Chasing Charity

Texas Fortunes Trilogy #2

by Marcia Gruver

Fuel your love of romance in this mesmerizing sequel to Marcia Gruver's Diamond Duo . In this second book of the Texas Fortunes series, Charity Bloom is left stranded at the altar after her best friend takes off with her fiance. How will she ever show her face in town again? After Buddy Pierce discovers oil on the Bloom property, he realizes the real treasure may be above ground-in the form of Charity Bloom. Can he strike it rich in Charity? When her ex-fiance decides he wants her back, whom will Charity choose the handsome roughneck or the deceitful rogue?

Genres: Historical Romance

301 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

Marcia Gruver, author and creative writing teacher, lives in Texas, and has published various articles, poems, and devotionals. Her novel, Love Never Fails, won third place in the 2007 ACFW Genesis Contest. She is a member of ACFW, Fellowship of Christian Writers, and The Writers View."

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chasing Charity is a sweet novel about a young woman torn between her heart’s desire and her perception of duty. Marcia Gruver has captured the era of the Oil Rush wonderfully and her attention to descriptions and detail of the characters portray the small-town mindset perfectly. I was drawn into the novel unexpectedly and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen, to all the characters. Marcia Gruver has delivered a charming representation of jilted love and the chances given and often, by some, passed over. The length’s Charity as willing to go to for her mother also shows how deeply a child can love their parent.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book easier to read than the first one in the series, but I still found it annoying when everyone was calling each other sugar. It just didn't seem to match the speech of the early 1900s, especially with both men and women.

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charity jilted at the altar, then her friend runs after him, can’t get much worse. Then oil is found and brings a new suitor. Will she chose the old or the new guy. Can either of them be trusted.

[Shirayuki Zen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet love story that is a force to be reckoned with.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book much better than book 1 of the series. This one held my attention from beginning to end. I was glad that Bertha was back for the second book, but disappointed that so much time had elapsed. The only things that I didn't like about the book was that I find it hard to believe a girl can stuff pillows in her bed, sneak out and be gone for about 24 hours without anyone realizing it. Although the girl (Emmy) had been staying in her room quite a bit, due to shame, guilt, etc., it seems unlikely to me that her mother wouldn't become suspicious after checking on her a couple of times & finding the lump in the bed exactly as it was before. Even if her mother was too stupid to realize that Emmy wasn't really in the bed, wouldn't she worry that she was ill, or committed suicide under the covers? If my daughter stayed in her bed for that long without turning over or moving at all, it would scare the living daylights out of me! Also, even though I like happy endings, in this book, any dilemma that comes their way is almost instantly solved with a prayer. In real life, bad things happen no matter how much you pray or how faithful you are.

By the way, I don't like the guy on the cover. I'm hoping he isn't supposed to be Buddy. He looks more like what I imagine the conniving, weaseling Daniel to look like. LOL The guy on the cover of the third book is a hottie!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chasing Charity seems a fitting title for this book. There is Daniel and Buddy Pierce both chasing Charity for her love. Charity is downhearted because Daniel left her at the altar on her wedding day. Then Buddy comes to their house and finds oil on their property.
That turns everything upside down as a best friend tries to steal their land. They have to leave their land while Buddy directs those who are looking for the oil. As they are about to give up and return to their house, oil falls everywhere including on them as they are returning to their home.
Charity is in love with Buddy but feels she has to marry Daniel to save their home. But she is about to make a mistake. Only God can change things for her.
Her best friend who ran off with her groom is hurt and destroyed and used by Daniel. So Emmy and Charity don't speak to each other and a friendship is separated. Yet they love each other enough that in the end Emmy does everything in her power to save Charity from marrying the wrong man.
There is humour, joy, sadness, and above all faith. Lifes are affected in so many ways by those who come in contact with each other. So much to learn about life itself. When the books ends, you wish to just keep on reading.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable second novel in the Texas Fortunes Series - this one centering around Bertha's daughter, Charity. I personally loved the change in generation with the characters, as it is rare with a series to get to see characters in vastly different times in their lives.

Charity has recently been left at the alter by Daniel Clark and is trying to move on with her life. Buddy Pierce is new to Humble, Texas, having joined the Oil Boom. Daniel is absolutely terrible in his manipulation of both Charity and her best friend Emmy. The words and thoughts that come from his mind gave me shivers. Additional greed from another local family add to the villains out to get what they want no matter the cost. I was thrilled to see the relationship between Bertha and Magda still going strong, as they provide some of the funnier and more heart-warming scenes in the story. And ultimately, true love prevails in the end, though not without a page-turning, nail-biting climax.

Historical fact mixing with light-hearted fiction makes for a delightful read. The third in the series, Emmy's Equal, is sure to bring just as must history, tension, and fun as the first two. Gruver is one of the best Christian Fiction writers out there today.

[Janna Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Chasing Charity" is the follow-up to "Diamond Duo" and it is a wonderful addition to the Texas Fortunes series. My only regret is that I didn't pick up my copy of "Diamond Duo" and refresh my memory of the story before I started this one, I didn't do that until I was finished with "Chasing Charity" and then I went - "Oh, duh! That's who those characters are!" Just to help you all out - "Diamond Duo" is about Bertha and her best friend Magda and "Chasing Charity" is about their daughters Charity and Emmy.

This is a wonderful romantic historical with a sweet story. Charity is left standing at the altar by her supposed to be husband as he leaves the church... the shocker is that her best friend Emmy leaves the church right behind Daniel. So Charity loses her fiancee and best friend in the same moment. Then her world gets turned completely upside down when it looks like oil is on their property... or is it? She and her mom, Bertha, have to leave their home and stay somewhere else until it is settled. What about the handsome man who is determined to find oil? What about the fact that Daniel is regretting leaving Charity at the altar? Can Charity find God's will in all of this?

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chasing Charity is a delightful, fun read. I found the story very compelling and hard to resist. What I mean by that is I wanted to keep picking it up to read it. I breezed through the novel fairly quickly and didn't get bored with the story at all. The near-kisses were pretty exciting, but not overly so. I enjoyed the history of the town and the added conflict shown through the variety of perspectives, which is not usally done in typical romances.

On a more comical note, I enjoyed the crazy mamma and her friend and the antics they pulled coupled with their hillbilly speak. I found the dialog and colloquialisms especially entertaining. But it's not all silliness, though it will make you smile on a frequent basis. The heart of the story is about love and forgiveness, which is clearly relayed through this novel. Nothing edgy, but still very enjoyable for me.

[★Kayla★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was my favorite of the trio!

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 of 3

[Keekee Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I was alittle more relatable then first (which don't get me wrong, was a great book.)
I think they keep getting better as the story goes on though!