Building Bridges

Tales from Grace Chapel Inn #40

by Carolyne Aarsen

Welcome to Grace Chapel Inn. Once you visit the charming village of Acorn Hill, you'll never want to leave. Here, the three Howard sisters reunite after their father's death and turn their family home into a bed and breakfast called Grace Chapel Inn. They rekindle old memories, rediscover the bonds of sisterhood, revel in the blessings of friendship and meet many fascinating guests along the way. As the dog days of summer wind down, the Howard sisters end up trying their hands at many new things. After a minor auto accident, Louise - accustomed to coaxing beautiful music from the piano and organ - learns to check tire guages, dipsticks and battery cables. Alice gets roped into helping Aunt Ethel on a new project, and employs hammers, saws and nails to try to keep up with her feisty aunt, and Jane has been commissioned to cater a very special dinner. The finicky hostess makes planning a menu a challenge, but learning to minister to a special group of guests may just be the trickiest task of all.

Genres: Christian, Christian Fiction

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Even with over 1.5 million copies of my books in print, I still feel like I haven’t written the perfect story. From my office in the woods of Northern Alberta, I’ll keep trying. Inspired by spectacular sunrises, breathtaking Northern Lights and long walks through wooded trails, the stories keep coming. To find out more about my life and my writing, check out my website at www.carolyneaarsen.com

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise has a tire go bad and she hits a truck, no damage is done but she is upset and decides to take a driving class. They spend a week going over car maintenance including what kind of wax to use but she sticks with it. A group of college age students rent rooms for a reunion and their noise, odd hours plus helping themselves to food has the sisters on edge. Alice decides to help with building home along with Aunt Edith and Florence. Jane agrees to host a dinner for a lady who is over the top picky, who calls her several times a day to change her mind. Everyone is over tired and sore but get through the days with some help and lots of prayers.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun & fast-moving book in this great series about three sisters who turn their family home into a B&B after their father's death. In this book, a group of seven young adults book the inn and as they invade, they put the sisters' to the test as they try to live out the inn's motto -- "A place where one can be refreshed and encouraged, a place of hope and healing, a place where God is at home."

The sisters are challenged and stressed but it was encouraging to see how they worked hard to make the guests feel welcomed and even helped them discover things about themselves.

At the same time, Ethyl & Alice are helping build a Habitat for Humanity house. And, Jane is more than stressed trying to cater a dinner for an extremely demanding client.

These books never contain profanity or sex and are always uplifting and just plain fun.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was really slow and did not grab my attention. I could not connect with the sisters at all. It was a struggle to finish this book, but I am glad that I did. The ending was far better than the first half of it.

[Jan Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book in the series, a quick easy read.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sisters find that help comes from many different people. God brings answers in chaos.

[Debbie Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book 7 young people come to stay at the Inn. The create some havoc, but, the Jane, Louise and Alice fulfill their Inn's motto and care for the young people as they would any guests. The motto is, "A place where one can be refreshed and encouraged, a place of hoe and healing, a place where God is at home." pg 11. Actually, they treat them better than other guests, as Jane lets them "help" and hang out in the kitchen which she usually does not do. She feels the young people need more of a family atmosphere, even though that creates more difficulties for her. In the end the young people grow from their experiences in Acorn Hill and help Jane with a luncheon she is giving for a demanding woman. She took the luncheon to give the sisters some spending money as they need a new vacuum.

Louise has a minor car accident, coincidentally with one of the young people that come to stay at the Inn. Because of that she takes a refresher course for seniors. It turns out better than she hoped, though the first class is disappointing.

Alice, and Aunt Ethel, and later the young people staying at the Inn, volunteer to work on a Habitat House being built in their area. I live in a Habitat Home and I am thankful for it. We worked hard to build it 18 years ago and are thankful for the low payments and the home my kids grew up in. Before that the 6 of us were crammed in a 2 bedroom trailer with multiple problems. It is a great way to volunteer.

I love these books and have only 9 more in the series to read. I will be sad when I finish this series... but I have many other books and many other book series on my 'to be read' shelf.

Another book that doesn't count for my Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grace Chapel Inn is a small bed and breakfast in a little town called Acorn Hill. It is run by three sisters who aim to run the inn as a way to reconnect with each other and live a life the is guided by their faith. As I looked up the book to post it here, I realized that this is actually #40 in the Grace Chapel Inn series. (oddly, all about the same three sisters but each book is written by a different author.) This particular book focuses on the theme of making connections with others or "building bridges."

[sandra sprenger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic read

Fantastic read

this will remain one of my favorites of this series. so often the generations forget how valuable each one is to us all. here you have young adults involved in themselves coming to realize how much we 'll need each other. plus the mature generation finding how important it is to listen before judging others.
classic lessons for us all.
highly recommend this for anyone wanting an enjoyable reading experience. one of my favorites from this series for sure.

[Sandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good read from Grace Chapel Inn... This time the sisters have some youngsters visiting. They are out for fun, but one of them is a bit on the sad side... A couple of the women help build and Habitat for Humanity house.. Jane offers to cater an event and becomes quite overwhelmed. Mostly because the person sponsoring the event places a lot of stress on her. Eventually everyone pitches in and the end is successful.

[Sharon Heaverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a delightful but light read. Short but sweet story, but really did not have a whole lot of substance. If you are a Harlequin or Silhouette fan you will probably find the books by this author very pleasing.

[Elaine]

Story featured Habitat For Humanity. Fun story.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the "Tales from Grace Chapel" series. Many different writers, but same characters, setting, and history. I love the different writing styles while enjoying my favorite characters.