About the Book
Book: To Bring You Back
Author: Emily Conrad
Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance
Release date: August 16, 2021
He’s determined to confront the past she’s desperate to forget.
He’s determined to confront the past she’s desperate to forget.
Broke in more ways than one, the last thing Adeline Green can afford is for her now-famous high school crush to descend on her quiet life.
People in the small town of Lakeshore, Wisconsin, think of her as the hard-working church secretary or as the local food truck’s lunch-hour cashier. They’d never suspect the shame she’s hiding.
She attended high school with both the lead singer and the drummer of the rock band, Awestruck. In fact, she used to play in the band herself, but that was back before Awestruck made it big—and before her relationship with lead singer Gannon Vaughn took a turn that ultimately led to tragedy and heartbreak.
She’s living a different life now, but when Gannon shows up, he brings with him a public spotlight that threatens to expose her deepest regret. The closer she gets to him, the more she risks the carefully curated life that’s finally brought her a measure of peace.
Gannon Vaughn and his rock band, Awestruck, have conquered the music industry, but he can’t overcome his feelings for Adeline.
She may have been right to cut off contact between them years ago, but thanks to the grace of God, he’s a changed man. When he hears Adeline’s struggling, he sets out to turn her life around and win back the love he lost to poor choices eight years ago.
But when Gannon’s fame and their mutual regrets jeopardize their relationship anew, will grace be enough to bring them back to God and each other?
A meaningful Christian romance with a side of fame and fortune for readers who enjoy faith-filled escapes and happily-ever-afters where no one is beyond hope of redemption.
About the Author
Emily Conrad writes contemporary Christian romance that explores life’s relevant questions. Though she likes to think some of her characters are pretty great, the ultimate hero of her stories (including the one she’s living) is Jesus. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their energetic coonhound rescue. Learn more about her and her books at emilyconradauthor.com.
More from Emily
A Guilty Pleasure with a Purpose
When a reader called the Rhythms of Redemption Romances a guilty pleasure, I had to smile because that’s exactly what To Bring You Back, the first book in the series, was to me as I wrote it.
Don’t get me wrong, To Bring You Back is firmly Christian fiction, and it’s not “guilty” of being blush-inducing. Because of the characters’ history, theirs is a slow-burn romance that focuses more on the emotional side of their relationship than the physical.
But, To Bring You Back is a rock star romance.
When I first started writing it, I was embarrassed to admit that’s what I was working on.
After all, rock star romance has a reputation for being an unrealistic and shallow escape from reality with “guilty pleasure” written all over it.
Maybe there was some of that escapism going on. At that point in my writing journey, I was dealing with disillusionment, and I enjoyed the break of writing about rich and famous characters.
However, as I wrote To Bring You Back and went on to read others’ romances about famous characters, I found that the characters’ occupations and net worth don’t impact the most important elements of their stories.
The tales can still showcase meaningful relationships and God at work in the lives of people who—rich and famous or not—need redemption.
Fame, money, and music help up the entertainment value, but those same features add even more rich conflict to explore.
The men of Awestruck, starting with lead singer Gannon Vaughn in To Bring You Back, have allowed me to ask questions like: How good is grace? What does it mean to live in forgiveness? What gives a person worth? And, when is living the dream no longer worth the price?
To write this post, I took a break from working on the first draft of the final book in the series, and it’s been fun to look back and see how much my opinion of these stories has changed.
If To Bring You Back and the books that follow are a guilty pleasure, they’re a guilty pleasure with a purpose. God has worked in my life through them.
It’s my prayer that He’ll also use them in your life, both to explore meaningful questions and to provide a few hours of entertaining escape.
Blog Stops
lakesidelivingsite, April 25
The Sacred Line, April 25
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 26
Inklings and notions, April 27
Remembrancy, April 28
Wishful Endings, April 28
Texas Book-aholic, April 29
deb’s Book Review, April 30
For Him and My Family, May 1
Spoken from the Heart, May 1
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, May 2
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, May 3
Miriam Jacob, May 3
Locks, Hooks and Books, May 4
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 5
Britt Reads Fiction, May 5
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 6
Simple Harvest Reads, May 7 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Pause for Tales, May 8
Of Blades and Thorns, May 8
Giveaway!
To celebrate her tour, Emily is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and an ecopy of To Bring You Back!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
My Review of To Bring You Back
“Maybe the reason you’re so afraid of people finding out about our past is because if they knew, they might ask the same questions about you that they ask about me. You’re afraid of the scandal, afraid grace won’t catch your free fall. You’d rather make redemption about works and how people perceive you because you have some control there, but whatever scaffolding you’re rigging to get yourself to God won’t reach. Only the cross of Jesus will do that.”
What happens if you make a mistake that leads to other mistakes? Can you ever recover? What happens if someone else is a part of that mistake? Can you forgive that person?
That wrong decision changed Adeline’s life. But part of her blames Gannon for his part in the tragedy. Either way, she is hiding away in a small town. And she is stuck. But few around her recognize that the past is why she cannot move forward.
Gannon is realizing that he is also stuck. As a songwriter, he can’t move past what he feels about her. Until resolution happens along with forgiveness, he cannot move on either.
Normally I would hesitate about reading a rock star romance. After all, that theme seems to imply so much drama. But what I appreciate about this book is the author’s ability to create realistic characters with a believable story. Although the cover looks a bit intense (in my opinion), this is definitely a clean slow burn romance.
While the band portion plays a part, that is definitely not the focus. The relationships between the bandmates is a part of the story. But there are not numerous concert explanations. I do think that it is cool that main character is female bass player.
Forgiveness is a frequent theme in books. We can get stuck in our circumstances and play the blame game. What I appreciate about this book is that one character does realize that in order to move forward, the past needs to be revisited long enough to find closure.
I think this book had wonderful pacing. The characters truly did try to resolve issues that needed to be taken care of to heal. I felt like the story could play out in real life – rock star relationships and all. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
While I did participate in a book tour promoting this book, I actually purchased the title. So I own this one. All thoughts and opinions in this review are still my own.
Thank you so much for this kind review of To Bring You Back, Gretchen. I’m so glad Gannon and Adeline’s story resonated with you. I really did want to write a believable struggle with forgiveness and guilt—one that focuses on God’s redeeming power—that so it’s wonderful to see those ideas came through!
What I appreciated about the story was the fact that you talked about roadblocks to forgiveness, and how God’s grace conquers them all. I really enjoyed the book and definitely think that God shined through every word. I look forward to reading the rest of the series!
Thank you for sharing your review of To Bring You Back, this sounds like a good story and I am looking forward to reading it
I think you will enjoy it!
Thank you for sharing your excellent review! To Bring You Back sounds like a must read.
I would say so.
Good book for Spring reading.
Thanks for the contest.
Celebrate Lit definitely has great contests!
This book sounds so thought provoking. Thank you.
She picked a topic that can be trite, but she put such a fresh twist on it that it was very a good read. I loved her emphasis on relying on God’s grace and forgiveness rather than on ourselves.