The Rector’s Wedding by Elena Graf

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The details…

  • Title: The Rector’s Wedding 
  • Author: Elena Graf
  • Publisher: Purple Hand Press 
  • Publication date: July 21, 2022
  • Available formats: ebook 
  • File size: 1865 KB
  • Print length: 331 pages
  • Genre: contemporary fiction 
  • Themes: women loving women, community, friendship, small town, Maine life, romance 

The blurb from the publisher…

Rev. Lucy Bartlett’s life couldn’t be more perfect. She’s turned around her crumbling church. She’s finishing her doctorate and publishing her first book. Best of all, she is engaged to marry her soulmate, Dr. Liz Stolz.

Once a world-famous opera singer, Lucy has been coaching the church’s transgender music director, who hopes to relaunch her career as a natural alto. When Denise lands an audition with a major orchestra, she knows that the conductor is only using her to lure Lucy into performing again. To show her support, Lucy agrees to do the concert, but after the triumphant performance, she is inundated with offers for singing engagements. The temptation to restart her musical career throws everything in Lucy’s life in doubt—her faith, her future as a pastor, her fulfilling life in Hobbs, even her marriage to the woman she loves. As the big day approaches, nothing is going right. Can the women of Hobbs find a way to celebrate the rector’s wedding?

My thoughts…

I love this series. Elena Graft does such a fantastic job with it; each new book just gets better and better. It’s a unique series, and that’s one of its greatest appeals. It focuses on a small, tight-knit community of mature women that reside in coastal Maine. What makes this group of women particularly noteworthy is that they don’t fit the norm for a contemporary series in its genre. They aren’t your soul-searching twenty-somethings looking for meaning and acceptance in the world. They know who they are. These are women turning the corner on midlife and heading into the straights of retirement, preparing for the next phase of life. They are a diversified collection of women, a group that consists of grandmothers, widows, divorcees, ex-lovers, clergy, actors, opera singers, police chiefs, educators, stock brokers and surgeons. Graf capitalizes on this well-blended cast of characters, using it to punch up the storytelling quite wonderfully. Their varied life experiences provide captivating storytelling opportunities and Graf pens them ever so masterfully. She’s a daring writer, and this series is not to be missed. 

Like any skilled storyteller, Graf knows how to set the stage and build immersive story worlds. Hers is done with careful consideration and purpose, supporting the series exceptionally well. She incorporates all the quirks and nuances of small town Maine into her storytelling and it’s enchanting; no undertone or detail is missed. This has special appeal for those that love fiction set in idyllic New England.

Despite my strong pitch for the solidly structured and well-suited setting, the most engrossing aspect of this series is its characters, which stands to reason because the series is entirely character driven. And oh boy, do these characters drive it! The most prominent character in the series is Liz, but everyone contributes to the storyline. It is an amazing feat considering there are well over 10 active characters involved in the series arc. Each character’s story is intricately woven into the storytelling, not only enhancing it, but merging fantastically well with the over reaching plot. Additionally, all of the character’s storylines are relevant, timely and compelling. It all adds up to some bewitching entertainment.

I’ve reviewed all of the books in this series, and I can say with complete honesty that I’ve never been disappointed after finishing a Hobbs book. Have I always been happy with a character’s choices? No. Have I always been giddy about the direction of the plot? No. However, strange as it may sound, this is why I love the series so much. Literary-wise, it is sharp and progressive, and Graf flexes her writing muscles by keeping her readers on their toes. She challenges the characters, makes bold moves and and pushes the plot. She knows how to keep things fresh and original, and the series thrives because of it. It’s like a well-scripted soap opera; people want to tune in again and again to see what’s going to happen. And with book eight, The Rector’s Wedding, a lot happens! Readers are definitely going to want to make shelf space for this latest one. 

Book eight picks up the thread from book seven nicely and keeps things moving forward quite wonderfully. Graf mends some fences between a couple of her characters, and I sense it lays the groundwork for some future storylines. I also sense changes for Liz and Lucy. Married life might be different than they imagined. Graf sets this up all perfectly, so it’ll be thrilling to see what happens in book nine. That’s the thing with Graf; she’s never short sighted. She’s big picture, plotting and pacing the series arc so readers never get bored. She accomplishes this splendidly in The Rector’s Wedding, laying it out beautifully and managing the flow nicely, all while keeping it inline with the other books in the series. Most significantly though, it gets readers ready for book nine. I have a feeling the next one is going to up-end Liz and Lucy’s world, the series favorite couple, and I can’t wait. 

Final remarks…

The Rector’s Wedding is another winner and I highly recommend it. If you haven’t started this series, do. It is extremely well-written. The characters are delicious and the plot is beyond engrossing. This is two thumbs up storytelling. 

Strengths…

  • Well-written and well-plotted
  • Engaging and entertaining 
  • Well-developed, dynamic and compelling characters 
  • Timely and relevant storytelling 

This book is available from…

Other books in the Hobbs series…

A bit about the author…

Award-winning novelist Elena Graf has been scribbling stories since high school. Her first novel, Occasions of Sin, was published in 2012. Graf considers herself primarily a historical novelist, but her contemporary Hobbs series, set in a small town in Maine, has introduced her work to many new readers. The four historical novels in the Passing Rites series, are set in Europe in the early 20th century and show how a noble family dealt with the momentous changes of the period. Lies of Omission, the third volume in the Passing Rites Series, won a Golden Crown Literary Society award for best historical fiction and a Rainbow Award. The fourth volume, Acts of Contrition also won a Goldie and a Rainbow Award.

The author pursued a Ph.D. in philosophy but ended up in the “accidental profession” of publishing, where she worked for almost four decades. She lives with her wife in coastal Maine.

Connect with the author…

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