keira anne with an e

A sweet contemporary romance centering around international adoption and faith content, that absolutely stuns me every time I read it.

Lauren is a young single woman intent on international adoption, since she can’t seem to find the right guy to marry.

It’s only after she’s submitted her application as a single woman looking to adopt that she meets Joshua– the man of her dreams. But, with a commitment to not get married in order to internationally adopt, she’s left with an impossible choice that she’ll need a lot of faith to make.

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5 stars)

This book… it’s so wonderful. I don’t actually know how to explain it, but just looking at the cover makes me kind of feel a chill down my spine… in a good way. (I can never explain books I love.) This story, though… this story is such a beautiful one, and the cover is just so beautiful.

Joshua and Lauren in this book are so wonderful together. I actually really don’t have words. I didn’t really know what I was getting into with this book, but as soon as I got Joshua and Lauren together, I knew that I had finally found a story with the type of couple that I really wanted to read about. Their sweet conversation, the gentle back-and-forth, and their consideration for the other. It was just such a sweet romance, and this couple will always have a special piece of my heart because of it.

But, now that I’ve discussed the romance side, there’s one aspect of this book that is very important to me. Because, where this book truly shines is the adoption representation. From the beginning, I was instantly invested in not just the sweet romance, but the passion that Lauren has for adopting a child from China.

Now, I will read just about any book about foster care or adoption, but I had not heard a ton about how the actual international adoption process works, so this book was really educational in that sense. The dilemmas that Lauren faced felt so real and personal, and I really did feel like I was talking with a friend instead of reading a fictitious novel. I really felt like I had sat down at a coffee shop with Lauren, and she was talking to me all about her international adoption process, and that was a really rare and cool feeling, if I’m honest.

This story takes place around the holidays. It starts around Thanksgiving, and I feel like it ends well into the new year, although I don’t remember exactly. Anyway, this story would be the perfect read for around that time, although the cover always makes me read it in the springtime. Because, let’s face it, that cover is gorgeous. (Truly. Go ahead. You can scroll back to the top to admire it for another moment. I totally understand. I’m going to do that, too.)

Alright, now that we’re back from admiring that beautiful cover, I feel like it’s time that I address the elephant in the room– or in the post, as the case may be– my 4.5 rating despite a glowing review. I love this book, completely and absolutely… but there is one part that is a spoiler that I just can’t get past to give it the full five stars. I really want to, and it’s worth rounding up to five on Goodreads, but there is a reason, and it may not bother everyone. For fear of spoiling an excellent book, though, I shall say no more. 🤐

For content, I would say this book was very clean for any adult and a lot of teen readers, although I definitely feel like it’s aimed at older audiences, so it really just depends on the reader.

With that being said, I just want to reiterate this was a fantastic book, and I love it dearly. It is a favorite of mine, and I think it always will be. I highly, highly recommend reading it, and I hope that you absolutely fall in love with it like I did. Also, I read it on Kindle Unlimited, so that makes it convenient to find.

Now, would you like an emoji review?

Let’s hope you said ‘yes’.

EMOJI REVIEW:

• 🤭 snarky humor
• ☕️ coffee-obsessed main character
• 🦖 super sweet dinosaur-obsessed love interest
• 👶 great adoption representation
• 🎉 holiday feels
• 😍 beautiful cover!!!

Thank you all so much for being here. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my reviews, and I hope that if you read this book (or have already read it) you enjoy it.

So long for now, friends!