Baby Makes a Match (Chatam House #3) by Arlene James

Baby Makes a Match (Chatam House #3) Reviews

• 
  Laura

  I begin this review with a confession. Years ago I had friends who regularly read Harlequin romances. The books got a pretty bad rap in those days and some of it was merited I think. In any case, I vowed I would never read a Harlequin romance. Never say never. Turns out Harlequin has expanded it’s publishing arm and has a division called Steeple Hill. Steeple Hill books, I can safely say are Christian fiction. They are romance novels written about characters who are practicing Christians and pray daily for guidance in their lives.
  
  In this story, Bethany is a six months pregnant young woman without a husband. When she became pregnant she was married, or so she thought. Turns out her husband was a bigamist.
  So, she promptly packed up and left in her beat up auto to go live with her brother who has recently been released from prison. She gets as far as a small Texas town some 50 miles or so from where her brother lives when her car dies on her. She has no where near the funds to pay for the repairs. She spots a diner/bus stop and heads there to see about catching a bus to her desired location. As she makes inquiries about the next bus headed her way, the waitress asks the young cowboy sitting next to Bethany if he is headed in that same direction He answers in the affirmative and the next thing Bethany knows she is riding with Chandler to the town where her brother lives. When they get there Chandler asks Bethany what her brothers address is and he is stunned to hear that Bethany’s brother lives at Chandlers family’s residence.
  
  I liked this story a lot. Chandler and Bethany are very well drawn characters who are easy to believe in and to root for. Both of them have emotional challenges to overcome in order for them to come together.
  
  I found within the pages of this 200 page romance some pretty nifty passages that rang true to me and maybe even bear repeating. On page 55 Chandler recalls something his preacher father said regarding faith: “God allows nothing into our lives without a reason”. From Chandler’s aunt comes the following: “Do you not realize that for God’s children there are no coincidences? Only plans”. There are more like this about things like love and our callings in life.
  
  This short little romantic tale has a rich bounty of love, compassion, wisdom and charity, laced with a delicately handled dose of passion.
• 
  Terri Harr

  Baby Makes a Match is a great book by a sweet friend of mine, Arlene James. It takes us back to Chatam House where we met some of the characters in two other books, Anna Meets Her Match and A Match Made in Texas. In the newest book we get a closer look at Chandler Chatam. He is a strong handsome cowboy who has a heart full of compassion. Especially when it comes to Bethany Carter, a beautiful young woman who is expecting a baby. But it isn't his baby, even though everyone thinks it is.
  
  
  They meet at a truck stop where she is stranded after her car breaks down and he is grabbing a bite to eat on the way home from a rodeo. They end up heading to the same place because her brother works for his three aunts at Chatam House. The aunts mission in life is to minister to those in need and love them the way Jesus would.
  
  
  Chandler and Bethany have obstacles to overcome in each of their lives but you can tell from the beginning that there is something special between them. Find out exactly what their past has brought them through and how those things bring them together. Pick up the other two books and read them in order if you can. Plus anything else you can find by this wonderful lady.
• 
  Sarah

  This book earns a lot of credit for making me chuckle several times.
  
  Background context for that comment: I got this book because the synopsis made me chuckle and the book itself didn’t disappoint! Every time people just assumed Chandler and Bethany were married I got a chuckle, some more loud than others. Cindy’s reaction was pretty funny. I also think how Chandler decided to announce things was pretty hilarious too.
  
  Chandler definitely made the book. Bethany was a nice young lady, but kind of a standard Christian romance fair. Despite a troubled, abusive past and a massive deceit she seems like a completely normal and almost overly trusting woman with no hangs up anywhere. Not entirely realistic. But whatever.
  
  Chandler, I often pictured him looking up at the ceiling imploringly asking, “why me, Lord.” Him and his situation totally makes the book. I dare say he’s the protagonist and Bethany is sort of like a heavy support character. I liked that. It’s refreshing.
  
  This book is very on the praying and bible thumping wagon, so if you read these because they are a ‘clean’ read and less for the religious aspect, you are forewarned!
  
