Once Upon Eliza

Carrington Springs #2

by Erynn Mangum

Eliza Wakeman is pretty content with her life - she has a job as a postpartum nurse that she loves, friends she adores, she's happily single and her overprotective brother, Mike, is living in a different town. Then Mike breaks the news that he's moving to Carrington Springs, one of her best friends starts seriously dating someone and is never available and a guy Eliza has known forever is constantly hanging around and never stops proposing. Eliza has a reputation of hating predictability, but even she can only take so many surprises. As more and more stacks up in the "total shock" category of her life, she's left with only questions: What does God want for her? How many times will Cooper propose before he finally leaves her alone? And how many caramel lattes can you drink before you die from the caffeine overdose?

Genres: Christian Fiction, Romance, Christian, Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit

322 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2016

About the author

I love to read, love to write and am very blessed to be a wife and mama of two precious boys and a beautiful little girl. My latest books are The Broken Branch and Mind the Gap! Look for the Lauren Holbrook series (Miss Match, ReMatch, Match Point, Match Made and Bake Me A Match), the Maya Davis series (Cool Beans, Latte Daze and Double Shot) Sketchy Behavior, and the Paige Alder series (Paige Torn, Paige Rewritten and Paige Turned) and the Carrington Springs series (Katie in Waiting, Once Upon Eliza and Happily Ever Ashten) in paperback and ebook format, along with lots of ebook novellas. :) To learn more, visit me on Instagram @ErynnMangum.

Reviews

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 4 out of 5]

About this book:

“Eliza Wakeman is pretty content with her life - she has a job as a postpartum nurse that she loves, friends she adores, she's happily single and her overprotective brother, Mike, is living in a different town. Then Mike breaks the news that he's moving to Carrington Springs, one of her best friends starts seriously dating someone and is never available and a guy Eliza has known forever is constantly hanging around and never stops proposing. Eliza has a reputation of hating predictability, but even she can only take so many surprises. As more and more stacks up in the "total shock" category of her life, she's left with only questions: What does God want for her? How many times will Cooper propose before he finally leaves her alone? And how many caramel lattes can you drink before you die from the caffeine overdose?”


Series: Book #2 in the “Carrington Springs” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, read, quoted, talked about, & discussed; Bible reading; Prayers & Blessings over food; Church going & a sermon; A Bible study & discussions; Many Talks about God & Jesus; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Many mentions of God & Jesus; Many mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles & Bible studies; Mentions of those in the Bible & books of the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, services, pastors, sermons, & preaching; A few mentions of Heaven; A few mentions of Christians; A few mentions of miracles; A few mentions of youth groups & devotionals; A mention of a missionary; A mention of a Christian song; A mention of a Christian Fiction novel; A mention of Lent;
*Note: Mentions of an atheist & the earth being zillions of years old; A few mentions of a mom thinking a toy is demonic; A mention of an ungodly amount of something.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘gosh’, an ‘idiot’, two ‘good night’s, two ‘holy smokes’, three ‘dumb’s, three ‘duh’s, three ‘oh my gosh’s, and five ‘holy cow’s; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Mentions of a car accident & death (barely-above-not-detailed, Eliza’s father); Mentions of breast cancer & a death (Eliza’s mother); Mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of a serial killer & murderers; A few mentions of kidnappings; A few mentions of fires & firefighters getting hurt; A few mentions of blood & injuries; A few mentions of smoking & cigarettes; A few mentions of a mother who left her family; A couple mentions of alcohol & drinking; A couple mentions of divorces; A mention of a tattoo; A mention of people attacked by dogs; A mention of dog waste;
*Note: Many mentions of TV shows, movies, books, characters, & actors/singers/celebrities; Mentions of social media sites; Mentions of restaurants; Mentions of brand names & stores; A few mentions of Starbucks; A few mentions of zombies & aliens; A couple mentions of Disney.


Sexual Content- a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; A handful of Touches & Flutters/Sparks (barely-above-not-detailed); A bit of Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends, girlfriends, relationships, & breakups; Mentions of sparks & touches; A mention of a man looking for a one-night stand; A mention of a loving time for couples resulting in pregnancies (Eliza shakes it off as too much information); Some love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: Many mentions of labor, checking on mothers, pain, bleeding/stitches, the aftermath, breastfeeding/breasts, & seeing women after giving birth being a form of birth control for Eliza (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of infertility, embryo transfers, & a bit of the process (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a guy with no shirt on (no details); A couple mentions of a breast cancer campaign about checking your chest; A couple mentions of bra shopping; A mention of squeezing a man’s bicep; A mention of a animal’s bottom.

