The Writing Desk by Rachel Hauck (Review)

Wow. That’s what I have to say about Rachel Hauck’s newest book. The Writing Desk is so good.

With a dual timeline, one in the present and the other during the Gilded Age, each heroine approach to life is so different, they’re almost opposite of each other. Elizabeth “Birdie” Shehorn is determined. Despite her parents’ plans for her, she longs to go after her dreams. And Tenley Roth, ridiculous sometimes, hiding from life, doubting her worth and abilities, trying to carve a relationship with the mother who abandoned her, was my favorite of all.

The connection between these two stories develops slowly but the payoff is completely satisfying. One woman knows her heart, trusts God, and, willingly remains in the background in order to help another. The other lets the spotlight shone on her make her just a little bit crazy all while trying desperately to sort out the mess that is life.

Hauck’s ability to paint a picture, to draw the reader into the lives and hearts of her characters and invite us to stay a while, to experience the joys and heartaches along with them, is what makes this book one amazing read.

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. 

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress comes a new captivating novel of secrets, romance, and two women bound together across time by a shared dream.

Tenley Roth’s first book was a runaway bestseller. Now that her second book is due, she’s locked in fear. Can she repeat her earlier success or is she a fraud who has run out of inspiration?

With pressure mounting from her publisher, Tenley is weighted with writer’s block. But when her estranged mother calls asking Tenley to help her through chemotherapy, she packs up for Florida where she meets handsome furniture designer Jonas Sullivan and discovers the story her heart’s been missing.

A century earlier, another woman wrote at the same desk with hopes and fears of her own. Born during the Gilded Age, Birdie Shehorn is the daughter of the old money Knickerbockers. Under the strict control of her mother, her every move is decided ahead of time, even whom she’ll marry. But Birdie has dreams she doesn’t know how to realize. She wants to tell stories, write novels, make an impact on the world. When she discovers her mother has taken extreme measures to manipulate her future, she must choose between submission and security or forging a brand new way all on her own.

Tenley and Birdie are from two very different worlds, but fate has bound them together in a way time cannot erase.