Love Arrives in Pieces by Betsy St. Amant

For so long, Stella was known for her beauty. Now, with her heart stripped bare, she must discover who she really is.

Former pageant queen Stella Varland doesn t trust beauty anymore after her divorce. Her appearance betrayed her and led to her brokenness so instead of being beautiful, now she tries to make beautiful things, but always falls short. So she keeps her passion for her secret art to herself and focuses on her interior design work. But if she doesn t get another job soon, she ll be stuck living with her parents.

Contractor Chase Taylor is determined to live a life of no regrets after losing his fiancee in a car crash. Now he lives life at full speed, striving to see how much he can accomplish. He knows if he slows down, he ll fall apart. So he returns home to Bayou Bend to renovate the town s old theater, and is shocked to learn former flame Stella is the designer for the project.

Forced to work together, Chase and Stella battle their chemistry and their pasts as they struggle to compromise and come together on a vision for the theater. Chase doesn t understand why Stella is such a subdued version of herself, while Stella doesn t get Chase s constant need for productivity and speed. Their wills clash as they attempt to hide their brokenness and their unresolved feelings for each other until Chase breaks through Stella s walls and convinces her to enter her mosaic tile art in a contest.

A near catastrophe, a fire, and a small-town gossip mill finally force both Stella and Chase to realize that they have a choice to hold on to the shards of their pasts, or surrender their fragmented pieces to the One who makes a beautiful masterpiece from the broken.

 * Goodreads * Amazon *

Wow, that summary basically tells the whole story!  I for sure do not have to do a summary review for this book.

A few things are obvious from the very beginning of this book.  One, Chase and Stella have chemistry- a magnetism drawing them together.  Two, they have a not so great history together.  Three, they are both hiding things from their more recent past.  With those three things all put together, you know the road is going to be bumpy!

Stella and Chase both have a lot to work through although Stella seems the most needy.  Chase basically spends his time trying to make up for the past and apologizing for every little thing he does that sets Stella off emotionally.  

Sometimes I felt like the story was spinning around in the same place for too long.  Stella seemed to go around and around about the same things.  But, the story here is a sweet one and the patience of Chase should not be overlooked.  

I loved the "pieces" connection through art.  I love how Stella arrived at the place of healing, awareness and love.  It was a pretty moment.

This is a Christian fiction book, no content to report.  Clean!

My thanks to the publisher, Zondervan, for allowing me to read and review this title for them.