-Eliza Wakeman, age 31
1st person P.O.V. of Eliza
322 pages

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Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- Two Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
Older High School Teens- Four Stars (and a half)
My personal Rating- Four Stars (and a half)
{Add ½ for girls interested in nursing and/or postpartum nursing.}
Goodness. I’m not sure how Erynn Mangum does it, but I feel like every main character she writes, I relate to them. Their processing of emotions, humor, and overall personality feels like if I wrote a diary. I’ll admit, I’m not a coffee drinker, though, like the majority of them! Forgive me, girls!
While “Once Upon Eliza” didn’t hit me in a spot where I needed it like “Katie in Waiting” did last year, I still highly enjoyed it. It was a pretty happy book overall, but there were moments of Eliza having to work through missing her parents. I did tear up at those last couple of chapters, and that’s saying a lot since y’all know I don’t cry!
Tons of faith content like every other Erynn Mangum book, this is an author I am SO happy to support and recommend. I cannot wait to read “Happily Ever Ashten”….but hopefully it won’t take me a year to pick it up! ;)


Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

[Anna |This Curly Girl Reads| · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ rounded to 4 ❤️

Though I didn’t enjoy it as much as book 1, this was another enjoyable and uplifting book by Erynn Mangum ❤️. I read them back to back and noticed that there were several things that didn’t match up to book 1. Honestly, if I had spaced them I may not have noted this, but it was a little stressful 😂 (for example: certain character traits from one friend suddenly transferred to another!)

Regardless, I loved Eliza, Cooper… pretty much everyone in this book and series 😉 the faith content is exceptional. Like the first book, there’s romance, but it’s very light. The book is more about Eliza’s faith journey. There’s also some beautiful sister-like friendships.

Content: breastfeeding in a bit of detail, “one night stand” mentioned (nothing happens but a character assumes a guy is looking for that), awkward tshirt moment. Recommend for adults ❤️

[Bekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first book in this series, Katie in Waiting, quite a while ago and remember enjoying it. I gave it 3 stars. I thought this book was even better. I really liked Eliza. She was humorous and there were several times I was laughing out loud, but I ached for her as she struggled.

What I Liked: The three friends in Carrington Springs, Eliza, Katie, and Ashton are back and the focus on this book is Eliza. I really enjoyed Eliza from book 1, so I was excited to read this book from her point of view.

Erynn Mangum must have a good sense of humor because there were several times I was chuckling out loud and it was a great aspect of the story. I also enjoyed the story line and liked Eliza's brother, Mike, and friend, Cooper. They all have dealt with sorrow and have handled it in different ways. This book was well worth reading.

What I Didn't Like: I liked the Christian message in this book, that we shouldn't pull away from people because we're afraid and that we should trust the Lord. I would have liked the Christian message to have been stronger throughout the whole book. But, of course, that is just my personal opinion and other readers might not agree with me at all, which is okay. :)

I give this book 4 stars for an enjoyable story. I will definitely be reading the last book in this series and future books by Erynn Mangum.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Erynn Mangum’s characters. I liked Katie in book one, and I loved Eliza in this one.

An excellent and relatable book about the grieving process. I really felt for Eliza and Mike. Mike did drive me a little crazy because he was so overprotective, but I could understand his reasons for why he was the way he was.

I wasn’t sure about Cooper at first but he really grew on me as the book went on.

I liked the friendship between Katie, Eliza, and Ashten. I’m excited to see how the series concludes.

[Daminika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so here's the thing. If this had been a TV show, maybe I would've loved it. And if it had been written in a different style, maybe I would've loved it. But the writing style took SO much away from the story. Once I thought of the TV show thing, I couldn't get it out of my head, and the rest of the book just felt like a script. There was no depth to it. Which is so sad, cause the STORY, and the CHARACTERS could've been great. If only everything didn't feel so one-dimensional. And so, 3 stars it is.
I will be reading the third book, just to finish out the series, but I don't think you'll ever get me to read another Erynn Mangum book, as her writing style is so... boring. For lack of a better word.
I can't figure out if contemporary books are even my thing, or if this was just not a very good introduction to them. Idk.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute

[Cayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has some tell tale signs of being self-published that I couldn't ignore. Odd typos and same backstory shared twice. Erynn Mangum is maturing in her writing, but I wish she had the support of a publishing house still. It would refine some of the rough edges.

[Alayna | Literarily Persuaded · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread this book because I was in the mood for some serious laughter, witty banter and amazing faith content! Absolutely love this book and 100% recommend it to anyone looking for contemporary fiction with the best characters, friends and laughs!

