All That It Takes ~ Review

All That It Takes

By Nicole Deese

Val Locklier is an intelligent, motivated single mom, but she can't see herself past the limitations that she has allowed others to place on her by their own short-sightedness. When she seeks to better herself and move out of the protective net her family has provided, life doesn't go according to her plans. In fact, everything seems to implode during her week. But this unexpected series of disasters may prove to be her biggest opportunity, but only if she can seize the opportunity.

Miles McKenzie's life has been doing foreign outreach, but suddenly the life he's always loved has become budgetary cut, and he's been reassigned to a family crisis center. Resentment dogs his every interaction with the senior staff of his home church. Searching for any opportunity to return to his foreign outreach, Miles isn't about to settle into the new role he's been given happily. 

When Miles and Val experience an unexpected connection, they'll have to look within if they have any hopes of a future or to experience true and lasting peace. 

This book is interesting, especially when viewed through an eye of self-examination. How often do we thwart God's best for us by not seizing what He has set before us? By complaining about the work He has given us? I enjoyed this book on two levels - one as a purely entertaining read and two as something to make me think about my own life. 

I loved the cover of this book - it portrayed snippets of moments, but almost everything was in shades of blue. It gave me a calm, peaceful feeling as I looked at it, and it really did fit well with this book, in my opinion. 

About the Book:

When the ever-cautious Val Locklier moves cross-country with her son for a secure job, everything she'd planned unravels within the first week. After Val reluctantly agrees to rent an apartment from her best friend's brother, an unexpected chance at an elite filmmakers' mentorship ignites fresh hope for a dream career. But as Val's community begins to expand, so do her insecurities, especially those heightened by her growing attraction to a certain friendly landlord.

Pastor Miles McKenzie returns home from a short-term mission trip to discover that not only does he have an intriguing new tenant living upstairs, he's also been reassigned to a local ministry on life support. Disillusioned and restless, he distracts himself by throwing his energy into a host of new projects--not the least of which is pursuing Val--without stopping to consider the future.

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.