Bookish Tuesday - All Made Up by Kara Isaac

By Narelle Atkins @NarelleAtkins

Today for Bookish Tuesday I'm sharing my book recommendation for Kara Isaac's latest contemporary Christian romance - All Made Up.

I initially had mixed feelings about reading All Made Up. On the one hand I love Kara Isaac’s writing. I trust her, after reading her first three books, to deliver a great story.

On the other hand I’m really not a fan of reality tv shows. I wasn’t sure if I’d like reading a contemporary Christian romance based around a Bachelor-style reality tv show.

Kat is an internationally renowned make up artist who has won an Oscar for her work in film. She’s in a tight financial situation and agrees to work behind the scenes of an Australian reality tv show that’s set in a Sydney mansion. Kat is stunned to discover the handsome farmer bachelor is Caleb, her first love who broke her heart when he abruptly ended their relationship.

Caleb is a farmer from Toowoomba in Queensland. His mother secretly sent in an audition tape because she wanted to see her son happy and married and settled on the family farm.

When Caleb is chosen at the last minute to be the bachelor, he feels compelled to do it to please his mother who is struggling with major health issues.

The producers quickly regret choosing Caleb because he’s terrible on camera and a potential financial disaster for the show. Caleb is awkward and uncomfortable around the large number of physically beautiful and scantily clad young women who are living in the mansion and competing for his attention and affection.

When Cat is directed by her boss to fill in as a contestant on the show, she grits her teeth and does her best to survive the circus that ensues. The whole set up is both humorous and sleazy, and I totally understood why Caleb hated his time at the mansion.

The first fifteen percent of the book was, at times, a bit icky to read. If I wasn’t a fan of the author, and if I didn’t trust her to deliver a great story, I probably would have tossed the book during those early chapters. The thought of reading an entire book set in the mansion was not appealing.

I’m glad I persevered with the story and kept reading. By the twenty percent mark the story had really picked up and was motoring along. There’s a big twist in the story that takes the tv show in a different direction and forces Cat and Caleb to confront their past.

In typical Kara Isaac style, the big secret reveal toward the end of the book is heartbreaking. Cat and Caleb reassess their faith and values and beliefs as they make tough decisions.

Fans of The Bachelor will love this romance story that provides a rare happy ending for a reality tv couple. Readers who you couldn’t pay to watch a reality tv dating show may struggle with the early chapters, but I encourage them to keep reading and journey with Cat and Caleb on their fun and humorous roller coaster ride to true love.

Learn more about RITA® Award winning author Kara Isaac and her books at her website plus check out a preview of All Made Up below.

A Farm Fresh Romance

Perhaps most people don't think of farms when they consider the word "fresh." For those of us who love country living, though, the aroma of 15 piggies in their enclosure is more to be desired than the odor of vehicle exhaust pipes from packed city streets.


But what has that to do with romance?

I've met an urbanite or two with star-studded visions of rural life. They focus on the quietness—which can be hard to find when raucous birds are nesting in the eaves or the calves bawl, having been separated from their mamas, or when the rooster decides it's daytime at four in the morning.

They focus on milk warm from the cow, eggs warm from the chickens, and strawberries warm from the vine. They don't see the long, sweaty, backbreaking hours of haying and repairing fences and weeding gardens.

And yet, romance.

I know we are on the farm, my husband and I, because we can't imagine life elsewhere. We live in tune with nature's rhythms: day and night, sun and rain, planting and harvest.

A new farming rhythm has been discovered as some urbanites begin to crave the simplicity of farm life in their reading material. The Atlantic proclaims Chick Lit is Dead, Long Live Farm Lit, and voila, a new genre is born.

Interestingly enough, just a few days after that fascinating article released in May, I signed a contract for 3 novels in a Farm Fresh Romance series. Talks had been in the works prior to the article, of course, so the timing is merely a coincidence. And yet is anything a coincidence in the life of a believer?

I think not.

I think God has been preparing me for this day for several years, since he began to put these stories into my imagination. Yes, the first 2 books are written, which is a good thing, as the first one, Raspberries and Vinegar: A Farm Fresh Romance , releases August 1, 2013, from Choose NOW Publishing.


Would you enjoy Farm Fresh Romance? My series follows the adventures, romantic and otherwise, of three college graduates who move onto a reclaimed farm. They plan to take the rural area by storm with their sustainable lifestyle and focus on local foods.

Josephine Shaw: complex, yet singleminded. A tiny woman with big ideas and, some would say, a mouth to match. But what does she really know about sustainable living as it relates to the real world? After all, she and her two friends are new to farming.

Zachary Nemesek is back only until his dad recovers enough to work his own land again. When Zach discovers three helpless females have taken up residence at the old farm next door, he expects trouble. But a mouse invasion proves Jo has everything under control. Is there anything she can't handle? And surely there's something sweet beneath all that vinegar.

