Plum Upside Down

Publisher's Summary

Topsy-turvy or right-side up?

Green Acres newcomer Chelsea Riehl is annoyed. After all, she signed on as an event planner, not to pit plums alongside mission-minded hippie Keanan Welsh, the only other single on the farm.

Discouraged by Chelsea's lack of spiritual depth, Keanan is confused when she offers to arrange meals for the church Alpha program he is co-hosting. Maybe he misjudged her after all.

When fake it 'til you make it gives way to a leap of faith, both Chelsea and Keanan have some soul-searching to do. Will getting on the same page spiritually be enough to flip their budding romance right-side up?

Plum Upside Down is the fifth book in the Farm Fresh Romance series. If you like Christian romance novels that are clean, green, and filled with characters you alternately wish to hug and shake, you'll love Valerie Comer's pause-resisting romance series.

©2015 Valerie Comer (P)2016 Nicole O'Dell

My favorite book from a favorite series!

What did you like best about this story?

This book is about Chelsea and Keanan, newcomers to the organic farm in northern Idaho purchased by Chelsea's sister Sierra and her two close friends. I really enjoyed the first three books in this series and then liked book four even more. Personally, I find it rare for a series to get better and better, but this series just keeps surprising me.

In Plum Upside Down, Valerie Comer has dug even deeper and, in Chelsea, bared parts of the spiritual journey of a kid who grows up in a Christian home that most of us are completely unwilling to think about, let alone talk about. In this book, Valerie tackles the question, "Does God actually love me personally or does He just love me as a part of the whole world?" She lays bare the longing many of us have experienced as we watch the passion of a new believer who knows what it's like to live without Christ and can't believe how amazing He is. And she boldly proclaims that those of us who can't remember NOT knowing the Gospel can still be blown away by His love and His power in our lives. And she does it in a way that DOESN'T make you feel like you're studying theology!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The way that Chelsea comes to understand God's love for her personally and begins to know Him herself was extremely moving to me.

Any additional comments?

This book has a really great story line with totally loveable characters. The themes of environmentalism and sustainability are continued and expounded upon. We even get to travel to South Africa for a bit! It's all done so masterfully, I found myself a little in awe as I finished it, wiping away my tears and realizing I had not only just finished a really fun story, but that I had experienced an encounter with God and that there was a newness and a freshness about our relationship that hadn't been there when I started the book.

Full of Depth

I love this story in general. I loved reading it when it first came out and I absolutely loved the plot. I continue to really appreciate Comer's willingness to address issues that are relatable to a Christian's life, the bad and ugly as well as the good. I really appreciated that even though the characters came from completely different perspectives and backgrounds, they each realized that growth needed to occur. I also loved how in this particular story line, healing and change happened gradually, which is way more realistic than resolution is often portrayed in other books.

On top of everything above, I loved being able to listen to it as I drove to work and school everyday.