[Grace Tolman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes going into this book. Sadly it did not live up to it.
The good first...
I liked that this book is clean.
I liked that Eliza's character is so different from her other friends that you do not feel like you are reading a second Katie or another Ashley.
I liked all the food references in this book. It made me hungry
I liked the character of Cooper. He was so cocky and yet so sensitive to Eliza.
I liked the real portrayal of New York. I have never been but I've heard from people about the smells and sounds of it and it is definitely different from what movies and TV make it out to be. I love that this book portrayed the real city.

What I did not like...
I did not like the overpreachyness (is that even a word) of the bible study parts. Don't get me wrong, I like Christian books as they offer more than just romance but a take on life and God's love for us, His children, but I do not like preachy type of novels. I don't feel they go together.
I did not like the ending. I had a feeling by the middle of Eliza's story that there is something going on between her and Cooper but when they did eventually get together it was like the last 2-3 paragraphs of the book and that was it. It built up to something great only to be disappointed. The premise was that Cooper kept on proposing to her and then on the time that we did see this "proposal" of his it was lame. What's up with that?
Eliza's character confused me sometimes. I know it was mentioned in the book how she seems confident on the outside and wants adventure but she is really the opposite on the outside. How come we didn't see this develop throughout her story? It was like I was being led that she had a certain character only to be fooled by her admission in one paragraph and that is supposed to make everything before than admission make sense? Yeah that confused me more.
Oh and we don't even know how Katie's love life ended. Does she end up with Luke? Why the cliffhanger there?

Over all I thought the book was ok. But now that I'm invested with these three ladies story, I will have to read Ashley but I am afraid I would be even more disappointed. We shall see.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover is really nice, but to me that doesn't portray Eliza accurately. The girl on the cover looks like a saddened teen while Eliza is a woman with a large personality and voice who is constantly on the go. I thought Katie in Waiting had me laughing (which it did), but Once Upon Eliza had me laughing out loud SEVERAL times!! What a hoot of a story yet also with such depth :)

Some of my fave scenes were the Bible studies they held at Katie's house (and Ashten's also) where the gathering gets REALLY large with over 40 people and Katie's reaction to seeing SO MANY people in her smallish home! They never did meet at the park and I was looking forward to them doing so.

Loved the last sentence in the summary of the book, how many caramel lattes can one drink before overdosing? Well, I think Eliza has as many as six lattes at work one day, that would've driven my nerves crazy, and she was just fine :) However, there is LOTS of coffee in this book and I did love that!

It was nice to see more of Mike and Cooper in this story, they both enhanced their scenes more than I would've anticipated. Cooper had me laughing more than once. Also loved the scenes that Eliza visits her parents graves and the letter she finally reads.

Also LOVED how the three besties go to NY together, I've never been but the description was so accurate I felt like I was THERE with them!!

Such a great series and happy to read Ashten's next :)

[Meagan | The Chapter House · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book unfortunately suffers from the same issues as Book 1--notably typos and overwordiness/telling versus showing. There's SO much promise to both books (and what I've read so far of Book 3, too). Perhaps I struggle even more because I've read Mangum's later books--the Lauren Holbrook and Maya Davis series--and they are SOOOO good!! So I had high expectations here, and only now realized these books were written ... before.

I loved the ending, and wish that we had even more of it. And certainly there were some gems of one-liners throughout. I do recommend Lauren's and Maya's books over these--read and enjoy. The author is super talented and those books capture that well!

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing!! I love Eliza, and all the other characters. I like it when she goes to where her brother lives. I like her job, and I like the trip to New York that her, Ashten, and Katie go on! It is a fun change of scenery and I like all the little bakeries and stuff they go in. I also love her and Cooper! I really like the scene where she reads the letter, and the last scene when she goes to see Cooper. This book was really funny. I really like to read about Eliza's life, and have the same characters that I loved in the first book in the second book just from one of the other character I love. This book was amazing!

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun read from Erynn Mangum. This book focused more on Eliza, not surprisingly, given the title. The second of the three friends is a nurse with an overprotective brother. They are both still dealing with the loss of their parents a number of years before, with the help of a family friend who would like to be more than friends with Eliza. She, however, does not want to be more than friends, but you can read this to see where it all ends up.

[Bethany Dutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. I sped through the pages. The only reason it did not get a higher rating is because I feel as though nothing happened. I enjoyed the characters enough to keep reading about their daily lives but that is it. Then there was the ending that felt rushed. I would have enjoyed seeing Cooper and Eliza's relationship a little more. Also would have liked a bigger explanation as to why she pushed people away. There were also random verses that could have been better explained.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the first book in the series, but I loved this one. Eliza is loveable, realistic (I loved the realism of her job too as a postpartum nurse) and fun. Plus, Mike and Cooper are great characters!

