Review: The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt

 

The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt
Published: May 2014 by Bloomsbury USA Children's, 304 pages
Source: I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Description: Sixteen-year-old Holly wants to remember her Grandpa forever, but she’d rather forget what he left her in his will: his wedding chapel on the Las Vegas strip. Whatever happened to gold watches, savings bonds, or some normal inheritance?

And then there's Grandpa's letter. Not only is Holly running the business with her recently divorced parents, but she needs to make some serious money—fast. Grandpa also insists Holly reach out to Dax, the grandson of her family's mortal enemy and owner of the cheesy chapel next door. No matter how cute Dax is, Holly needs to stay focused: on her group of guy friends, her disjointed family, work, school and... Dax. No wait, not Dax.

Holly’s chapel represents everything she’s ever loved in her past. Dax might be everything she could ever love in the future. But as for right now, there's a wedding chapel to save.

My Review: I'm not a big Vegas girl, but I really enjoyed this one. There's more to Vegas than the strip and one big aspect of it is wedding chapels. When Holly's grandpa unexpectedly dies, he wills his chapel to her--that and the big debt associated with it. The Rose of Sharon Chapel is one of the more elegant ones, unlike the tacky chapel next door, owned by her grandpa's enemy. When Holly is asked to deliver a letter to the neighbor's grandson as part of the will, she soon learns that things won't ever be the same. Changes are in store for both the chapel and her personal life.

I loved how Holly used to brains to figure out ways to save the chapel. She got creative and did things that had the long-time secretary frowning in disapproval, but sometimes change is good and in a place like Vegas, change is inevitable. I loved Holly's group of friends--even though they're not the most conventional people, they are loyal and fun. I especially loved the Southern boy, Dax. He's someone who is definitely comfortable in his own skin, but I was a little disappointed in the way he chose to deal with his personal pain. 

The story was fun and unique and as always, I really enjoy this author's writing!

Content: some language (mostly mild); mild violence; teen drinking/partying; talk of hooking up, lots of kissing, but not too graphic. Clean.

 

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About the Author:

Lindsey Leavitt is a former elementary school teacher and present day writer/mom to three (mostly) adorable little girls. She is married to her high school lab partner and lives in Las Vegas. She is the author of the PRINCESS FOR HIRE series (www.princessforhire.com), SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD and GOING VINTAGE
Visit her on the web at www.lindseyleavitt.com.