Loved this! I loved the little view into the writi life and the adorable romance. Could not put his down! Great book.

What an amazing story! I loved it!! The timelines weaved together so seamlessly and I was swept away into Tenley and Birdie's worlds. This is a story that will stick with me for some time. Highly recommended.

Rachel Hauck goes from the past (The Gilded Age) to the present with the writing desk that ties two female authors together. Birdie lives in a time when it is fashionable for women to be authors and Tenley lives in the present as an author of a runaway bestseller who now has writer's block and an impending deadline. The two are tied together with Tenley's great-great grandpa, a famous author during Birdie's time. Both women hear God's song through "Do not be dismayed, do not worry". It's an extraordinary story of finding true love, forgiveness, healing and redemption. I would recommend any of Rachel's books

Rachel Hauck does it again. She writes another outstanding book. The Writing Desk is a dual-timeline story. One story takes place in the gilded age. Birdie, a young woman of marriageable age desires to become a writer but it was very difficult from women during that time to be taken seriously. Her overbearing mother wanted her to enter into a loveless marriage that would benefit both families. She was very hateful to Birdie and nothing Birdie could say could convince her mother. Her mother was more concerned about her own selfish wishes than the happiness of her only living child. Birdie tried to stand up to her mother and I wanted to keep reading to find out if Birdie was able to overcome what her mother wished. There were twist and turns in this story that kept me engaged.

The modern timeline involved Tenley Roth who has written one best seller and is struggling to write another novel. She lives in New York with her boyfriend. At the request of her estranged mother she goes to Florida to take care of her mother while the mother undergoes treatment. At first I did not like Tenley. I thought she was self-centered and a little too quirky but as the story progressed I began to like her a lot better.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zondervan for providing me a digital copy of this book to read and review. The Writing Desk is due to be published on July 10, 2017.

I really like books and movies that float back and forth between different eras. The Writing Desk did not disappoint. I was especially drawn to Birdie’s story. Birdie Shehorn lived a life of privilege during the Gilded Age, a position that usually included arranged marriages that were advantageous to the families of the American elite. Young women were raised to meet society’s standards; Birdie on the other hand had been allowed to attend and graduate from college. She had plans to pursue a writing career, to marry for love, and did not see that either of those excluded the other. Her strong-minded mother had different plans for Birdie. Birdie’s strength of character vs her mother’s strength of will, which woule prevail?
Tensley’s story takes place during modern times. Her story is initially less compelling, but becomes more so as tension mounts. I wondered if the author selected Tensley’s name because of it’s similarities of the word tension. That word described her relationships to the mother who abandoned her, to her past, to her own writing, to her fiancé, and to the man she met in Cocoa Beach while caring for her mother who was undergoing chemo therapy. Tensley retreated from the world wrapped in an old robe until she exchanged the robe for the security of the God who sent her a special song, the same song He had sent to Birdie. Do not be dismayed. Do not worry or be afraid.
The element that tied Birdie’s story to Tensley’s was a writing desk. The desk originally belonged to Birdie who loved it, and found inspiration to write many successful novels while seated at the desk. Tensley fell in love with the antique desk the moment she saw it in her mother’s home, and was certain it contained the secret to abolishing her writer’s block. The desk indeed held secrets, but not the type Tensley expected or longed for, rather secrets that led to a healing of a different sort.
Fans of Christian romantic fiction and fans of the old Hallmark movie The Love Letter will likely love The Writing Desk. I would like to thank Zondervan and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no monetary compensation.

(I will post on Twitter, Facebook. Goodreads, Library Thing, my blog and numerous book seller sites the week of June 11th in order to stay within the 30 day guideline.)

I really enjoyed this book! I love her writing and this was no exception! The story was woven from the heart and included characters that, although flawed, were realistic and charming. It was a story that I had me entranced from the beginning!

This book alternates between two story lines. Tenley is living now, and Birdie lived a century ago. Even though they lived in different times, they seem to be connected through a writing desk and their desire to write. I liked this story, but the stories seemed separate until the end of the book. I would have liked to see the characters connected a little earlier in the story. Both story lines are great, and I liked the ending. Recommend for historical fiction fans!

