Book Review - "Made to Last" by Melissa Tagg

I received a complimentary copy of “Made to Last” by Melissa Tagg in exchange for this honest review by participating in the Bethany House Publishers review program, I was not compensated for this post.  All opinions are my own.

On the outside, Miranda Woodruff seems to have it all together - a home improvement show of her own, a loving husband, and the ability to live a private life despite her successful public career.  But looks can be deceiving.  As the ratings of her show, From the Ground Up, begin to decline, Miranda finds that she would do anything to save her show.  Including hiring someone to be the man she has supposedly been married to for the past three years and opening her life up to the public eye.  As her once quiet life becomes disrupted by not only a pretend husband, but also a reporter blogging about her every move, Miranda begins to feel suffocated by the lies she has been living for so long.  To top it off, her ex-fiance finally returns after running out on her three years prior.  Take the journey with Miranda Woodruff as she continues to try to hide who she truly is, and as she tries to heal her wounds and open her heart to love once again.

As a debut author, Melissa Tagg definitely held my attention throughout this book.  Her characters were likable and relatable, and I had such a hard time putting this book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.  With that being said, I was a little disappointed overall considering that this was supposedly a Christian fiction book.  I felt that any time a situation where the story of Christ could be woven in, or where you could see God's hand at work, it was sort of brushed over and the opportunity missed.  The story is based on the main character's lies, and there never really are any consequences, other than her feeling bad.  I still enjoyed reading this book and will most likely read the next in the series, but will definitely go at it with different expectations.