Guest Post: In His Likeness by Becki Brannen + Review of Breathless

Y’all! I’m super excited to have Becki Brannen on my blog today! She’s touring her book, Breathless, releasing through Vox Dei (my publisher) today! I’m so glad that she’s here. I read her book, Breathless, as an advanced reader, and I LOVED it! So, along with her guest post I’ll be sharing my review at the end.

In His Likeness

Becki Brannen

Well, the results are in–I’m not perfect. I’ve gone through thirty-four years on this earth and I’m still not there yet. The good news is, God doesn’t expect me to be sinless and perfect. Jesus, who died for my sins, is the only one to has walked the earth without sin. And yet, despite my sins and my flaws, God still loves me. He loves me so much that He sent His Son to die for my sins. The mercy in that action brings me to my knees in tears. Here I am, a flawed person stained with sin, but the price of that sin has already been paid. What an amazing God we serve!

A lot of nonbelievers seem to think we, as Christians, are supposed to be perfect, and hold us to the standard of not casting stones. Maybe some of us act like we’re holier than thou, but truthfully, we’re simply not. We should strive to be Christ-like, but God knows we won’t achieve a life without sin.

It is because we are not and cannot be without sin that I create flawed characters in my books. Each of them makes some mistakes along the way, because that’s real life. I feel it’s only honest to show the flaws that are so inherent to human nature. I like my characters to feel a little more real. On paper, the flaws seem reprehensible. In Breathless, Ryan’s a liar. Carly breaks a promise she made to God. Her parents are judgmental. His parents, well… they might be perfect. 😉

Look past the flaws, and you’ll see who they really are–Ryan’s an amazing guy who falls completely and irrevocably in love with Carly. He wants to love and be loved, to be cherished, to be wanted for who he is, not his celebrity status. Carly has an altruistic heart, looking always to see the good in others, even when she can’t see it within herself. God didn’t make Ryan and Carly (assuming they’re real, of course) to be perfect; He made them perfectly themselves, flaws and all.

For while we are all fearfully and wonderfully made, we aren’t perfect. That’s okay, because God made us in His own image. He made us knowing we’re sinners. He sent His Son to die for us, even though we could never deserve such a gift. He loves us even when we fall. He made us perfectly His, and that sounds pretty perfect to me.

Review:

Breathless will leave you – breathless!

Carly doesn’t have time for romance, and Ryan, as a famous movie star, wants something that is deeper and more passionate than one night stands. When Carly has a bad asthma attack, Ryan is the only one who sees, and he rushes her to the hospital. Posing as her husband, he spends all night and day with her. And what happens when she wakes up? She doesn’t know who he is. It’s refreshing, so he lies to her about who he really is. What ensues is a whirlwind romance that will leave you feeling breathless!

I loved that the characters were flawed. They dealt with very raw, very human emotions, but they also were redeemed in the end. They realized their sins and their mistakes and asked God for forgiveness. We all deal with being human, and I think Becki Brannen touched on this topic wonderfully. Her characters are human, but just like God, they learn to forgive and be forgiven.

I loved the romance between the two characters, and although it moved too quickly for me – someone who has dealt with trust issues over and over again and doesn’t like fast moving relationships – the story was still romantic and kept me up late at night reading.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves chick lit, flawed characters, and a redemption story of forgiveness.

About Breathless
What happens when an ordinary girl meets the man of
everyone’s dreams?

Keeping secrets is never easy, especially since Ryan
Spalding is on the cover of every magazine and this
year’s “Hottest Hunk under 30.” Good thing busy
lawyer Carly Sparks is so out of the loop when it
comes to celebrity affairs, or she’d realize she was in
one!

Leading man Ryan Spalding tempts Carly Sparks in
ways she’s only ever seen in the movies. She’s drifted
away from a promise she made to God as a teenager,
but Carly must rely on her faith when her relationship
with Ryan is put to the test. Will it be enough to keep
them together, or will theirs be just another failed
Hollywood romance?

About Becki Brannen
Becki Brannen is a thirty-something writer born and raised in
the heart of Georgia. Her debut novel, Breathless, is the result
of NaNoWriMo 2011, having been written in just twenty-nine
days. Becki primarily writes “chick lit with a Christian twist,”
marrying one of her favorite genres with her Christian faith.
Her life verses are Jeremiah 29:11 and Isaiah 41:10. Becki and
her husband have twin daughters and a poodle, Sophie.