Way back in December, I signed up to be an ARC reader for Grace Johnson & Issabelle Perry's Tell Me You Love Me anthology. (ARC stands for Advanced Reading Copy, by the way. ;)) Essentially, I got an early (and free!) look at this anthology in exchange for feedback.
Guys. It was so worth it.
Remember that mini-review I did once-upon-a-time for The Blue Bottle Club? Whelp, it's time for another. May I present my mini-review of the book...
Tell Me You Love Me Anthology by Grace Johnson &Issabelle Perry
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publishers. I was not required to provide a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
Romance is hit-or-miss with me. I think we’re all aware of that. So I went into this anthology with a healthy dose of skepticism and a good deal of expectations as well.
Tell Me You Love Me - a timeless collection of stories that truly understand the meaning of “I love you”
Twelve young Christian authors have come together, alongside romance novelist Grace A. Johnson and editor Issabelle Perry to show our world of depravity and cheap imitations of romance what love really means: faith, hope, and sacrifice.
These stories range from contemporary YA to historical to fantasy, and tell diverse, unique love stories that compel, captivate, and warm readers’ hearts with their sweet and authentic nature.
Featuring work from Michaela Bush, Saraina Whitney, Karynn Heckler, Margaret Copeland, Lucia Molano, Sarah Lawton, Brooklyn O’Brennan, Mackenzie Hendricks, H.S. Kylian, Lydia M. Jupp, Katherine Perry, and Amelia Cabot, the Tell Me You Love Me anthology is the collaboration of talented and inspirational young writers you’ve been waiting for!
…do any of those names sound familiar? XD
Ahem. Moving on to the actual important thingies.
Star Rating:
4 out of 5 stars
Thoughts:
Overall, this was a good read! I enjoyed most of the stories, and I can only think of one that I was just kinda waiting to be done with. None of them contained any language, explicit junk, witchcraft, substance abuse put in a positive light, or gore, which I was thrilled about. Even better, all of the romance stories focused on couples working with God for their relationships, instead of completely ignoring him or even working against him. Yay for that!
To put a cherry on top, I really appreciated the variety of stories presented. There were different genres (fantasy, contemporary, historical, even sci-fi/dystopian), different plots (friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers, older folk romance, already-married romance, etc. etc.), and so many different kinds of characters (most of the stories focused on the female lead POV, which is understandable; but there were a few who had a dual or sometimes even solo male POV which added so much). This added a whole new level of spice to the anthology, and was worth one of the four stars up there by itself. XD
That being said, there were a few stories which definitely stood out to me above the others as just… agh. So. Good.
As Beautiful As the Stars by Karynn Heckler
Haseena was a reject; marked as a freak by the vitiligo that colors her skin and left to survive on her own in this cruel world. While she tries her best to remain unseen, every Choosing Ceremony forces her to face mockery and rejection all over again. This is her last one before she ages out. Though she’s ready for it to be over, her rebellious heart still desires to be loved.
Prince Amro has more than just his own fate to worry about. He has a whole kingdom resting on his shoulders and only one Ceremony left to find himself a bride. Now he’s traveled much farther than ever before, hoping America might offer him the chance to find the one he’s spent so long searching for.
As worlds collide, two young hearts are left to question what true love and beauty really mean.
It’s rarely easy for me to pick a favorite story, but this one stole the cake. I couldn’t tell if it was sci-fi or dystopian but the characters completely stole my heart - and the message! Agh! Add the impressive worldbuilding to that list and you have quite the gem of a story. So, so good.
Old Time Devotion by Lucia Molano
Gabriel Dawton, the newest resident of the Tranquility Retirement complex, is doing his very best to ignore the fact that being seventy-three does in fact make you an old man; but when he meets Evangeline Jones, a retired gospel-singer trying to accept that any chance of a love life disappeared with her youth, he begins to wonder if being a life-long bachelor really is God’s plan for his life. And while Evangeline longs to believe that their relationship will work out, she starts to doubt. After all, who gets married at seventy-one?
If there was one kind of romance that I can honestly say I like, it would be old folk romance, especially when neither has ever been married before. Somehow the “old time devotion” most older couples in stories have shown in keeping themselves for a marriage that they’ve long-since given up on gets my heart every time - and this is story is no different.
Till Death Do Us Part by Sarah Lawton
Jonathan Graham has been waiting to marry his dearest friend and fiancee since the day he met her. Carlissa Briggs was diagnosed with leukemia at age sixteen but knows that God has a plan for her life. When Carlissa is rushed to the hospital in critical condition and told she only has a little while to live, will Jonathan have the strength to stand by her? And will he ever truly understand what it means to trust God and to be thankful in everything? Till Death Do Us Part is a heartwrenching short story about true love and the meaning of thankfulness.
Ohh goodness. I was a puddle of tears for this entire story. Heart-wrenching doesn’t even begin to describe how badly this story tore me apart. Lawton has skills, people, sheer skills.
Honorable Mentions
Some other stories that I couldn’t quite bring myself to put in the top three but were super close include Always by Michaela Bush, To Be Loved by Saraina Whitney, and Until You Call Me Yours by Mackenzie Hendricks.
Favorite Quotes:
“...do you think that God—who painted the sunset we see now, and sculpted the mountains—would make a mistake in creating you?” -As Beautiful As the Stars
“Her lips wavered, then a breathless burst of laughter built in her chest, a laugh that felt both strange and right. Yes, pain still lingered, bitter in her soul, and would no doubt leave scars that lasted to the grave. The family she would forever love had disavowed her, and it still hurt like an arrow in her chest to think of it. But Reed’s unshakable love for her, even while she was at her lowest, was all she needed to know that her true King and Father would never reject her, never cast her out like the guilty woman she knew she was.” -To Be Loved
“‘...I used to think love was lavish gifts and large amounts of attention and compliments. Except, I got that once and there was never any love involved. But when someone started remembering all the random little details I would mention and brush off as unimportant was when I realized that love is a lot more than money. ‘Love can definitely be those big things, too. Like a big, special date night. Or an expensive gift. But I like focusing on the little ones. They’re what get me through the day.’” -Love is the Little Things
Random Stuff:
I will say that the font made it hard for me to get into the stories, especially at first. And there's also no table of contents, which would have been really nice. *scratches head*
Have you read Tell Me You Love Me? What were your thoughts? What was your favorite story, and why? Do you like anthologies? Should my mini-reviews be more... mini? XD What is your idea of a Godly romantic relationship?
Until next time,
Take courage, seek Christ, and smile while you still have teeth!! ^_^