real and true and possible.  And while Pepper Basham does write a mighty fine kiss (all 3 of her thus-far released books have been or will be featured in a KissingBooks 101 post) and some exceptionally fine heroes, it’s in these elements of laughter and faith and family and redemption that her talent absolutely shines. I can’t wait for more of the Mitchell’s Crossroads series or for whatever else Pepper has up her writing sleeve!

Bottom Line: A Twist of Faith puts a delightfully Appalachian and modern spin on “My Fair Lady” – and does so with such wit and warmth that readers will be grinning like Haus the dog through the whole read. The characters – primary and secondary… even tertiary, for that matter – will steal your heart and sometimes your breath, and the romantic tension swirls deliciously through any scene in which Reese and Dee share the page.  The message of faith is tender and organic – never preachy – and settles around your shoulders like a hug from Reese’s mama. If you’re a fan of Becky Wade or Denise Hunter (for CBA readers), or Kristan Higgins for my general market followers, you need to make sure you put A Twist of Faith on your wish list!

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)

My Rating: 5 stars / Absolutely fantastic!

KissingBook Level: 5 / Better just read this one near the freezer.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Join us for the A Twist of Faith Facebook Party.

Pepper Basham writes romance peppered with grace and humor. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the mom of 5 great kids, speech-pathologist to about fifty more, lover of chocolate, jazz, and Jesus, and proud AlleyCat over at a group writing blog, The Writer’s Alley.

Her debut historical romance novel, The Thorn Bearer, released in May 2015 and very quickly won a Readers’ Favorite Book Award. The Thorn Bearer has also recently made the 2015 Inspy Awards longlist and finaled in the 2015 Grace Awards. Pepper’s second book in her Penned In Time Series, The Thorn Keeper, released in February 2016 and already made my most recent KissingBooks 101 list (something I’m sure all authors aspire to LOL).

Pepper’s first contemporary novel A Twist of Faith debuts on April 6th.

GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | PINTEREST | AMAZON | WEBSITE