Worlds Collide by Alison Strobel

Can I begin a review by saying, "WOW!" a fictional novel that reads like a memoir/biography and not only pulls you into the story but leaves its imprint behind on your soul.

The lives of Jada, the writer, Grace, a school teacher and Jack, a big-time Hollywood actor, intertwine in a way that only God could orchestrate.

Jada Eastman is a reporter and biographer for various celebrities and received a call from Jack Harrington's assistant that he wanted her to help him and his wife, Grace, write their story.

Jada was pretty cynical of the Hollywood crowd by this time, after having seen the ugly side of various actors' lives and written about them. But Jack Harrington held a special place in her heart, having had a crush on him since she was a teen.

When she meets with the Harrington's the first time to discuss the project, she is expecting to hear about religion because through the grapevine she heard they were religious nuts. What she hears and observes instead is love, kindness and how two lives were changed. Those two lives, Jack and Grace, then were used by God to bring about change in an industry that is built on lust, greed and wantonness.

Jack and Grace's lives (though this is only a novel) reached my heart and I found I couldn't stop reading it. I had to know how God moved in their lives and how He brought about change in them and those around them.

Alison Strobel, who is becoming one of my most favorite writers, has a gift of story-telling that just gets better all of the time. This novel has to be the best yet. Her website is http://alisonstrobel.com/

This is an e-book that was provided by Blogging for Books for the purpose of review. I am under no obligation to write anything except my own opinion.

"Worlds Collide" is about film star Jack Harrington and Grace Winslowe. Their relationship began like a scene from one of Jack's movies: Hollywood film star marries girl-next-door Grace Winslowe after a tragic car accident brings them together and they find that they are attracted to each other. Grace made the move from her Chicago home down to Los Angeles to start a new life and ended up crashing into the car of Jack Harrington. Little did the two know what fate had in store for them.

This changes everything.

While driving on the interstate on a rainy day, Grace loses control of her car and hits Jack from the back. Just a few months before Jack had lost his girlfriend in a crash like this one, due to drunk driving. He is now looking for a wife, a steady relationship. The two end up getting married (don't worry, that won't spoil the book for you--- there are A LOT of surprises in there!), and the longer they're together, the more secrets are revealed and their lives slowly being to unravel.

Will the marriage last, or will it end in tragedy just like the other Hollywood marriages? And can they keep their sanity when individual worlds collide?

I think my expectations were met pretty well. It ended exactly as I thought it would. Can't tell you how, but... it kinda has a chick-flick ending (but it's amazing, I'm tellin' ya, and totally unpredictable!). I would say this book was overall awesome, but had its fair share of dry parts.

I recommend this book to fans of romantic fiction.

If you're a fan of "Valentine's Day" or "New Years Eve", you'll like this book. If you like the shows "The Lying Game" or "Switched at Birth", you'll really like this. Full of secrets, a small bit of scandal, and comedy. Definitely comedy. This book did make me laugh on some parts, and it is rare that I actually laugh when reading a book. The secrets are unbelievable. Scandal? Only at the beginning.

As for me, the book was pretty good. Not something I would lead a parade for, but definitely something I'd read again. It took me a long time to read it because of my schedule, but I enjoyed it. It's really jacked up because at a picnic I saw my friend Kiana and it was a rainy day and I ran to hug her and fell back, book in hand, now muddy and cover half-off.

My complaints? Well...

The book was really boring in the middle, but the beginning and ending were really interesting and kept me up late at night. Another complaint is I wish I heard more about Jada, the biographer in the book. And I wish that the plot moved just a tiny bit faster. Also: Alison, try numbering the chapters.

Due to there only being a few complaints, I'll go on and give four stars.

Paperback.

330+ pages.

Published by: WaterBrook Multnomah.

Special thanks: to WaterBrook Multnomah press for providing me with a free copy of this book for the sake of reviewing.