Finding Love at the Oregon Coast

by Angela Ruth Strong

When a wedding is cancelled, three bridesmaids and a runaway bride contemplate the true meaning of love in four related romance novellas.

By Heather Woodhaven--Finding Love in Lincoln Liz feels stuck at her little beach magazine until a handsome rival sparks more than just friendly competition.

By Lisa Phillips--Finding Love in Anabeth is looking to get out of her rut when a fender bender and a bizarre date with a former marine leads her to a life of love she could never have imagined.

By Christina Coryell--Finding Love in Cannon Kadence feels the pressure to write a perfect love song, but an unexpected meeting with a musician will have her living one instead.

By Angela Ruth Strong--Finding Love in Christina plans to spend her honeymoon alone, but when the bed and breakfast owner offers her a position as cook, she starts to feel at home in his kitchen…and in his arms.

Genres: Romance, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary, Anthologies, Christian, Novella

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2017

About the author

Angela Ruth Strong sold her first Christian romance novel in 2009. Her books have since earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been nominated for a Christy, won the Cascade Award, and become Amazon best-sellers. Her book Finding Love in Big Sky filmed as a movie in Montana and aired on UPtv in 2022. To help aspiring authors, she started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho, and she teaches as an expert online at My Book Therapy.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

💝 FREE on Amazon today (11/28/2017)! 💝

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding Love At The Oregon Coast: A Romantic novella collection
By: Angela Ruth Strong , Christina Coryell, Heather Woodhaven, and Lisa Phillips
Finding Love At The Oregon Coast is a collection of romance novellas from four difference authors and four difference novella that all take place in Coastal towns of Oregon . Christian , a young bride to be who at the last minute decides that her fiancee, Eddie , is not the man for her. I enjoyed each of these novellas and the authors all did a great job writing them. I enjoyed reading how each of them folded together to make one story .
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, but was not told that I had to give a positive review.

[Susan Snodgrass · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful set of novellas. The stories center around a bride about to walk the aisle and 3 of her friends, who are her bridesmaids. Each novella features a different woman. I won't give anything away, but they are such wonderful little stories, you can't help but cheer these ladies on!

I enjoyed it very much and my favorites were the contributions from Christina Coryell and Angela Ruth Strong, although the entire collection is good. Don't miss this great summer read.

*I was given a complimentary copy. My review is my own honest opinion.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take a trip to the Oregon coast with these delightful stories that I thoroughly enjoyed. Each author has written a novella with wonderful characters and fun story lines. I loved the way they intertwined the stories following the bridesmaids and the bride after a bride cancels her wedding. I have enjoyed prior stories by each of these authors and loved reading this collection. I was given a free copy of the set, but a favorable review was not required. The opinions expressed are my own, and this is a collection that I definitely recommend to the reader who enjoys Christian romance.

[Jennifer Hibdon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun collection!!!!

What a neat story concept!!!! I enjoyed following the bridesmaids...and the bride find God's best for them! It was fun how the stories intertwined. I loved the verses along with the emphasis on meditating on God's Word and prayer; true parts of a true relationship with God. True happily ever after!!!!

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books 1 & 4 I give 3 stars. Books 2 & 3 I give 4 stars. Probably because I love stories with music and quirky characters.

[Judith McNees · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of Christian fiction, and this one had a strong biblical component that seems to be lacking in a lot of Christian romance. Well done.

[Daniela Bernaldo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book because each novella taught me something special. The relationship that each of them had with God is what made them love the way they did. I just hope that someday I can find the kind of love that is strong because of God.

[Trixi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed these books set in the different towns on the Oregon coast I've lived in! I loved watching each romance story unfold and how they found their happily-ever-after. Characters to love, beautiful coastal scenery and romance, what more could you ask for?

[Becky Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow, books by Angela Ruth Strong always end up on my favorites list. Granted, Finding Love on the Oregon Coast is a compilation of 4 novellas, three by other authors, but these all had such a strong story line tie-in.

One bride-to-be makes it minutes from the altar,only to realize that the man she is marrying isn't the person she needs. The reader is then whisked into the stories of her three bridesmaids, who one-by-one,find the man of their dreams when they let go of their own understanding and let God.

Finally, the reader returns to the runaway bride. Having read other romance novels by Angela Ruth Strong, I was nevertheless surprised to see that this one would include Dave Lake, another brother of a family of single men about whom Strong has been writing. The book was already good,but that really amped up my interest! Strong has a unique writing style that includes romance, angst, faith, and humor. My reading soul comes away from her books fully sated. Too bad there can't be about 20 Lake brothers!!