I'm so excited to share this book—and the entire series!—with you. Many parts of all three tales were born from my experiences and those of my friends and family members. We live the farm life every day, whether it's a day for digging manure into a garden bed or a day for sipping Raspberry Vinegar in the hammock.

This is my life, and I'm delighted to invite you in.

Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local food movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters. Visit her website and blog to glimpse inside her world.

The Farmers' Market

My husband and I have just returned from Sedgefield, a seaside town just over three hours by car from our home town of Port Elizabeth. We went to house and doggy-sit for our son and daughter-in-law who were in America. We looked forward to attending the local Saturday farmer's market.

Every week, farmers come from miles around to set up their stalls and people likewise travel many miles to attend.

As we joined the throng of people walking towards the entrance, we were caught up with the toe-tapping sound of a minstrel band. Their music hooked us in with the promise of a fun-filled morning. An open guitar case invited us to show our appreciation.

Inside a large cordoned-off area, hundreds of people mingled with one another. They queued for Russian hot dogs; braaied boerewors (spicy traditional sausage cooked over an open fire) and homemade chicken, beef, and venison pies.

Long lines formed in front of stalls that sold freshly cooked pancakes dripping with lemon juice and cinnamon sugar; home-baked goodies, including melktert (a S.African favourite) and koeksisters (plaited pastry in home-made syrup). The farmers supplied something for every taste, and isn't that true of this group of writers?

Some write historical novels while others intrigue with cozy mysteries. Spine-chilling thrillers come alongside light-hearted chic-lit. We write from, and about, Australia and America, Africa and Asia, and other initials too. All sorts of writers with a variety of gifts, yet we share one thing in common. We love to share our abilities with those who want what we have. Just like the farmers.

Rob joined the queue for breakfast and I went to find coffee and a table (tree trunk) under the trees. We started on our breakfast of huge bread rolls split in half, piled high with bacon, boerewors and scrambled eggs covered in a home-made tomato and onion sauce. Yummy—but very messy. As I wiped away tomato from my chin, I gave thanks that out of the thousands of people, no-one knew us. The thought wasn't out of my mind when, "Shirley—and Rob!  My goodness! What a surprise."

The twist in the tale turned out to be a couple from a previous congregation. Our breakfast plot veered off course as I hastily trying to swallow a too-big mouthful of roll. Hoping I'd got all the tomato off my chin, I jumped to my feet and disappeared into an enthusiastic hug. What are their names? The couple had been at a holiday resort a short distance away and were now on their way home to Cape Town, five hours away. They had popped into the market for breakfast. How strange that in that mob of people, we would suddenly spot each other.

Isn't that what we do as writers? We bring together a group of vastly different people, often not known to one another, and put them in the same place. Then we make one or two stand out. Think of the thousands on the luxury liner, the Poseidon. Nameless people, all having fun together, when suddenly, along comes a 90' tidal wave and the ship turns upside down.  A handful of people stand out—the survivors. They are the ones that the story is really about.

Mercifully, we didn't face a tidal wave. In fact it was really very tame, probably in part because neither of us could remember their names until they were half way to Cape Town. After a few minutes, they went their merry way and we finished our meal and went back to exploring the stalls.

The "Red Berry" table groaned under the weight of freshly picked strawberries. The fresh meat stall supplied everything from the normal to the exotic, including kudu and ostrich. There was even a nut stall, and one that sold smoked fish.


The plant stall sold cut-flowers, pot-plants, and had buckets filled with bunches of magnificent proteas.

Although there seemed to be a vast assortment of random stalls, I realised a lot of thought had gone into their placing. The smoked fish stall was nowhere near the home-made cakes. The boerewors cooking over a smoky braai was nowhere near the red berries.

There was something for everyone, but not everyone has the same taste. Each stall-holder knew their strengths and what they could best supply. And as with our writing, each one had its own place, and together they created an atmosphere of interest and entertainment.

Opposite the flowers stood a statue, or so it seemed until a child threw some change into an upside down hat. Immediately the figure's arms and body twisted and jerked , then froze in a new position. The living statue provided nothing of great value, yet he entertained. Sometimes it's good for us to provide a character to bring light relief. Perhaps someone who isn't quite what he first appears to be.

By the end of the morning, our tummies were full, our legs ached, our arms were laden with goods we hadn't realised we needed, and our pockets were empty. But we'd had a good time. As we walked past the same minstrel band, we threw the little cash we had left into the open guitar case and headed for home.

We hadn't learned any amazing facts. We hadn't experienced any drama. But we'd been entertained. And surely that's what a good farmer's market is all about. Just like a good book.