A story about first loves and ties that bind. After public humiliation beautiful Katie McKenna has deteremined that she will lead a life of safety - even in matters of love. She takes the stance that practical, steady, depedable love is better than love that makes the heart skip a beat. Little does she know that her predicatable, dependable, bland life is about to be turned on its head when her handsome ex-boyfriend dances back into her life. She had packed away the passion of her youth into a box in the back of heart and moved into a cookie cutter life and a love-less engagement made out of the practicallity of steadiness and dependability. All the while justifying that she was holding true to "love is a choice" biblical standard. Her fiance is Dexter - a graduate of MIT. He is bland and boring - and worse yet unkind and unforgiving. Luc - the dashing ex is now a multimillionaire and he has his eyes set on making things right with Katie. This book is a sweet story of facing past mistakes and humiliation and learning what forgiveness and love are. It is about learning not to be defined by the things that happen in our lives but defining our lives by those beliefs we hold dear - operating in Christ.

The only thing that bothered me - and this may seem silly - is the cover. I could not stand the fact that in the book Katie is a red-haired, green-eyed irish girl yet the book cover shows a brunette dark-eyed lady.

Thank you B&B Communications for this review copy. ( )

The first chapter of A Billion Reasons Why finds our heroine, Katie, at work when suddenly her millionaire ex, Luc, shows up begging her to attend her brother's wedding to which she has already RSVP'd no. Why does Luc want her to attend? It seems he wants her to attend because the wedding is 1940's themed and Katie knows to how swing dance very well and his mother would approve of her on his arm as opposed to his other floozy LA girlfriends. To be blunt, it absolutely appalled me that Luc wanted to use Katie. Quite frankly, I began to worry that Katie would give in and allow herself to be used, but, thankfully, by the second chapter, she was defending herself pretty well. Still, Luc is not a character I found myself liking in the beginning. As the book wore on, his redeeming qualities came out and I didn't feel quite so resentful that Katie ended up agreeing to attend the wedding. As the novel moves along it becomes obvious that Katie must make a choice - stay with her current boyfriend, who is safe and stable though not very romantic or passionate, or choose her ex, Luc, who is portrayed as a little bit dangerous, spontaneous and definitely passionate - not passionate in a sexual way, but passionate for life, for his work, and for Katie. It's a traditional plot line in chick-lit novels, but this one had some interesting twists along the way.There was an underlying and forced Christian theme that permeated throughout the novel, like so many Christian romance novels. For example, Katie kept a "courtship diary" for herself and her boyfriend, Dex. She also tried to explain to her roommate why her singing 1940s love ballads in a nightclub made her feel closer to God - something I couldn't quite wrap my head around. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Lutheran and I have my own relationship with God, but I find these themes in Chick-Lit to be forced to a fault.Aside from the forced theme and the all too convenient ending (I can't give it away!) I ended up really enjoying this book. The writing style of the author is smooth and descriptive and I enjoyed the recent pop culture references she used, such as Glee and Kindle. The story overall is very sweet and it was a light, enjoyable read. ( )

Luc broke Katie’s heart and humiliated her in her home town years ago. She is now a Special Ed teacher and almost engaged to Dexter who is safe. Out of no where Luc shows up at her school and demands she come home to sing at his brothers wedding. Katie has vowed to move on and not let him get to her again. Will a trip home to New Orleans cause her billion reasons why to evaporate under the hot New Orleans sun or will she find true love once again?This was a fun book I enjoyed it a lot. It’s the kind of romance novel that makes you feel all warm and fussy inside. I enjoyed seeing Katie who starts out kind of dead inside just living day to day return home and find herself again. There are parts of this book that seem a little hard to believe but the book is kind of magical almost a Cinderella feel which makes it fun to read. I did not feel though like I got to know Luc as well as Katie his feelings seemed more of a mystery and it took a while to understand his side of things. Over all a fun book with a good Christian base. This is a book I could see myself picking up and reading again just because it brings out the romantic in me!DISCLOSURE: I was provided a free copy of this book from the publisher through BookSneeze to review it. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

The story was wonderful. However, I just did not feel a connection with the characters. To me that is extremely important. That makes me feel involved in the book. Since I didn’t feel as involved, it took me longer then usual to get through this book.

Even though I didn’t feel like I knew the characters, I did enjoy the plot. The description of New Orleans was superb. It was interesting to see how they reacted to some of the situations, especially since Luc and Katie are from such different backgrounds.

Overall, it was an okay book.

In conjunction with the Wakela's World Disclosure Statement, I received a product in order to enable my review. No other compensation has been received. My statements are an honest account of my experience with the brand. The opinions stated here are mine alone. ( )

I never had the pleasure of reading anything by Kristin Billerbeck before, and wish someone had warned me that I would not be able to put this fun and quirky romance down. Before you sit down to read this novel, create yourself a nice cozy spot complete with a cup (or rather a thermos) of your favorite beverage and a snack or two, along with your favorite afghan to curl up with - all where you won't be disturbed, because once you start reading, you won't want to stop!

"A Billion Reasons Why" is one of those fantastic stories where humor is mixed with a very serious side. True to life - all the characters have a flaw or two - no matter how perfect they seem at first. The main characters, Katie and Luc, are well developed that will sweep you off your feet and have you itching to rent a few of Humphrey Bogart's and Katharine Hepburn's movies by the time you turn the last page.

Everything about this novel worked for me. Not only did it transport me to New Orleans where I could hear that southern drawl and smell crawdads cooking, but it had me practically dancing along with them through the 1940's! If there was ever a "perfect" romance or chick lit, this would have to be it. The only thing that made it even better was the wonderful Christian message that it delivered!

Make sure to add "A Billion Reasons Why" to your must read pile. It comes highly recommended! ( )