Thirty Days Hath...

by Chautona Havig

[phyllish]

Blind dates are for wimps!

It’s been six and a half years since I have read this book, but I still vaguely remember the events in it. And remembered that I liked it enough, when I saw she had re-imaged and revised it, I knew I wanted to read it again. So I did.

The concept of the book is unusual among Christians. I mean, really, how do you take a Christian man and put him in a situation where once a month for a year, a new woman will come live in his house so they can determine if they are compatible enough to pursue marriage. And keep things nice and clean and platonic. (Hint: you send chaperones along. And have Ms. Havig write it, of course.)

Having married young, I don’t necessarily relate to the motivations of Adric and the twelve women who agreed to this experiment. Yet I was able to relate to them in other ways and understand exactly why they were there.

Part of what made this story so enjoyable was that there weren’t just two main characters. With Adric, his sister and her husband, twelve women, and their chaperones, there were so many (quirky!) people to get to know. Each one had their own baggage and way of dealing with it – or not. Some were strong in their relationship with the Lord, some were insecure, some were wonderful, and some were not. I found myself really liking more than one of the women and feeling bad for Adric for having to make the choice between them.

What made the story even better is that while it was about romance, many spiritual truths were presented in an entertaining and compelling way.

Being as it has been so long since my first reading, I can’t tell you if the new version is better or worse. I can’t really put a finger on what is different other than a few references to characters in an upcoming story. I did have a recollection of one of the women and as I reached beyond the halfway point I wondered if she had been written out and replaced by another. Oh, but then she showed up. Just later than I recalled. Yeah. She was interesting!

If you have read other books by Chautona Havig, then you already know you need to read this one. If you haven’t, this is a great one to start with.
at Among the Reads""


I was given a copy of this book. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own.