All in the Timing

Tales from Grace Chapel Inn #12

by Melody Carlson

Once you visit the charming village of Acorn Hill, you ll never want to leave. And you ll love spending time with the Howard sisters, who have begun a new life together in their childhood home, a gracious Victorian house that is now a bed-and-breakfast called Grace Chapel Inn. Here they rekindle old memories, rediscover the bonds of sisterhood, revel in the blessings of friendship and meet many fascinating guests along the way.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Christian, Adult Fiction, Adult, Fiction

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.

Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Easter time and one of the guests at the Inn is a sullen girl who they find out has just lost her sight. Alice and her friend Mark are getting closer but his godson arrives earlier than him and is a totally unpleasant young man. Alice is also busy getting ready for the Easter egg hunt and making baskets up with goods donated from businesses in town.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love this series about 3 sisters who move back home after the death of their father and turn their family home into a bed & breakfast. The sisters are the eldest, Louise, a widow with an adult daughter who is also a music teacher. Then, there is Alice, a nurse, followed by Jane, the youngest (in age & heart) who is recovering from a sad divorce and is a professional chef. The series follows the sisters as they rediscover each other as well as things about themselves. Then, there is Aunt Ethyl and the other town characters as well as new inn guests in each book.

This book revolves mostly around Alice. Her college sweetheart, Mark, is coming to the inn for a stay. Alice is excited but also worried as she doesn't know what she wants from the relationship. It is complicated by the news that Mark is bringing a friend with him.

As usual, you will laugh at some of the situations and people. You will be saddened by others. There are even some characters/situations which might evoke anger. You will see the sisters at their best and worst, which is never very bad. Most importantly, you see how the sisters bless others and guests are almost always enhanced by their stay at the inn. Definitely, a wonderful read.

[Loraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tales from the Grace Chapel Inn takes place in a small town in Pennsylvania. Three sisters have turned the home of their parents into a bed and breakfast which usually is filled with quiet residents who enjoy the small town and the Amish sights in the surrounding area. But a new resident and his godson along with a girl who has just lost her sight turn the inn into chaos when they come to stay.

The relationship between Laura and Adam was well written and showed how young people can often help one another even when their parents can't seem to make things right. As usual, strong spiritual content. A quick, easy read.

[sandra sprenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read.

we all have times in our lives when we just don't know where we are headed. This book gives a glimpse into the lives of the 3 sisters who own/run Grace Chapel Inn at such a time. one unexpected guest throws the smooth running inn into chaos. Yet somehow God pulls them all through the crisis with each heart learning a valuable lesson.
Highly recommend this as a great read. Story keeps moving along, characters are richly developed. you can place your self right there watching it unfold.

[Sandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good read from the Grace Chapel Inn.. Easter week brings a lot of surprises.. These 3 women seem to be able to help everyone that graces the inn. They celebrate the special season of Easter and learn the some of the best things are not seen but felt..

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very pleasant to read but underwhelming.

[Cindy]

Not one of the better ones in the Grace Chapel Inn series.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

12th book in series. The time is the week before Easter. Alice's old boyfriend Mark the zoo vet is coming for a visit. Days later he adds another person to the reservation, but who? They also have a family the Winston's with a teenage daughter that just lost her sight. The Langley's are an older couple that staying the the week also. Mark's friend comes a day before Mark and turns out to be a 20 yr old boy Adam. He looks down on his luck and is rude with no manners. Everyone thinks Mark is here to woo Alice but Adam who ends up being Mark's godson, gets in the way With God's help Adam and Mark work through their new relationship, Mark and Alice decide the timing isn't right and Adam ends up helping Laura thru her blindness.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more Grace Chapel Inn Books I read... the more I love getting to visit the Howard sisters and be part of their adorable little town. It's the week before Easter and there is so much to do. Mark Graves, Alice's old beau is coming for a visit. A young man, Adam, shows up and says he knows Mark and will wait for him to arrive, but why is he so difficult? Laura, a teenage girl who recently became blind from a childhood illness, is bitter and seems angry at the world. It takes Alice's ANGEL church group, as they are prepping for the Egg Hunt, guests at the Inn, and the sister's to show compassion and help put these two back on the right path.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great week at the Grace Chapel Inn. There is always a lesson or two between the covers.

[Connie Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like reading about people who live in small towns. Melody Carlson is one of my favorite authors. I like learning about the characters lives as years go by. This is a wonderful series.

[Mary Simmons-hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great books for an inspirational read.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clean, sweet read! Perfect!

[romeo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too religious but I pray for you Adam.

[Kathie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mel regular print. Good series.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

My actual rating for this would be a 2- and 1/2-star rating. Which is unusual for this book series as I usually love all of them. But this one just wasn't it for me. By other reviews though, I'm in the minority, so this might be a good read for you.

Easter in Acorn Hill means lots of guests at the inn and small-town traditions. This book features Alice as the main character we follow around. Mark, her once college beau turned friend but could be something more after all these years, is back to spend the week at the inn and talk with Alice about their relationship. But a teenager guest of Mark's comes to stay as well and he is just really a piece of work, so Alice and Mark's possibly romantic time gets taken over with a rude young man, who needs a lot of care, but does everything to reject it. Also, a newly blinded teenage girl and her parents stay at the inn, and she is just as moody. All of this takes place as preparations are being made for Easter Sunday and the big egg hunt.

