Litfuse Blog Tour: “My Foolish Heart” by Susan May Warren

What’s the most foolish advice you have followed regarding romance?

Book Blurb: My Foolish Heart:  Unknown to her tiny town of Deep Haven, Isadora Presley spends her nights as Miss Foolish Heart, the star host of a syndicated talk radio show. Millions tune in to hear her advice on dating and falling in love, unaware that she’s never really done either. Issy’s ratings soar when it seems she’s falling in love on-air with a caller. A caller she doesn’t realize lives right next door.

Caleb Knight served a tour of duty in Iraq and paid a steep price. The last thing he wants is pity, so he hides his disability and moves to Deep Haven to land his dream job as the high school football coach. When his beautiful neighbor catches his eye, in a moment of desperation he seeks advice from My Foolish Heart, the show that airs before his favorite sports broadcast.

Before he knows it, Caleb finds himself drawn to the host—and more confused than ever. Is his perfect love the woman on the radio . . . or the one next door?

Read an excerpt here: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/novels/contemporary-romance/

Bio:  Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia, Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.

Susan’s larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)

A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at:www.susanmaywarren.com.

Link to buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/My-Foolish-Heart-Deep-Haven/dp/1414334826/ref=sprightly-20

My Review:

Since a tragic car accident took the life of her mother, Isadora (Issy) Presley has been home-bound due to debilitating panic attacks.  She secretly holds down the job of a talk show host on her program, ‘My Foolish Heart,’ giving romantic advice, though she’s never been on one single date.  Her shows’ mantra is ‘Your perfect love could be right next door,’ despite the fact that she can’t appropriate that ideal for herself.

Caleb Knight, an Iraqi war survivor with disabilities, moves next door to Issy, hoping to capture a new life teaching and coaching.  When he spies his next-door beauty, he calls the ‘My Foolish Heart’ radio program for advice in claiming her for his true love.

Susan writes a witty, humorous romance story that is filled with hope for healing and a chance for a new life.   She aptly describes Issy’s life of an agoraphobic lifestyle caused by a former trauma, while showing the power of God in extracting a new life for Caleb despite former trauma.  Issy’s outlook on life is a stark contrast to Caleb’s viewpoint, which Susan plays on throughout the book.

Issy’s initial impression of Caleb as having Neanderthal manners and a very unruly dog brings out the misconceptions we make of people before getting to honestly know them.  The whole of the story is the unraveling of such misconceptions, and presents as a fun, romantic read.  The characters are very real, and the conversations bring a lilt to the story, even as they touch on hard issues and how to deal with them with forgiveness.

Susan’s book will entertain while exposing you to issues you may not have dealt with in your own personal life.  God’s truth and faithfulness comes full round, though maybe not necessarily as one might think it should happen.

This book was provided by Amy Lathrop of Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest review.  No monetary compensation was exchanged.