Janice Thompson's Swinging on a Star ~ Reviewed

Swinging on a Star
By Janice Thompson
Published by Revell
ISBN# 978-0-8007-3343-8
331 Pages


Back Cover:

There's a fine line between ambitious and crazy. Bella's just not sure where it is. She is running a successful wedding-planning business and is about to plan its most ambitious wedding yet--a Renaissance-themed fairy tale come true, complete with period costumes and foods, horse-drawn carriages. The best man just happens to be Hollywood's hottest and most eligible bachelor, and he's showing an interest in Bella. Add her star struck sister and her feuding aunt and uncle, and you've got a recipe for disaster--and a lot of laughs. This is the Sequel to Fools Rush In.


REVIEW:

Last week I saw the movie, Guys and Dolls with Frank Sinatra and Marlin Brando for the first time. I loved the music. It was fun to see these actors together in a musical. While I was reading Swinging on a Star I felt as if I were transported into a Frank Sinatra movie with a bonus feature. Janice talks about the Lord in the most natural way in her book; you won’t see that in any movie Frank Sinatra or Marlin Brando made. I’m so thankful to have received a review copy of this book.

Janice’s chapters names are so much fun too---Young at Heart, Something Stupid, Love and Marriage, Call Me Irresponsible, and My Kind of Town are just a few of their names. All are Frank Sinatra hits that fit into the theme of this entire book. I think Janice just might have a thing for Frank Sinatra and his music!! I’m just saying.

Bella is a wedding planner and prepares for her biggest gig yet—a medieval wedding, complete with castle and mote. I was swept up into this wonderland that reminded me of the movie Enchanted, were a princess is in search of her prince charming in the real world. Bella is trying to create an enchanted wedding event from Medieval times. Marian the bride had desired a wedding like this all of her life. Bella was the only one who could see her vision and create this fairy tale atmosphere. Hey if you have the money you can create Castles, horse drawn carriages and have everyone dressed in period gowns at your wedding. I would have loved to have seen this wedding and sampled Bella’s Aunt Rosa’s food.

I had so much fun reading about this amazing wedding and all Bella went through to pull it off. The best man just so happens to be the academy award winning actor Brock Benson, who is trying to hide out from the paparazzi. But Aunt Rosa’s garlic bread has won and the Food Network’s camera crews were on their way to film Rosa at work in her home. Can they hide Brock? Can Bella pull off the wedding of a life time? Stay tuned.

I enjoyed the comedy, romance, the quirky family and their relationship drama’s which reminded me of some of my relatives. I enjoyed how these characters find love not only with each other but with God. Here’s the message for our heart along this wild fairy tale adventure—so many great nuggets like this, “…figuring out that we’re all royalty. We’re God’s kids. So, the whole princess theme is very real. That’s why it resonates with women so deeply. We’re waiting for Prince Charming to sweep us away, of course, but that’s just a symbol of God sweeping in and loving us in spite of our flaws…He only sees that we’re his little princesses.”

I enjoyed this story and special nuggets Janice gave me, I know you will too.

Nora St.Laurent
ACFW Book Club Coordinator

BONUS REVIEW:

It was no secret that I really enjoyed reading Janice's first Weddings by Bella novel "Fools Rush In" and my opinion is no different with the second "Swinging on a Star". The romance is palpable and the giggles and chuckles are endless. This is the second novel in the series and though I highly recommend that you read the first one to really understand the family quirks, you could definitely appreciate this one alone. Every page radiates God's love and I love this book. I'm r...more It was no secret that I really enjoyed reading Janice's first Weddings by Bella novel "Fools Rush In" and my opinion is no different with the second "Swinging on a Star". The romance is palpable and the giggles and chuckles are endless. This is the second novel in the series and though I highly recommend that you read the first one to really understand the family quirks, you could definitely appreciate this one alone. Every page radiates God's love and I love this book. I'm really eager for more series like this from Janice as well as the third book to this series.

Highly recommended for genuine good laughs.

Reviewed by: Margaret Chind