Rachel Hauck never disappoints me and The Writing Desk was no exception. Every time I thought I had figured out what was going to happen something totally off the mark happened instead. I couldn't put it down. I loved the back and forth between the past and present and how they ended up meeting together at the end. The characters were very relatable and I loved the quirkiness of Tenley. I could not wait to read more about her and Jonas. I loved that Birdie was not afraid to stand up for what she wanted and that it all worked out for her in the end.

The only negative comment I would make is that Jonas and Tenley were romantic before she had broken off her relationship with Holt. Then Holt did the same type of thing(only worse) and Jonas and Tenley condemned them without even acknowledging that they had done the same type of thing.

All in all, this book was great and I recommend it to everyone!

I received a copy of this book from netgalley for an honest review.

Rachel Hauck truly is my favorite author. The Writing Desk is another great book weaving events from the past with current day events. Birdie, a Knickerbocker heiress controlled by her mother, must live and marry as her parents dictate. Her heart is breaking for the true love of her life, Eli, a future marquess. Birdie also wants to write. She sends a manuscript to a publisher that gets lost and never returned.

Tenley Roth is a decedent of a famous writer. Just having received an award for her first book by his foundation, she is expected to continue to write with the same success of her great-grandfather. As her almost fiance goes to Paris, Tenley goes to Florida to take care of her mother during her mother’s chemo treatments. There she meets and disappoints the love of her life, Jonas.

Tenley’s connection to the old bathrobe she refuses to stop wearing and her lack of common cleanliness become a laughable secondary character all by itself. In a similar style, Birdie’s glitter and trying to be true to herself far out weigh the determined strength of her mother to marry Birdie to wealth.

Both of these women have a beautiful love story that keeps you turning the pages to see how their lives connect. You know it has to do with the desk, but how? Rachel’s characters are human and flawed and searching for love. They find faith along the way. As you read their stories, as you follow Birdie’s love for Eli and Tenley’s love for Jonas and her mother, you can feel their angst in the events surrounding their lives. It does not matter that you know both women will find their HEA, the story is in the way they get there. Their pain becomes your pain as you hope they find love without too much of that pain coming through the pages to you.

Pick The Writing Desk of or download it to your kindle. It is a great, weekend read you will not want to put down.

In this book the author tells a story of a woman striving to prove herself to others and to her own self.
I loved how Rachel Hauck gave us a glimpse of life in the 1900s and the struggles it was to be a young girl wanting to be and do what she felt called to do, not what society or family told her she should do. Within this story Rachel Hauck also wove the life of a young girl in the 21st century who has connections to the past.
Both girls were striving to find out who they were and what their life should be like.
It’s a wonderful story of acceptance, and love.
This book flowed with beautiful word pictures and captivating conversations.
I received this book from the publisher to read. All opinions are my own.

I loved Rachel Hauck's story that intertwines a modern day setting with the historical Regency setting. This book is a great literary romance that kept me turnin the page late into the night.

An intriguing story, set on a dual timeline, featuring two fledgling writers a hundred years apart. A stand alone novel with characters whose stories seem unconnected, except by an old desk.

The past story begins in 1902-3 New York, among the social elites, the old "Knickerbockers". In a time when American heiresses were been matched up with English Lords who had titles and estates in need of cash flow, Birdie is under a lot of family pressure to marry according to her family's wishes. All she really wants to do however is be free to write her stories. The present day tale is centered on another young writer who is under a deadline to produce her next novel. Coming from a family of successful writers adds even more pressure, then a call from her absentee mother to come help her through a health crisis seems to be the final straw.

I love how this author adds a twist or two along the way, with a bit of mystery and romance, tying both stories together in surprising ways. It took me awhile to engage with these characters, but it became more interesting as it went. Giving both stories a divine thread through a song resonating in the character's soul, reassuring them of a divine presence, was a lovely way to connect them, as they hear, "Do not be dismayed, you don't have to worry or be afraid." I love the thought of God singing over his people, like it says in the book of Zephaniah.

I liked the fun dialogue between Tenley and Jonas, and how accepting he and his family were of her quirky ways, helping her with her mom, and showing her a lot of grace. Birdie was an interesting character too, trying to please her parents, but not give up her dream of being a writer. I wasn't sure how either story would end or how they would connect. The mystery kept me reading on, hoping they'd both have happy endings. It was a satisfying conclusion and worth the wait.