[Wendy Sparkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stories of friends, nicely connected together.

Finding Love in Lincoln City by Heather Woodhaven: Liz feels stuck at her little beach magazine until a handsome rival sparks more than just friendly competition.
This was my favourite. 4*

Finding Love in Oceanside by Lisa Phillips:
Anabeth is looking to get out of her rut when a fender bender and a bizarre date with a former marine leads her to a life of love she could never have imagined.
I liked this one. 3*

Finding Love in Cannon Beach by Christina Coryell:
Kadence feels the pressure to write a perfect love song, but an unexpected meeting with a musician will have her living one instead.
A sweet story. 3.5*

Finding Love in Seaside by Angela Ruth Strong:
Christina plans to spend her honeymoon alone, but when the bed and breakfast owner offers her a position as cook, she starts to feel at home in his kitchen…and in his arms.
A great one to end the collection. 4*

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed all 4 of these novellas. I appreciated the humour and romance, but what I REALLY loved was how the characters learned to trust in God's perfect plans for them, even if they were not the plans that they had originally had for their lives.
I hadn't read anything by any of these authors before, but all 4 of them have now been added to my 'to-read' list.

[Marylin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Stories

These four stories were a joy to read. Each author blended the main relationships of the four friends together beautiful. I loved each woman's individual story and how their lives were changed and connected.
This was a fun summer read!

[Amy Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet romantic message

A love story that reminds us that God's timing is always right. The main characters learned to trust in God's timing, and discovered there is no better place than being in God's will.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding Love in Lincoln City: Sometimes finding love takes loosing something or seeing your friends loose something to shake your world up. In this book Liz is faced with a family secret that destroyed her belief in what could be. When faced with the possibility of love or being single she reaches out to God for answers but is she getting the ones she wants or the one God wanted for her. This book was fun love story with a competitive nature back and forth between the main characters looking for love why doing a job the both love.

Finding Love in Oceanside: After a failed friends wedding Anabeth starts to question her journey. With a few days off she decides to head to her moms in hopes for some time on the beach and some answers. When Mitch crashes into her life she also sees that life could be so much more if she could just get past the doubt. Such a fun book with lots of fun characters. Mitch's dad is old school but seems to have a flare for fun and mischief which is evident in this story. I love how just like the previous story the draw of the ocean cities is a way to find peace and connect with God while finding hope for the future

Finding love in Cannon Beach: Two awkward closet geeks have one big thing in common music. Can music bring the through the brokenness and help them find what they are looking for? In this book Kadence is left more confused and frustrated with life after her best friends wedding ends with no one married her parents ask her to stay with and aunt and she seeks comfort in the quiet beach life. Foster has a bit of a gypsy spirit and is happy for now helping those in this small Oregon town. The thing about this story that seemed to confuse me a little was the awkwardness between the main characters and some times the pull towards each other didn't make sense but seemed forced. I did however enjoy the eccentric Nan she seemed to have a small role that packed a large punch and not someone to be double crossed

Finding love in Seaside: Christina is faced with weather or not did she make the right choice when she decided to leave her Ex-fiance at the alter. She feel like in her heart it was the right choice but when she takes a honeymoon all alone and comes face to face with reality her head and her heart just don't seem to be adding up. In this story while short like the other three it seemed to flow well and seemed like there was more to come with Dave and his brothers. I liked while Christina is faced with so trials it didn't seem to weigh the story down and the author used characters like Sam to add a light hearted fun loving feel to the story. I think out of all of the four stories this had to be my favorite. Christina and Dave both seemed to find looking for healing in the brokenness, and it made them super relatable.


All three friends seem to have their worlds rocked by one friends decision to not get married but tried to find healing in all the craziness. I enjoyed that all the stories were tired together and all the stories seem to have a purpose each different. I was not a fan of all the stories but the others made up for it and it was nice to read a good clean christian romance story. Definitely a good summer read.