I was very excited to read this one, that I waited till springtime/Easter to start reading it to really get that immersive feel. But not even that could save it for me. It wasn't a terrible read, but I usually get so much comfort from these books, and I didn't get it in this one. Not a fun lighthearted Easter read. Too bogged down by the rude young man and Alice being a punching bag and losing her sweet self to something she shouldn't have had to deal with. Specifics under the spoiler, basically me ranting about the two biggest things in here that kept me from liking the book and feeling that Acorn Hill charm.

Adam, Mark's guest, was just too unlikeable throughout. I understand why he was the way he was, but he made Alice feel like crap almost the whole novel and that left a bad taste in my mouth. It sucked to see the most grounded of the sisters, out of sorts and questioning her kind nature. I understand that this was supposed to possibly mimic Jesus' struggle before he was killed and resurrected three days later, like so much suffering can lead to something miraculous, and lessons learned. But even with that in mind, I still didn't have any emotion at the end when Adam had his breakthrough and Laura was coming along in accepting her blindness. They were just too angsty, mean and entitled for me to even like them in the end. Also, I understand things take time and relationships go along at their own pace, but Mark and Alice's relationship went absolutely nowhere, and it was frustrating. Like the whole book was him trying to pursue her and move to Acorn Hill and open a vet clinic there to retire from traveling and finally settle down. They are trying to get their second chance. And Alice does feel romantic more than friend feelings towards Mark, but constantly questions those feelings and is like "Nah, he can just be a friend and I'm afraid of actually committing and actually wait, I don't even know what I feel, don't wanna deal with it. Bury my head in the sand, but keep trying to talk to him, but find any excuse not to. And when we do, decide we don't know and move past it in favor of feeling like we are being pressured to much in our sixties to finally get our chance, only to never act on that chance. But whatever. Mark is a good godfather/stepdad now and we don't have to deal with it because the best excuse came along. Let's go back to writing love letters and flirting, but nothing too deep, but we are also unspokenly taken." Sounds like I'm being really harsh, but I was just so frustrated the whole book with the will they won't they, only for it to end up with...will they won't they still. They didn't need to have an established romantic relationship, but I just wanted them to admit their feelings and pick some direction, not just, will see when we see. All that build up and no pay off. I know they'll be in future novels in this series, but I was still so annoyed with all this.

Found: Bought from Orphans Treasure Box on Amazon

[Theresa Lange · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute!

[Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always look forward to another visit to Grace Chapel Inn, but I have to be honest and say that while this title was still enjoyable, it wasn't as good as the previous ones I've read so far.

All in the Timing takes place during the Easter season, and the reader gets to experience the many fun traditions taking place during Acorn Hill right along with sisters Louise, Alice and Jane. Of course, with it being such a popular time of year, the sisters also have a full house at their inn, Grace Chapel Inn, and this may just be their most frustrating set of guests yet. Alice's somewhat beau Dr. Mark Graves brings an unexpected guest with him, and it'll be an extreme lesson in patience and giving for the sisters to properly deal with the situation. As well, a family joins them at the inn with a teenage daughter who has recently lost her eye sight. As friendships are formed in unlikely places, the sisters are sure this is an Easter that no one will soon forget.

While still cute and charming with a strong faith message, I'm sorry to say that this one did not really hold my interest like the books in this series usually do. I found a lot of the narrative was extremely repetitive, and it quickly grew boring hearing the characters have the same conversations over and over again. I didn't find myself that invested in the story, and while I'm still glad I gave it a try, it probably won't be one I'll find myself wanting to reread in the future. It's definitely not my favorite of Melody Carlson's contributions to this series.

Final Rating: 3/5.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book focused on sister Alice, her friend Mark, and the guests at the Inn. Easter is approaching and Alice has the week off. She intends to spend it mostly with Mark but he ends up spending time with his godson Adam who has recently lost both his parents in an accident and is depressed. Adam starts spending time with the daughter of a guest at the Inn. She has recently become blind due to complications of diabetes and is a mere 17 years old.

This book reminded me to evaluate the behavior of others gently because you never really know what they are going through. Too often we personalize the behavior of others and feel wounded or offended when we should be offering empathy and support.

I usually really enjoy Carlson's writing but this is not one of her best efforts. It doesn't come close to my favorite, The Christmas Bus.

[Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be very slow and with hardly no plot to it. I have read other books by Melody Carlson and have enjoyed them immensely. I have also read other Grace Chapel Inn books, that had great story lines and enjoyed the characters. This is one book that I felt the characters were talking about the same things over and over again and I just couldn't enjoy it. I did finish the book hoping it would get better, but there was much confusion in relationships, and decisions made without much understanding or explanation. This particular book was a disappointment.

[Diane Bathauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good ending

I really enjoyed this installment in the Grace Chapel Inn series as much or more than the others I had read up to this point. Although I was a bit taken aback by some of the timing of the subplots and various distractions involving the Alice/Mark storyline, I was pleasantly surprised by the final chapters which tied up loose ends to my satisfaction and a sweet ending that left me in tears. Can't wait to read the next one!

[April Suter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The three sisters from Grace Chapel Inn are preparing for Easter. Mark, Alice's friend, returns to the bed and breakfast with Adam his godson who is coping losing his parents. Laura, a guest, is learning how to deal with being blind. Communication is the key for all characters.

234 pages

[Kitty Tomlinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of Tales from Grace Chapel Inn series. Alice's old flame, Mark, comes to town with his trouble godson, Adam.

[Amy Jessen]

Enjoyed this book.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

not much interest until the end.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little more going on in this one. Good series.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely story. Very fast read.

[jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

This is a great book for the whole family has lots to teach in each age group. Very interesting story

[Cws]

YA GCI(HB)