I picked up “Love, Charleston” by Beth Webb Hart at book store closing event almost two years ago. I finally was able to get a chance to read this book a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It started out kinda slow in the first chapter but after the first chapter, I was hooked. After reading the book, I understood why the first chapter was a bit slower than the rest of the book. The first chapter explained the history of Pastor and Widower Roy Summerall. It explained why he was afraid to take a new job and move back to Charleston. Roy is stuck raising his daughter after his wife passed away shortly after she was born. After deciding to accept the job in Charleston, he was very nervous how he was going to preach to his new congregation and capture their attention. The congregation in his new church was far different than the one he was preaching at before his big move.
Meet Della
Della is another character in the book and she was unhappy with her living conditions. She wanted more and was being pulled away from her marriage in search of someone with money. In fact, one of her old flames showed back up and she thinks that he would offer her a much better life for her and her children. She lies to her husband about a book conference and plans to sneak away and meet up with her old flame. They met at a hotel and once she arrived there she decided that she couldn’t leave her present life, despite how unhappy she was. She drove an old car, lived in a run down house filled with bugs, and was upset that he husband was working in a job that wasn’t providing for them the way she felt that he should.
Meet Della
Della had a cousin named Lish, in this story she is pregnant and ends up having her baby a few weeks early. She falls into severe post-partrum depression which sometimes affects new mothers a few weeks after birth. Her husband was away on a business trip and her cousin comes by her home to check on Lish and the family. She find the older kids running around and the baby crying upstairs. When Della gets to the baby’s room upstairs she finds Lish sitting in a chair rocking away and ignoring the sounds of her infant crying. Her sister quickly grabs the baby and finds that she hasn’t been taken care of in a day or so. They contact Lish’s husband and he said not to worry about her that she is just exhausted; however, her sister knows that she is in deep trouble and takes her to the hospital.
Meet Anne
Anne is Lish’s sister and rings the bells at the church that Roy is going to preach at. She loves ringing the bells and she is encouraged to move some where else where she can get a fresh start after things begin fading at St. Micheal’s church. She moves off and later returns to find her sister Lish in a world of trouble with her post-partum depression.
I won’t spoil any more details about the book. The author of this book, takes real world problems and show cases these problems in this book. This is a Christian fiction book about how God transforms love and His work in the Holy City of Charleston. Beth Webb Hart writes with compassion and keeps you interested. I know that this was a book that I didn’t want to put down because I wanted to find out what happened to Roy, Lish, and Della. I hope that you enjoyed this review and that you decide to read this excellent book.