[Edward Arrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the prologue, Christina and her bridesmaids are taking care of last minute preparations for her wedding. The four young women have been best friends since college. When Christina asks her fiancé to pray with her just before the ceremony, he refuses and she calls off the wedding. Each novella is the personal story of one of the friends. Finding Love in Lincoln City by Heather Woodhaven is about Liz, who was Christina’s maid-of-honor, and Tom, who was a friend in college. Before the wedding, Liz and Tom had not seen each other in eight years. Finding Love in Oceanside by Lisa Phillips is Anabeth’s story. She has decided to spend a few days with her mother before returning to her home and job in Virginia after the wedding. She meets Mitch who works for his father in the family landscaping and lawn care business. Her mother is one of their customers. Finding Love in Cannon Beach by Christina Coryell tells the story of Kadence, a struggling songwriter living in Nashville, and Foster, a musician who is helping a friend by keeping his counseling practice going until the friend recovers from an illness. Finding Love in Seaside by Angela Ruth Strong brings the reader back full-circle to Christina as she goes alone to the bed and breakfast where she and her fiancé had planned to spend their honeymoon. Dave is running the bed and breakfast while he tries to convince the owner to sell it to him so he can start a retreat center for pastors to recover from failure or burnout. The stories are entertaining but I especially enjoyed them because each of the main characters had struggles of their own and had some serious decisions to make. To me, I sensed each author was sharing a story of what our lives and our love should be like when we surrender totally to Jesus Christ. As an example, one character said he sensed God telling him to wait. When he rushed ahead at the prodding of someone else, he quickly discovered he needed to give it up to God and let Him direct. I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher. This is my honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.

[Becky Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection that is fun and easy to read. It’s unlike most collections, because Angela Ruth Strong writes the first part as a prologue, and her story is somewhat suspended until the end of the book, while the other novellas continue with the other characters and weave all their stories together.
1. Finding Love in Lincoln City, Oregon by Heather Woodhaven
One of my favorite quotes from this novella is: “A conflict-free life will stagnate your growth
as a person.” I enjoyed the twists in this story.

2. Finding Love in Oceanside, Oregon by Lisa Phillips
One of my favorite quotes from this novella is: “ He rubbed an achy spot on his chest.
Probably where his conscience was located.”

3. Finding Love in Cannon Beach, Oregon by Christina Coryell
This quote made me laugh: “She couldn’t be cooped up with Nan for another nanosecond.”
This novella was about trying to shove oneself into a mold instead of just being who you are.

4. Finding Love in Seaside, Oregon by Angela Ruth Strong
There were so many quotes that I loved in this story, and one of my favorites is: “God loves us
enough to give us more than we deserve.” It’s a great story about being an overcomer,
realizing God is enough, and that God has a purpose for us. I loved the illustration of
understanding something with our heads, but LEARNING it with our hearts because we
experienced it. And I love this quote: “The more we let Him catch us, the more our hearts
trust Him.”

This is such a fun collection to read by great authors! I read the ARC copy of this, and wanted to leave my own honest review.

[Julie Jobe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great inspirational romance novella collection. Each of the novellas is an enjoyable read, but my personal favorites were Finding Love in Lincoln City by Heather Woodhhaven and Finding Love in Cannon Beach by Christina Coryell. I loved the the banter between Liz and Tom and the process of them getting to know each other again in Ms. Woodhaven's novella. It was truly a fun read and their story made me smile. In Cannon Beach, I love Ms. Coryell's Style of writing, the quirkiness of her characters, and the journeys they take as they overcome their struggles. In Finding Love in Oceanside, Ms. Phillips writes a sweet story for Mitch and Anabeth and I was glad to see Mitch overcome his trust issues to pursue Anabeth. In Finding Love in Seaside, I really enjoyed the first part where Christina and Dave were getting to know each other. I must admit I struggled with the last bit after Christina's ex-fiance showed up. There were some things that Christina said and did that were a little disappointing to me and I felt her attitude towards Dave was a bit hypocritical in a particular scene. Up to that point, I had really enjoyed both Dave and Christina and while I became a little frustrated with Christina towards the end, I still enjoyed their happy ending.

**I received a copy of this book from the author and have chosen to review it. My opinions are my own.

[Yvonne Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title describes, this is a set of novellas that take place in lovely coastal towns of Oregon. The author of the Prologue, Angela Ruth Strong, sets the pace of the novellas. We are introduced to Christina, a bride to be , her bridesmaids and the maid of honor. They have been friends since college. The wedding is cancelled when the bride realizes that if her fiance is not going to be a man of faith, she feels she would not have a happy marriage.
I especially liked Finding Love in Lincoln City by Heather Woodhaven . Liz (the maid of the cancelled wedding ) meets up again with the guy she has loved since college. But he might cost her job in a local magazine, and she is afraid of being hurt.
In general , each story is one of faith in God, in belief in oneself and in the possibility of love. Is it worth the risk and will these women take a chance of loving and being loved.
A nice book for a summer reading.
I was gifted a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

[Linda Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of novellas about finding love after a canceled wedding
I loved them all.
Finding Love in Lincoln City:
My take:
A cute romance about two people who reunite after college.
" I feel closer to God when I make time to enjoy his wonders" is a nice quote in the book.
Finding Love in Oceanside:
My take:
A cute romance about two people who overcame their insecurities to find love with God's help.
Finding Love in Cannon Beach:
My take:
A beautiful story about hiding your true self to the world but finding love anyway.
Finding Love in Seaside:
My take:
Christina running from a canceled wedding meets Dave and sparks fly.
With the Lord's help, she finds the desires of her heart.
This story is a prequel to the Finding LoveIn series.
This book brings the series together as we catch a glimpse at the backstory of the characters.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this novella collection. The collection starts off with a wedding that wasn't. It branches off into four separate stories all connected to the wedding.

