The Writing Desk
By Rachel Hauck
- Release Date: 2017-07-11
- Genre: Religious Fiction
Description
This happily ever after romance tells the captivating story of two women bound together across time by a shared dream and a mysterious writing desk.
Tenley Roth’s first book was a runaway bestseller. Now that her second book is due, she’s locked in fear. Can she repeat her earlier success or is she a fraud who has run out of inspiration?
With pressure mounting from her publisher, Tenley is weighted with writer’s block. But when her estranged mother calls asking Tenley to help her through chemotherapy, she packs up for Florida where she meets handsome furniture designer Jonas Sullivan and discovers the story her heart’s been missing.
A century earlier, another woman wrote at the same desk with hopes and fears of her own. Born during the Gilded Age, Birdie Shehorn is the daughter of the old money Knickerbockers. Under the strict control of her mother, her every move is decided ahead of time, even whom she’ll marry. But Birdie has dreams she doesn’t know how to realize. She wants to tell stories, write novels, make an impact on the world. When she discovers her mother has taken extreme measures to manipulate her future, she must choose between submission and security or forging a brand new way all on her own.
Tenley and Birdie are from two very different worlds, but fate has bound them together in a way time cannot erase.
“Rachel Hauck enchants us again! Tenley and Birdie are bound together by the understanding that creativity is a guiding force and that their stories must be told. A tale both bittersweet and redemptive, The Writing Desk is your must-read.” —Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author
This sweet, split-time read is a standalone novel, though characters in this story appear in Rachel Hauck’s book, The Fifth Avenue Story Society. Includes discussion questions.
Reviews
Latest novel by Rachel Hauck!
4By Kris Anderson, The Avid ReaderThe Writing Desk is the latest novel by Rachel Hauck. Tenley Roth has just won the Gordon Phipps Roth Award for Outstanding Debut Novelist. Tenley is the great-great-granddaughter of Gordon Phipps Roth for whom the award is named. She is supposed to be working on her second book, but Tenley is experiencing writers block (and many doubts about her abilities). Tenley’s debut book is a hit, but she wonders if it is for her writing prowess or her heritage (Conrad Roth, her father, was also a famous writer). Her boyfriend, Holt Armstrong is going to France for three months and wants Tenley to join him. But then Tenley gets a call from her estranged mother, Blanche Albright. Blanche is starting chemotherapy and needs someone to assist her. She is asking Tenley to come to Cocoa Beach. Tenley has been yearning for a connection with her mother and decides this might be the perfect opportunity especially since she is her last relative. In the library at Blanche’s house is the perfect desk for Tenley to work on her book. She can tell it has history and it speaks to her. In the early 1900s, Birdie Shehorn has just obtained her degree from Wellesley. She is hoping to spend more time on her writing. Unfortunately, Birdie’s mother is pushing for her to marry Alfonso Van Cliff (a notorious flirt). Birdie has no desire to be married off to someone she does not love, but her mother will not be thwarted. Will Birdie get her chance to write and marry for love? Can Tenley overcome her writing block? Pick up a copy of The Writing Desk to see how the story plays out. The Writing Desk is a well-written and engaging novel. The past and future are beautifully woven together for a lovely story. I was more interested in Birdie’s story than Tenley’s. Tenley is a difficult character to like. Her whining and complaining quickly got on my nerves. The Christian element is light but impactful. I am giving The Writing Desk 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it). I only told you a little bit about the story. There is also Jonas Sullivan and Elijah Percy. The story is told from the perspective of all four main characters (it does not get confusing). In this story, we can see that despite a hundred years difference, people undergo the same struggles (joys, doubts, uncertainties, love, grief). The Writing Desk is Christian, romance novel that can be enjoyed by readers from 13 to 103. It is an inspirational story with a feel-good ending (it has a great epilogue). I am never disappointed when I pick up a novel by Rachel Hauck.
