I have been a HUGE fan of Lorna Landvik in the past. I adore that her books are set in familiar territories and how she captures the midwest way of life. It's been a minute since a read one of her books, but I was very excited to pick this one up and revisit the storytelling i have loved in the past.

Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. I can't put my finger on what kept me from connecting to the story, there were a lot of characters, and the humor was a little off for me. In the end, it is possible that my reader tastes have changed, and this was a DNF for me.

Somehow I missed Lorna Landvik's last book "Chronicles of a Radical Hag", so when I saw this one I had to read it. I've absolutely loved everything she has written, some even more than others.

This book does not disappoint, but please be patient when you start reading. The book is not a fast paced thrillers or a steamy romance. This is a lovely slow paced book full of well developed characters and a storyline that grows and grows and just fills you with heartwarming contentment.

The Naomi Circle at All Souls Lutheran need to raise funds to care for their beloved church. Most of the Naomi's are women of a "certain age" while their Pastor is a much younger woman. The women decide to write a guide book for romance that soon gets mislabeled as erotica. What follows are chapters written by each of the Naomi's and other characters who share their stories and guidance on all aspects of love, using letters of the alphabet as their guide.

This book is filled with love stories and love. The love and romance of long married couples, of widows and widowers and younger people too. Different kinds of love...friendship, long lost love...its a book about love.

Mallory “Pastor Pete” Peterson, the new pastor at All Souls Lutheran, realizes that something drastic needs to be done if they are going to stay afloat. She sits down with the five loyal members of the Naomi Circle to brainstorm fundraising ideas. It is agreed that the usual ideas of a cookbook or calendar won't be enough. They need something fresh, unique. So when they come up with the idea of an A-Z book of "erotica", this gets the entire congregation up in arms, with some of the women enjoying their assignments immensely, and some of the other people in the congregation feeling like what happens in the bedroom should stay in the bedroom. Pastor Pete and these intrepid women will have to decide how hard they’re willing to fight for this book and the powerful stories within—stories of discovery, softened hearts, and changed lives.
This book was so much fun. I have been a fan of this author from her first book, and she has a way of writing that never fails to make you smile. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the letters those women (and some of the male members) wrote. What one person would consider "erotica", to another would just be a sweet, heart-warming story about two people. There were stories about every sort of love and romance. Re-visitiing these memories even ended up re-kindling things for some. This book was both funny and heart-warming. I definitely recommend it!

3.5 stars, cute story.

I've long been a Landvik fan, although occasionally she delves too deep into politics and issues (Chronicles of a Radical Hag, I'm looking at you). I'm happy to say that this book remains, for the most part, in fairly neutral territory. There are a few issues thrown in, but they feel relevant and natural for the narrative rather than soapboxes for the author.

This novel centers mostly on four women from the Naomi circle at All Souls Lutheran church. The women have seen their numbers dwindling as the church population grows older, and money is tight. Their latest few fundraisers have flopped, especially in comparison with the other church in town, Prince of Peace (nicknamed "Price of Peace" by the All Souls members). When the women have a conversation with their young new pastor, Mallory "Pastor Pete" Peterson, they brainstorm an idea--instead of publishing another church cookbook, how about publishing an "A to Z of Erotica" book? As they begin to compose chapters for each section, the women learn more about themselves, their spouses, their friends, and other church members than they could have ever dreamed.

First off, the book they are writing is about romance, about love, and yes, a bit about sex but it is definitely not erotica. The subject does cause all of the participants in the project (it evolves past the women) to take a much closer look at their marriages, their wants and needs, and their thinking surrounding all aspects of intimacy. There are some chuckles along the way, but I found the book to be mostly heartwarming and touching as the original four women and Pastor Pete reach out to others around them.

This is a quick, light, and meaningful read.

It takes a village- or at least a circle of women- to save a church's fundraising. The Naomi group at All Souls Lutheran hasn't been able to raise a lot of money for years, regardless of their hot dish competition or other efforts, so when one of them proposes a book of erotica, well, that's the start of a conversation. What is erotica? To these women, it isn't pornography (which isn't mentioned), it's many things- like gallantry, chins, and so on. Told in the third person by each of the members as well as the Minister, it's a look at what makes a relationship and, in one case, what one yearns for. Each woman (and man) will discover something about themselves as they write for the book. This isn't about the steam, it's often about the slow and steady of a relationship. Cynics might note that this is very diverse but that's only one of the things that make it special. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a heart warmer than made me smile more than once.

If you are a fan of Lorna Landvik novels, I think you’ll really enjoy this one. The premise is a ladies circle made up of women of a certain age at a small church in small town Minnesota. In a bid to raise money for the church, they nix the usual underperforming annual cookbook for a book on erotica. However, what ensues isn’t about erotica at all but instead all about love and heart and relationship.

It’s a perfect feel-good read, and I think book clubs looking for a light and easy read will love it.

My thanks to @amazonpublishing and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book before its publication date.

Once again Lorna Landvik does not dis appoint.

A gentle heartwarming story following the parishioners and pastor of All Souls Lutheran Church. When the ladies of the Naomi Group decide to raise money by writing a “recipe” book for romance. With the writing of the book each lady begin sharing their stories and find relationships changing and growing.