Finding Love in Lincoln City-A sweet story of old friends reconnecting, pushing each other to be reach their full potential and falling in love at the same time.

Finding Love in Ocean Side-This is a cute story of how a small fender bender can lead to great things. Restoring a relationship with a parent and finding the "one".

Finding Love in Cannon Beach-One hit wonder finally finds the one that brings out "the" song.

Finding Love in Seaside-This is by far my favorite of the novellas. After calling off her wedding, can Christina heal and find a new love, the one God has for her, in the process.

I was given this collection for an honest review.

[Carla Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a teacher during the school year and a reader in the summer. It takes a special book to take me into summer relaxation and this was it for the start of this summer.
What a great idea for a set of novellas: Multiple authors from different viewpoint in the story!
Each one was sweet, fun, and the best part realistic and inspiring.
I grew up in the 70's reading Christian romance books that inspired me in my generation to marry a follower of Jesus.
I enjoyed these stories but what thrilled me was that these realistic characters are inspiring my kids' generation to seek followers of Jesus for their life partners.
I'm buying it for my daughter!

[Katrina Epperson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, what a wonderful read!! This series is set on the Oregon coast and features a bride and her bridemaids in each novella. These are good, clean stories and a must read this summer. A good Christian read. We are introduced to Christina and her friends as they prepare for Christina's wedding. These ladies have been friends since college and have made lot of memories together. Each story shows a woman with great strength of character, faith in God, romance and being true to their inner self. This is a collection I would definitely recommend.
I received this book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Andi Tubbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed three of the four stories in this collection. Each of the stories build off of the first story about a cancelled wedding. Bridesmaids, and groomsmen show up in the subsequent stories. I enjoyed the first, second and fourth story. The third story I found dry and I wasn't able to connect with the two main characters.
In Finding Love in Lincoln City, Finding Love in Oceanside, Finding Love in Seaside I was drawn right into the story. I liked how the authors tied the stories together, taking a horrible event and bringing each character their own happily ever after that wasn't just about a romantic love, but a forever love with our Savior.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of these stories were great and I highly recommend the book. The premise of a failed wedding and subsequent romances involving the females in the wedding party worked well. My favorites were the last two by Christina Coryell and Angela Ruth Strong. Ms. Coryell has been a favorite author of mine since I read "A Reason To Run". Ms. Strong is an author new to me, so I quickly chose another of her books as my next read.

* I was given a free copy of the book. This is an honest review.

[Deanna Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection starts out with a bride who changes her mind on her wedding day and we follow her story of the.. well.. Happily? ever after. Each was by a different author but they all tied in so well with the opening story.. Faith, heart ache, a little humor and romance made finding love at the Oregon Coast a story I enjoyed.. I do enjoy Bride stories and these were sooo good! Romantic!!
I was gifted a copy and my review is voluntary.

[Rita Dilda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wedding days always bring reflecting to all involved. The bride finds herself reflecting on her values that she holds important. She discovers that she has to make a difficult choice. So begins her journey on what love really is; seeing relationships between couples-parents, siblings, friends she inspects each one for merits and values. The characters were interesting, the plot good-funny unique characters-aren't we all!

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christina was anxious about getting married, none of her bridesmaid had been married either, so no one knew if she needed anything or not. In counseling there was three parts to marriage, the commitment with God was lacking with him. Knowing that she said no. Follow these 4 as love comes to them in some unexpected ways. Each author blended there stories together to make a delightful collection. Finding love along the Oregon coast,

[Necee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this four book series involving the Lake brothers finding love. I loved the humor, the faith, the romance, and the real life struggles in claiming their happy endings. Each story was very unique to the characters and I loved seeing the heroines interactions with these brothers. The stories range from an actress playing Wonder Woman to a single mom struggling to heal from her previous marriage.

[Melissa Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet stories filled with the possibility of finding love, hope and trust. Each author gives a unique perspective of a bride and her bridesmaids after a wedding is cancelled. Will these women find true love? Will there be a happily ever after for any of them? I enjoyed these novellas very much. I was given a copy of these stories by the authors and this is my personal honest opinion.