Welcome to First Line Friday!
Today I’m featuring

All That it Takes by Nicole Deese.

When the ever-cautious Val Locklier finally agrees to a cross-country move with her nine-year-old son to take a job with her best friend, Molly, everything she had planned for the future unravels within the first week. After pushing aside her anxieties about renting an apartment from Molly’s twin brother, whom she barely knows, she accepts an invitation for an elite filmmaker’s mentorship. Caught between her insecurities and new possibilities, she feels completely unprepared for the challenges ahead.

Pastor Miles McKenzie returns home from abroad to discover that not only does he have an intriguing new tenant living upstairs, he’s been banished to a ministry on life support. Disillusioned and restless, he pursues a relationship with Val without stopping to consider the timing or asking God to direct his steps.

As Val struggles to stop hiding behind the camera and Miles wrestles with shattered expectations, they’ll find that authentic love and sacrifice must go hand in hand.

From Goodreads

Author Information

Discover more information about Nicole Deese at: nicoledeese.com.

First Line

[Graphic Text]: As the door to our new life swung open and my ten-year-old son rushed across the threshold to explore the second-story apartment, the you-break-it, you-buy-it policy flashed across my mind like a hazard warning.

My Review

All That it Takes is the sequel to Nicole Deese’s contemporary romance All That Really Matters.

After reading All That Really Matters, I was so excited to read All That it Takes. And wow, it lived up to my expectations! That’s not quite right. It was different than I anticipated, but as incredible as I expected.

This story takes readers to deep, emotional depths. It wrestles at the intersection of church and social issues, particularly at how the church takes care of those less fortunate. As the story progresses, it focuses on a certain aspect of society: single mothers. This story deals with topics of abortion, unwed mothers, single moms, and suicide. Not easy topics, but what I loved is how it didn’t preach about those topics, it showed them through the very real feelings of various characters.

This is not an easy read, but it is an excellent one. If these topics are not triggers for you, then I highly recommend reading All That it Takes. I’m so glad I have a paperback copy I can reread it again sometime in the future.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC guidelines.

Retail Links

Amazon | BN.com | Indiebound
Goodreads | BookBub

Now it’s your turn.
Pull out the book beside you and leave a comment with the first line.

First Line Friday is hosted by Reading is my Super Power.

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