Smitten: A Collection of Catholic Love Stories

by Sterling Jaquith, Carolyn Shields, Kimberly Cook

This book has mature content and may not be appropriate for people under eighteen. Though all mature content is handled through a Catholic lens, we still advise parent discretion. Being a single Catholic woman can be frustrating, especially in today’s world that seems to revolve around text messages, dating apps, and very little actual dating. Movies and television show a skewed version of love and marriage so singles are left without much guidance for how to discern God’s will for their lives or what to do in the meantime. This book is about hope. It’s raw and real and genuine. It’s filled with the messy truth about true love. Read these 37 real stories from Catholic women about how they met their husbands. There are no airbrushed actors or sappy soundtracks here. You’ll discover the ordinary, and sometimes extraordinary, ways that God brings two people together and calls them to the sacrament of marriage.

Kindle Edition

Published May 30, 2018

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

As part of the target audience for this book, I’m always wary of reading books written for single Christians. They’re usually written by married people and feel trite, even if the author was single for a while. Smitten is a collection of nearly 40 stories of married Catholic women, so it IS from that perspective. But I found it encouraging and entertaining to see how God worked in all these people’s lives to lead them to marriage. I appreciated the variety in the stories, and that they showed real people making it through difficult and sometimes awkward circumstances. And more than anything, I appreciate the effort of happily married people giving hope to a younger generation that is so directionless when it comes to love. Times have changed significantly in recent decades when it comes to finding spouses, but what hasn’t changed is the desire of millions of people to do just that. We’re now facing a culture that tells us to shack up, sleep around, and not commit. But as the contributors to Smitten clearly demonstrate, there is a better, more freeing, way to approach this aspect of life, and it is worth fighting for.

[Kate Hendrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book started off strong with a forward from Carolyn Shields and introduction from Kimberly Cook. All the stories that follow are wonderful. It isn't because they are fairytales or rom-coms; the beauty comes from the truth these women share. I was really impressed by the vulnerability of these stories, and I loved reading the funny, the awkward, the joyful, and sad moments that are all part of finding love.

I really enjoyed the wide array of stories. There were women who found love in their 20's, in their 30's and even a story from a woman who got married in her 40's. Some women were actively seeking "the one" while others had nearly given up on love. There was the beauty of rainbows and roses and the struggles of heartbreak and loss.

My only criticism of this book is there were a few minor typos, but these can be easily overlooked.

Though this book is targeted towards single women and has some good advice, I think anyone who likes love stories would enjoy this book.

Full disclosure: I contributed my love story with Ben, but my story is only one out of 37 stories, a forward, an introduction, and four additional chapters. Though I contributed, I can separate my excitement about my own story to present an honest opinion of the book.

[Jennifer Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was okay. The advice at the beginning was solid, and the stories were sweet, but there was a disconnect between the advice and the stories. The book purports to provide hope, particularly to slightly older women who feel they can't find the right spouse, but the stories are overwhelmingly about women/couples in their early to mid twenties who wed well before the average age in the US. For this reason, I'd hesitate to recommend the book to the woman in her late twenties to forties the book tries to reach, because if there is hope, why aren't there any examples of it? I'd primarily recommend this to devout Catholics in their late teens/early twenties who are prematurely frustrated.

[Heather Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

I really appreciated the stories of all the women. God works in each of our lives in different ways and it was beautiful to hear all the ups and downs of their personal love story.
My only critique is that there are 3 chapters before the stories start. If I were in my teens or early twenties these would have been great. But as a 35 year old single woman it was the same old stuff I’ve always heard. However, this is a personal situation. It was written very well and the author was candid.

[Victoria McMillen · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 Word Reviews:

Cute! Also lots of typos