• 
  Mark

  awesome and sweet story
• 
  Danielle Cress

  "We're getting married!"
  When Chandler is mistaken for the father of Bethany's expectant child over and over again, Chandler takes full responsibility--in spite of everyone's false claims.
  Baby Makes A Match, is a heartwarming story that is sure to make you laugh out loud and tug at your heartstrings. A beautifully written story of second chances, love, and faith. With wonderful characters you're not likely to forget any time soon, this is a book you don't want to miss!
  I give it five stars and two thumbs up!
  Way to go, Arlene! Great book!
• 
  Paige

  BABY MAKES A MATCH is a story built around faith that God will show you what you are meant for in life through paths you might not have expected.
  
  Chandler Chatam comes from a well-known family with a lot of expectations to live up too. His relationship with his pastor father is a strained one at best because of his unconventional rodeo career choice and the partner Chandler does business with. Now, on the way back from a rodeo Chandler has just learned he’d been betrayed by his partner his father told him was trouble.
  
  He’s on his way to live with his three aunts until he can get his finances back and find a new partner when he stops in a diner to grab dinner on the go when he notices and hears a beautiful, obviously pregnant woman, Bethany Carter Willows seeking a way to get to the Chatam house.
  
  When they pull into the drive, Bethany runs into the waiting arms of her brother, Garrett. Not knowing this, Chandler believes he’s her husband/baby’s father and feels a twinge of envy.
  
  Over the course of a few days, everyone they come into contact with believes Chandler is the dad to be. This is highly frowned upon as they aren’t married. Even his dad won’t believe when they Bethany tries to clear his name.
  
  After a scare of Braxton-Hicks and the realization of the hospital bills, Chandler makes the suggestion of marriage. He can give her baby a name, give her the support she needs, and keep the gossip away from an unwed pregnant woman.
  
  Although it’s a marriage of name only for the time being until they can separate, they both have trouble keeping their feels from jumping full force into wanting a real marriage. Of course they won’t tell the other how they feel and both take the distance as uncaring instead of trying to protect their hearts from heartbreak.
  
  As Chandler worries about supporting them all the way a husband/ father should, they both learn to have faith and pray. Soon he’s making more money in rodeo competition and they begin spending more time together.
  
  It’s while away at a rodeo after Chandler calls Bethany that he realizes voicing his love and wish of a real marriage to her is worth the risk. She’s the perfect woman for him and he wants a life with his wife and son.
  
  However, he gets a call from his father just as he’s pulling in about Bethany’s early delivery. He rushes to the hospital where they pray for baby Matthew’s recovery. When it comes time for the birth certificate, its reinforced to Bethany it’s not about blood, it’s about the love that this family has.
  
  With his father’s forgiveness, they are remarried by his father after blessing their son into their family.
  
• 
  Brenda

  Nice little book! I burn through this size of book pretty quickly. The story line was good, in some places a little predictable but good predictable. The ending was good, the author tied up all of the little ends. This is a Love Inspired book, which means there are passages from the Bible and references to God in it here and there, a couple of places I didn't think they quite fit.
  
  Here is the information on the story from the back of the book:
  
  Stranded at a truck stop alone and in trouble, pregnant Bethany Carter desperately needs a ride to Buffalo Creek. Then along comes Chandler Chatam, a cowboy with a bad-boy smile and a heart of gold. But when they get to Chatam House, Chandler's three maiden aunts assume he's the father! Chandler's honored to care for Bethany and her unborn child. Problem is, the more time he spends with sweet Bethany, the more he wishes he truly were the father—and her husband. What's a rodeo cowboy to do but lasso the lady into his arms?
• 
  Lacy Williams

  Bethany Carter is getting ready to be an unwed mother. She's eight months pregnant, has no money, and worst of all - alone. Until Chandler Chatam, rodeo cowboy, enters the picture. Chandler is an old-school cowboy who believes in doing the right thing, like marrying the pretty little gal who needs a father for her unborn son. Trouble is, he has to go and fall for Bethany right from the start. Can she ever love him back?
  
  Arlene James has written a heartwarming read that brings the reader right into the truck stop along with the characters and doesn't stop pulling your heartstrings until it's over.
  
