Chasing Charity by Marcia Gruver - MY REVIEW

It’s as plain as the nose on my face that I missed a humdinger of an adventure in Marcia Gruver’s first book of the Texas Fortune series - Diamond Duo! (I shared it with my mother-in-law to read and review) But all is not lost! Chasing Charity is filled to the brim with broken hearts, misunderstood dreams, budding romance and exciting discoveries! In short, it seems like everyone in Humble, Texas is chasing Charity Bloom for one reason or another, and the poor girl has to sort it all out before she winds up missing her third trip to the alter!

Humble, Texas has become a boom town for the oil industry, and Charity Bloom hates it. Despite the fact that she and her widowed mother, Bertha, have to scrape by on what she earns working as a house maid, Charity loves her home town and the loving memories it contains. Daniel Clark has ruined her chance at lasting happiness, but Buddy Pierce has come along, and Charity runs into him over and over again – literally! When Buddy discovers Charity’s mom chasing a chicken soggy with oil sludge the entire world begins to tilt on its axis!

Suddenly, Charity and Bertha Bloom are waiting to discover if their property holds the key to making their future brighter than the Texas sun. The prospect of a change in fortune brings folks slithering out from under every rock, leaving the Bloom women to discern between friend and foe. It’s a lot trickier than it should be! They discover a lot more about the folks in their home town than they ever wanted to know – included insights about their own hearts!

Chasing Charity will have you chasing first one idea then another as you follow the adventures of Charity and Bertha Bloom! Bertha provides a lot of hilarity in the story, and she turned out to be one of my favorite characters! Her faith in the Lord is absolutely contagious! Both women learn to trust God as they never have before, and with as many twists and turns as this story takes, you will too! It’s with much enthusiasm that I recommend Marcia Gruver’s story to you! It’s just plain fun! Yeee-haw!!


Marcia Gruver is a full time writer who hails from Southeast Texas. Inordinately enamored by the past, Marcia delights in writing historical fiction. Her deep south-central roots lend a Southern-comfortable style and a touch of humor to her writing.

Awarded a three book contract by Barbour Publishing for full-length historical fiction, Marcia is busy these days pounding on the keyboard and watching the deadline clock. Diamond Duo, the first installment in the trilogy entitled Texas Fortunes, is scheduled for release in October 2008.

Marcia won third place in the 2007 ACFW Genesis contest and third in the 2004 ACFW Noble Theme contest. Another entry in 2004 finished in the top ten. She placed second in the 2002 Colorado Christian Writer’s contest for new authors, securing a spot in an upcoming compilation book. “I Will Never Leave Thee,” in For Better, For Worse—Devotional Thoughts for Married Couples, was released by Christian Publications in January 2004.

She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Fellowship of Christian Writers, and The Writers View—and a longstanding member of ACFW Crit3 and Seared Hearts, her brilliant and insightful critique groups.

Lifelong Texans, Marcia and her husband, Lee, have one daughter and four sons. Collectively, this motley crew has graced them with ten grandchildren and one great-granddaughter—so far.