Romance has never been actress Chloe Daschle’s forte—in life or on screen. But everyone knows who to call for a convincing death scene . . . and it might be killing her career.

When Chloe is given a peek at the script for an epic love story, she decides to take her destiny into her own hands and request an audition for the lead female role, Esther Kingsley. The compelling tale, inspired by family lore and a one-page letter from the colonial ancestor of scriptwriter Jesse Gates, just might break her out of this career-crippling rut. Jesse would rather write about romance than live through it after his past relationship ended in disaster. But once on-set together, the chemistry between Jesse and his leading lady is hard to deny.

Centuries earlier, in the heart of the Revolutionary War, Hamilton Lightfoot and Esther Longfellow wrote their saga off the silver screen. Esther’s Loyalist father opposes any relationship with Hamilton, but Esther must face her beloved father’s disapproval and the dangers of war in order to convince Hamilton of their future together. Hamilton has loved Esther for years, and on the eve of battle pens the love letter she’s always wanted—something straight from the heart.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Rachel Hauck novel, and I was excited to read her latest (as I’ve heard good things about it from other lovers of contemporary romance). If you’ve read Rachel Hauck novels before, this one won’t disappoint — likeable, understandable characters (even if they are both beautiful actors who we probably can’t relate to).  This story includes a second love story, however — glances back at the lives of Hamilton and Esther, Jesse Grant’s inspiration.

While the story is fun, I wasn’t a fan of bouncing between Jesse and Chloe’s story and Hamilton and Esther’s story. I don’t know why — I read both contemporary and historical romance novels — but for some reason this particular format didn’t work for me. Maybe it’s because I’m not generally a fan of flashbacks; even though these weren’t technically flashbacks, they kind of felt like it.

Overall, though, it was a fun story. I didn’t feel like the faith element was obnoxious, and I enjoyed the non-traditional way Jesse and Chloe develop their relationship. A fun, easy read.

*I received a free copy of this book. The opinions are my own.