Book Description:
How far would you go to find the perfect husband? All the way back to the 1950s?
In a world full of happily-ever-after love, Meri Newberg feels like the last young woman on the planet to be single, at least in her Christian friend group. So when she’s handed a strange present at the latest wedding–a 1950s magazine article of “ways to get a husband”–she decides there’s nothing to lose by trying out its advice. After all, she can’t get any more single, can she?
Her brother’s roommate sees the whole thing as a great opportunity. Not to fall in love–Kai Kamaka has no interest in the effort a serious relationship takes. No, this is a career jump start. He talks Meri into letting him film every silly husband-catching attempt for a new online show. If it goes viral, his career as a cameraman will be made.
When Meri Me debuts, it’s an instant hit. People love watching her lasso men on street corners, drop handkerchiefs for unsuspecting potential beaus, and otherwise embarrass herself in pursuit of true love. But the longer this game goes on, the less sure Kai is that he wants Meri to snag anyone but him. The only problem is that he may not be the kind of husband material she’s looking for . . .
With droll comic timing, unbeatable chemistry, and a zany but relatable cast of characters, Angela Ruth Strong has created a heartfelt look at the reality of modern Christian dating that readers will both resonate with and fall for.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading Husband Auditions, and I especially loved the romcom premise for the story set in Portland, Oregon, USA. The story opens with Meri arriving on her brother’s doorstep in a bridesmaid’s dress with a suitcase and a plan to stay there for the summer. Meri’s last single friend is married, and she needs a new permanent place to live. Meri is unimpressed by her friend’s grandmother who gave her a 1950’s magazine article with 101 tips on how to catch a husband.
Kai is best friends with Meri’s brother, Charlie, who’s about to leave to work in Ecuador. Kai is intrigued by Meri’s marriage dilemma. He offers to help Meri find a husband by creating a YouTube channel and filming her search using the 1950’s tips to attract a man. Kai is looking for film content to use as a demo for picking up a new job on a tv series based in Portland.
Meri thinks Kai is lazy, and Meri’s brother warns her about how Kai is not marriage material. Kai has Hawaiian heritage, and he works the graveyard shift at the local tv station in Portland. Kai shares Charlie’s home with Gemma, a beautiful blonde screenwriter and actor who’s never short of male attention. Kai, Charlie, and Gemma are old friends from film school.
Meri is a nurse and she falls into a routine of filming with Kai after work. The filming situations are hilarious, the interest and interaction from their YouTube followers is immense, and I smiled my way through the story. Meri and Kai secretly develop feelings for each other, and a beautiful friends-to-more romance develops as they get to know each other.
The story is in first person, present tense. I loved seeing the characters challenge each other, consider what makes a healthy marriage, and grow in faith during the story. I recommend Husband Auditions to contemporary romance readers who like light-hearted romcoms with LOL moments and a relevant faith element in the story.
I was happy to recently discover that Angela has two more books in this story world under contract. The second book will feature Gemma’s romance story, and the third book will be Charlie’s romance story.
I have heard a lot about this book but haven’t read it. I am not sure about rom coms as I don’t really know what they are. In my mind they are the about to turn 30 heroine desperate to get married before her life ends.
But then I thought of movies. I do enjoy Hallmark movies but they are romance sometimes with humour but not rom coms. Rom coms I have seen adds for don’t appeal to me so not sure if I would like rom com books. But as I said I don’t really know what they are the title gets bandied around but no one really explains it. Are they always in first person which I am not the biggest fan off?
Hi Jenny, Rom coms (romantic comedies) are typically light hearted stories with embarrassing LOL funny scenes/situations. That said, everyone has different preferences and what you find hilarious may be very different to what I find funny. The sit coms we grew up watching often included comedy mixed with romance. Friends tv show, for example, included lots of rom com situations.
Some Hallmark movies can be defined as rom coms. There’s a British movie, Man Up, that ticks all the boxes for me as a rom com. I laugh my way through that movie every time I watch it. The Proposal (Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds) is another example of a rom com. Sweet Home Alabama is a love triangle rom com. The 30 year old with expensive shoes and purses who was desperate to marry (Bridget Jones type of story) was the main Chick Lit storyline. By 2008 the trad publishers had ditched the Chick Lit label and rebranded those types of stories as a type of romantic comedy.
In CCR, I find there’s a range of rom com story situations. Lisa Renee’s fake relationship stories are rom coms. Meredith Resce’s Luella Linley series has romantic comedy elements in the stories. Kara Isaac’s books are rom coms.
One of my favourite CCR rom coms that I’m currently rereading (my book recommendation for this book will be live on my blog in the next day or so) is Jessica Kate’s ‘A Girl’s Guide to the Outback’. It’s set on a dairy farm in Queensland and is full of hilarious LOL situations. Interestingly, Jessica’s book is written in third person and has four character point of views due to the story including a super-fun romantic subplot. Jules (the hero’s Aussie sister) is the character I find the most hilarious in the story. I hope this helps! 😊
Thanks Narelle it does. I would have read some and not thought of them as rom coms. I have to admit I have never watched Bridget Jones Diary (Just didn’t appeal to me) The same way I have never watched The Notebook.
I guess in some ways rom-com is the buzz word currently