Not enjoyable at all. These women mocking the other church sounded just as mean themselves. So tacky. I couldn’t get past all the petty junk.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's that time again... Oh yes, unfortunately it's yet another book that failed to hit the mark for me. I'm a bit surprised to be honest, because I really liked the sound of Last Circle Of Love with the older main characters and 'special' project. And who doesn't love that cover?! Sadly, the actually story ended up being a complete dud for me, and I came really close to DNFing. My fickle reading mood acting up again or simply not for me; either way, there is no denying that I struggled considerably with this story.

I'm probably partly to blame, because I should have read the blurb better and realized that religion was going to play an important role in this story. Nothing wrong with that, and it wasn't preachy at least, but it's not my cup of tea and it made it harder to find the motivation to keep reading. This wasn't my main issue with Last Circle Of Love though. If I have to point my finger at the why, it probably has a lot to do with the overdose of POVs and characters in general. There were so many different characters to keep track of, and it truly felt like a chore keeping up with who was who and where they stand in the story. The fact that it was written in a third person POV and that the story kept switching between characters even within the same chapter didn't really help either, and only added to the confusion and frustration.

I also struggled considerably with the writing style itself. I still can't put my finger exactly on the why, but there was just something about the tone and writing that really irked me. I know that this is a personal reaction, but there is no denying that this story has shown me that Lorna Landvik's writing just isn't for me. The tone itself didn't feel all that consistent either, and it made it hard to get a proper feel for the story. I confess that I started skimreading rather early in the story though, so things might have improved later on... I also have to say that the story felt a bit overlong, which is a strange thing to say about a story that is less than 300 pages. This might have had to do with the fact that the author tried to stuff too many 'heavier' topics into the plot; this had the opposite result as they ended up getting lost in the chaos instead of adding dept.

All in all it's easy to say that Last Circle Of Love and me definitely didn't get along, and I kind of wish I had just DNFed it. It's most likely that this story just wasn't the right fit for me, although I don't seem to be the only one who struggled... That said, if you think this story is your cup of tea, don't give up on it on my account. There is definitely no denying that my fickle reading mood has been especially brutal lately.

I quite enjoyed Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons so I was looking forward to Last Circle of Love. Sadly, I found it to be pretty "eh." Too complex with so many characters and POVs to keep track of and, at the same time, the story itself seemed horribly simplistic. Maybe at another time I would have found it enthralling and given it at least another star or two but I've read a handful of really phenomenal books lately and this one just wasn't.

I loved this book! It was a story filled with family and friends, humor and heartfelt emotion, love and acceptance and the power of relationships. The characters were diverse, quirky and very relatable. Lorna Landvik has created a masterful feel good story that I didn't want to end. Thanks #NetGalley #LakeUnion

this was such a fun little read!! i'm so thankful to netgalley for letting me read this one early!! if you like sweet and cute characters, then pick this one up!!

A quick, easy and cute read that I couldn't put down. I liked the style of the writing, the storyline was adorable and engaging and I loved the characters who were all well developed.

This book is sweet and charming and filled with things we native Minnesotans recognize. (Not sure if people from other states can appreciate this.) Lorna Landvik is always a safe, feel good read for me, though I don't feel this lives up to some of her other work. I found myself "drifting off" a few times, and didn't find the big laughs I'd hoped for.

Wasn't what I thought it would be so it didn't interest me.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

A.romantic, sweet book with fun characters! I actually really enjoyed this story and read it in a couple days. Hope to read more by this author!

Lorna Landvik is a must read for me. From Angry Housewives to this novel, she tells the story of relationships with humor and a depth of character. When a group of women come together to write a book to raise money for their parish, the characters become vibrant. The book has a harious title but the stories each women write are full of depth. Another five star book from this author!

Imagine a church circle writing The ABCs of Erotica to raise money for the church. I guarantee that what you are thinking won't be close to this book.

Despite the racy summary, the stories that the characters come up with are actually quite romantic. Rather than sex, they focus on the small things that either made or broke their relationships.

This was a really lovely read and made my heart swell and reminded me of all the little (but loving) gestures my husband makes to show he cares. I loved that there were so many different perspectives provided too, whether age, gender, sexual orientation, etc. In addition to the romantic, the book also touches on the hurtful, although still manages to end on an uplifting note.

After reading some of this author's other work, I am disappointed in this book. I was expecting a book about friendship, but this is a story about a church group of older ladies trying to raise money for the church by writing a book about erotica to sell. The book is ok but this just wasn't a page-turner for me. Thanks to author Lorna Landvik, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

A favorite author of mine, Lorna Landvik has done it again with this clever novel all about relationships and life. A small church in a little Minnesota community want to out-do a larger church and offer up a unique idea to raise money by doing an ABCs of Erotica book. While scandalous, most of the Naomi circle of ladies come up with some unique stories that are tied into their various lives. While not exactly erotic, these stories describe caring relationships, respect for a spouse, and the small things done in a relationship that make it so special. I laughed out loud and was so touched by this book and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel.