Review on Made to last by Melissa Tagg

Have you ever gotten yourself into such a pickle that you just have no way of figuring out how to get out of it?  I would say that is the general feeling of Miranda Woodruff, the heroine of the debut author Melissa Tagg’s book Made to last.  But it’s not just Miranda who feels that way, I would venture to say the male lead Matthew Knox feels the exact same way. And so how do two people that find themselves in a pickle  with insurmountable obstacles come together? Well it isn’t easy, that’s for sure. We have Miranda Woodruff who is the star of a homebuilding television show called From the Ground up, who has been pretending to be a happily married woman and quoting on her show all the tips and tricks her dream husband has passed onto her regarding home building projects. But here’s the problem, the shows ratings are sinking and the show is in danger of being pulled and so, a pretend husband is introduced to the public. And where does Matthew Knox fit it? Well he is a down and out reporter looking to make a comeback in his career and has been assigned the job of digging up dirt on Miranda Woodruff- America’s favorite tomboy. The problem? He’s a good reporter and actually does discover all of her little secrets. And so how can he possibly print all that he knows when he is falling for her...

   This is one of those books where you are reading the storyline, fall in love with the characters and are rooting for them to get out of their messes, get over their insecurities and mis-understandings and just figure it out already!  I can’t help but hear those sage words of wisdom in my head- “ Patience, Grasshopper! “ I did enjoy the fact that  there are a lot of subplots going on here which really made sense to me with regards to the decisions the characters were making. For instance, the basic identity question- who am I? We all have to answer that and if a vocation was taken away or if you fail big at something where does that leave you- are you completely defined by your mistakes? Do you end up lost or do you trust that God has a plan in all of it, even if a dream changes to something different than what you thought. Could the new dream be even better? Lot’s of interesting thought to ponder.

  This was a great contemporary novel and wonderful first run for Melissa Tagg, I think that she will definitely have a nice niche in this genre. I found her character’s engaging, real ,and very relatable and a storyline that played out well in the end. 

4 stars

I was given a complimentary copy of this book through the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own.