Recommend to readers who enjoy Christian fiction with some romance and a redemptive theme. (Some mature themes may make this a better fit for adult readers.) 4.5 stars

The Writing Desk is another must read by Rachel Hauck. Tenley Roth debut novel was a great success and a best seller. However, she is having a hard time coming up with another successful book to follow up with. And the publisher is not helping her at all putting pressure on her with a deadline. She unexpectedly receives a call from her mother who is sick and needs help. Tenley packs up and goes to Florida to be with her. This is where she meets several people from the present and the past that may change everything she thought possible.
The Writing Desk has got to be my favorite book by Rachel Hauck to date. I love these time slip novels and I was definitely not disappointed with this one. It was quite intriguing how Tenley and Birdie’s lives intertwined and connected to one another, even though they lived over 100 years apart. I did not want to put the book down and was sad to see it end.
I would give the book 100 stars if I could.
Highly recommended.
I received this book from the publisher but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

A well written book for a romance novel. I was hoping this was going to be a good non-romance story I was wrong. However what was neat about this book was that it had story about the writing desk in the present with its current owner and one in the early 1900's from the person who would own it then. Most of the romance story I could see what was going to happen but there was still one sweet twist in it. I still recommend this book even though it is purely a romance novel so if you are not into that then not for you.

The Writing Desk by Rachel Hauck reminded me a lot of her previous series with The Wedding Chapel, The Wedding Dress, and The Wedding Shop. This story is a time slip novel from 1903 - 1960's with a present timeline. The present time line features Tenley, a writer, who is on a deadline to finish her second book, but she has a major writing block stopping her from writing her story. Like her previous stories, the present story mixes with the past, but you have to read the complete novel to find out how they mix and depend on each other. As for the romance between Tenley and her "fiancé" Holt, I figured out pretty early on what was happening with him while Tenley helped her mother with her chemo treatments in Florida. But the romance with Jonas was sweet and showed Tenley what it was like to be in a loving family who cared and cherished her. On the other hand, the pace of the novel moved a long at a nice clip. I didn't feel that it dragged at all. I hated having to put it down to make dinner for my family. I enjoyed the story idea. I can totally relate to an author who has a number of doubts and cannot come up with a story idea to put down on the paper. Tenley does transform and understand the significance of God in her life by the end. Fans of Hauck's previous novels will enjoy this novel like I did. I recommend it and can't wait to see what else Hauck comes up with.
I received a complimentary copy of The Writing Desk by Rachel Hauck from Zondervan Publishing, and the opinions stated are all my own.

Tenley Roth needs to meet a book deadline when she is called by her mother to come help her out. Blanche has cancer and wants Tenley to be with her through the chemo and other treatments. While Tenley goes to Florida, her fiance goes to Paris to work on a screenplay with an A-list starlet. When Tenley gets to Blanche's house, she finds an antique desk that she thinks will be her muse. Day after day Tenley sits at the desk and writes nothing.

Rachel Hauck has written one of those books that goes back and forth through history where she describes Tenley's life and then bounces back to one of Tenley's ancestors and she brings up an ethical dilemma that not only affects Tenley, but also affects her ancestor, Birdie. Both love to write, but Birdie got her first novel stolen from her and Tenley finds a manuscript that she appropriates as her own.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the Writing Desk. I read it in one day and stayed up until the wee hours of this morning to finish the book. My husband often asks me how long it will be till I turn out my reading light. Last night he asked several times, and I only said, "Soon." I couldn't put it down. From the Gilded Age in New York City, to London, to Florida, the settings only add to the aura of the book and the characters are exactly that--real characters.

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and that novel you've been saying you'll write.

My thanks to Zondervan for allowing me to read and review this book.

This book had the promise of being a delightful read but for me it personally fell flat. The writing wasn't very engaging and the characters were not very believable nor engaging.

This book has a promising story - I enjoyed all the characters, but the plot was just ho-hum...nothing original or very exciting. I don't really enjoy romances and that's what this book seemed to be.

I absolutely love Rachel Hauck. I always seen to disappear into her stories. The Writing Desk is so lovely and well written. I loved every minute of the book and was so sad to see it end. I have read almost everyone of Rachel's books and always keep coming back for more.

I fell in love with Tenley and Jonas as well as Birdie and Eli. I was rooting for them all through the whole book. I can't wait for Rachel's next book. I love her writing and how she intertwines two stories into one.

Brilliant book. Excellent main characters and plot. I would recommend this book.