  I fell in love with both Bethany and Chandler, Bethany for her stubborn independence and Chandler for his charm and desire to have his father's respect. Arlene's characters are strong and Spiritual and they will stay with you after the book is over.
  
  Highly recommended.
• 
  Janet

  Baby Makes a Match (2010) by Arlene James (Love Inspired)
  .
  I love these books and the Aunts as much as the stories are very interesting to read about. Bethany has had a very bad deal her whole life it seems and it was great to see things going her way finally in this story. Bethany was a very wonderful person and she, and her brother, fit in perfectly at Chatam house. Chandler was also a great guy who was learning a hard lesson in his life at the moment. His attraction and connection to Bethany was pretty immediate and just grew at each meeting. Since they ended up living in the same house this was pretty often. It was beautiful to see how protective he was of Bethany right from the start. And even though there was friction between him and his father it was nice to see how their love for each other was still evident and how things started clicking with them again.
  
• 
  Carolyn

  This was a very good book. A stranded pregnant woman, happens to get a ride from Chandler, a rodeo cowboy who just happens to live where her destination is, Chatam House, Where her brother works. It's there were his three elderly and adorable aunts think that he's the baby's father! The hero is a bad-boy type, but he was very honorable and the more time he spent with Bethany, the more he liked about her. He had his own problems with a friend who messed up his plans, and Bethany is hiding a secret about her past which includes the baby's father. Chandler really wants Bethany in his life, and he does end up marrying her and being the baby's father. Like all things work together for good, they did in this story and what seemed impossible at first, God made possible for them,loved it!
• 
  Sarah's Reviews

  Fear and shame gag the pregnant Bethany into keeping the truth and happily-ever-after at arms length. Only submission to God's plan can reveal the truth and lead to ultimate happiness.
  
  Baby Makes A Match is a clean romance with no sexual content. It's a light read. I finished it in almost one sitting. Unfortunately typos, repetitive descriptions, a predictable plot and an unbelievable male point of view detract from the overall quality of the story. I enjoyed reading it, but I doubt that I would ever read it again.
  
  
  http://wisdominecclesiastes.blogspot....
• 
  Kristina Smith

  I enjoyed the book. Watching the hero and heroine come together (finally!) was interesting. But, as usual for me, they took too long to declare their intentions - I understand we have to fill a certain number of pages for book contracts, but I really wish authors would have characters be honest about their feelings earlier in the book and then have the meat of the book deal with the "struggles" of making a relationship work. At least the characters would know that the other person loves them, instead of bungling up simple situations for the entirety of the book. Just my opinion.
• 
  Marybelle

  A sweet story of coincidence, divine intervention, love, and family. Add a little comic relief with three zany but loving elderly aunts, and you have a story worth sharing.
  
  Love Inspired books are not high drama, fast action, or graphic scenes. They are simple stories about love, family, and faith. Although not complicated, they do present topics and situations that make one stop and get think. In a Baby Makes a Match, the reader faces issues about betrayal, responsibility, and the definition of family. It’s a really nice read for a rainy afternoon.
• 
  Brenda

  I loved this book. I could not put it down. Ms. James has wonderful characters, in a beautiful setting, with a heart warming story to fill it all out! I think my three favorite characters are Chandler's Aunts. They made me laugh every page turn with them.
• 
  Harlequin Books

  Miniseries: Chatam House
• 
  Harlequin Books

  Miniseries: Chatam House
  
  
• 
  Minivanmom2five

  loved it
• 
  Maleah

  I extremely enjoyed this book. Had me hanging on the edge of my seat for most of the story. It's a book that I'll definitely be reading again :).
• 
  Tia

  Overall, I liked it. I giggled through some of it. I would have preferred a confrontation between the bio father and the father/brother. It would of been epic. It was a bit religious.
• 
  Justme

  Another person to minister to at Chatham house. The Aunts are just lovin' it.
• 
  IB

  Such a heart-warming read!
• 
  Carolyn

  Not so impressed with this story, felt pretty blah to me, and didn't care as much for the characters as I'd like.
• 
  Patricia

  funny story... pretty good for light reading. Love Steeple Hill publishers!
• 
  Dani

  Bleh.