"Hitting the Right Note" by Rhonda Bowen

JJ Isaacs has always dreamed of becoming a star and now, as she goes out on tour as a back-up singer for R&B superstar Deacon Hill, her dream just might come true.  Deacon sees JJ’s potential, and so does Rayshawn, JJ’s manager and producer - and secret boyfriend.  But the more success she finds on stage, the harder it becomes for her to stay true to her faith.

While JJ is on tour, her sister-in-law Sheree is struggling through a difficult pregnancy back in Toronto.  But she knows that she can count on doctor Simon Massri to take good care of Sheree.  What JJ doesn’t expect is that she’ll soon find Simon taking care of her.  As JJ struggles to deal with her feelings for Simon, her flailing faith, and her impending stardom, she finds herself having to make a tough decision - love or career?

Hitting the Right Note is Rhonda Bowen’s fourth novel and it is a lovely, Christian novel that will transcend the religious genre and strike the right chord with readers of all walks of life.

This novel follows-up Bowen’s third novel, Get You Good, but this time follows different characters.  I really enjoy novels that follow the same set of characters but focuses on different ones in each book and I’m glad that Bowen did that this time around.  There are more sisters in the family, hopefully that means there will be more books!

The character JJ is a woman who has lost her way.  She comes from a tight-knit family, a large group of sisters who depend on their faith and each other to guide their way through life.  But her dream of becoming a star takes her away from all of that and drops her into a new world where it seems that no one shares her background or values.  You don’t need to become a superstar to find yourself in this situation.  Most people go through a point in their lives where they find themselves in a place that puts their values to the test.  This is one of those books that will have you thinking “what would I do” the whole way through. What would you sacrifice to make your dreams come true?

Ms. Bowen writes with ease and warmth which makes reading this novel a joy.  Though you pretty much know which way the novel is going to end, getting there is full of twists and turns that will have you pulling for the characters.  Bowen has hit the mark with another great novel about faith, family, and love.