Review : The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : The Chapel Wars
Author : Lindsey Leavitt
Publication Date : May 6th 2014
Publisher : Bloomsbury 
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Acclaimed author Lindsey Leavitt brings her trademark heart, humor, and romance to her hometown--Vegas
Sixteen-year-old Holly wants to remember her Grandpa forever, but she’d rather forget what he left her in his will: his wedding chapel on the Las Vegas strip. Whatever happened to gold watches, savings bonds, or some normal inheritance?

And then there's Grandpa's letter. Not only is she running the business with her recently divorced parents, but she needs to make some serious money--fast. Grandpa also insists Holly reach out to Dax, the grandson of her family's mortal enemy and owner of the cheesy chapel next door. No matter how cute Dax is, Holly needs to stay focused: on her group of guy friends, her disjointed family, work, school and... Dax. No wait, not Dax.

Holly’s chapel represents everything she’s ever loved in her past. Dax might be everything she could ever love in the future. But as for right now, there's a wedding chapel to save.

Personal Thoughts

Lindsey Leavitt's novel Going Vintage last year was one of my favorite YA contemporaries. I was absolutely smitten by the book and by how well the themes of family and friendship were handled by the author. So there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that I was going to read The Chapel Wars and I'm so glad I did! What a delightfully charming read this was!

Holly has just lost her grandfather who leaves behind his chapel in Las Vegas to her. Unfortunately for Holly, the chapel is drowning in debt and if Holly doesn't manage to pay off the loan to the bank in a few months, her dear chapel will be taken away from her. Holly was a main character I instantly clicked with. She's sweet, down-to-earth and very much relateable. Her bond with her grandfather was one of the strongest points of this book for me. You could tell that Holly and her grandpa shared a deep relationship that was full of love. Holly's love for him was palpable throughout the pages. Things weren't easy for Holly. She was not only dealing with having to manage a chapel by herself, but she was also grieving the loss of someone near and dear to her. Through it all though, Holly remained strong and fought for what she loved. Her willingness to work hard to achieve her goals was an admirable quality in her and I grew to really love her over the course of the book.  Watching her mature and become an even braver person made me really proud of her.

Holly also had a great support system around her. She was surrounded by her friends and family who were all very quirky, but who made up a loveable team. When she makes mistakes, they are there to tell her that she's wrong, but they also stand by her side and help to guide her. I especially enjoyed her friendship with Sam. It's refreshing to see a YA novel where the main character is friends with a guy without having their relationship step out of that platonic boundary. We also have a lovely and swoon-worthy romance in The Chapel Wars. Holly meets Dax, the grandson of a rival chapel owner, at her grandpa's funeral and their moments together were super adorable. The banter between the two of them was so much fun and I had a permanent grin on face the entire time I was reading scenes between the two of them. And you know what made the romance even more perfect? The fact that these two love birds didn't have a continuously blissful relationship but that they did argue from time to time about important things.

Lindsey Leavitt's writing was as charming as ever. She is an author that I can't recommend enough. Peppered with humor, strong characterizations and themes of friendship, family, loss and learning to overcome obstacles, The Chapel Wars is so much more than just a cute contemporary novel. If you're a fan of the genre, do give it a shot. I promise, you will not regret it.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5


Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the e-ARC of The Chapel Wars.
 

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