[Aria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros:
Amazing, dimensional characters. I liked all of them.
Funny
Heroine has a very interesting job
Biblical themes
Great love story

Cons:
The heroine’s job (postpartum nurse) is barely portrayed
Way too much description of food
This book is written in first person present tense. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it was odd and jarring until I got used to it

I enjoyed this book and read it very quickly.

[Danica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sad finishing the last book because what if the second wasn’t as Good? I don’t how but this one was just as delightful, it had me tickled pink and grinning 😁. It also made be almost cry ( most Erynn Mangum book make me laugh and the then cry on the next page) this was the type of book you finish and hold to your chest wishing you could read it all over again.

[Barbara Keigher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Biblical content...
I also liked Cooper a lot.
Eliza is a nurse dealing with babies,
but sees that as a good birth control
( which I did not care so much for)
but otherwise a lovely Christian fiction.

[Christiana Spicer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

This is a great book for young women in the stage of life where everyone around them is getting married. Love the characters!

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute! I love the friends to romance stories. Disappointed that we didn't get to see the end of Katie's story before her book was over, though.

[DM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Bridget Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 starts 🌟

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had just the ending I had hoped for! Totally reading the last book in this series.

[Andrea]

Both this and first one are easy read books

[Geneva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this whole series about three friends and their journey's of faith. This book was about Eliza who is a postpartum nurse with an overprotective brother and her brother's best friend who thinks he is in love with her. While Eliza struggles with change and not wanting to lose those she loves, her brother's best friend pursues her. Much humor, coffee, and faith characterize this fun book!

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

First reviewed here: http://belovedgraceful-carissasbooksh...

Title: Once Upon a Eliza

Author: Erynn Mangum

Series: Carrington Springs book 2

Chapters: 20

Pages: 322

Genre: Christian Chick lit new adult

Rating: 5 stars

Once Upon an Eliza is the second book in the Carrington Springs series by Erynn Mangum. Even though it's not a true sequel you do need to read Katie in Waiting first. As most of the character's are introduced in the first book. Eliza is a maternity nurse who moved to Carrington Springs to get away from her brother Mike and his friend Cooper. Since losing both of their parents Mike has become overprotective of his little sister. Eliza sees Cooper her brother's best friend as a slight pest. he's a firefighter when not working is always trying to find things to fix at Eliza's house.

I liked Eliza better than I did Katie. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I could relate to Eliza; and what she had gone through in life. I too lost two loved ones one suddenly the other slowly just like Eliza did. Unlike Eliza though I don't know the loss of both parents, but do know the sting of the loss of a mom. It's a sting that doesn't begin to ease quickly.

I've been a fan of Erynn's books since I accidentally discovered Miss Match in the Lauren Holbrook series in the teen selection of my library. Miss Match wasn't teen it was basically Christian Chick lit. A chick flick you can read. I had tried to read chick lit before but had always been disappointed by the content. But Erynn's books our different the chick lit is infused with Christian faith and message of and lesson of learning to trust God and his promises and to rely on him. Each of Erynn's books are no different and Once upon an Eliza continued that trend. I discovered her books in my early twenties the same age as most of the characters in that first series, and now at 30 her three heroines in the Carrington Springs series are also in their 30s. Erynn's books always find a way to be relevant for whatever age or stage in life I am.

I enjoyed book two and I can't wait to see what book three holds. There's a seen towards the end between Eliza and the hero that starts her realizing that what she wanted was actually right in front of her all along. Which I thought was cute. You never know where loves going to find you.

[Susan Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Life of a Christian Single 20 Something

The way that Erynn Mangum writes - I feel like I'm getting together with a group of friends from church. She captures what it is like to be a Christian single in your 20-30s. (I have to include the 30s because I'm now there, but I've been reading her since I was in my 20s). Often I want to meet the characters from her books and get coffee and dinner w/ them and join their Bible studies. And this book is no different. Eliza is dealing w/ the loss of her parents and an over bearing brother... and she is just trying to figure life out like the rest of us. At the end she finds love and you feel better off for that small window into her life.

At one point in the book they're at a bible study and there is a dude Randy there who is single and still living w/ his mommy. This cracked me up because... well it is an issue in this day an age. I moved to a big city from a small town. And the small town you move out when you graduate high school and go to college. In the big city apparently you live with mommy and daddy until you marry or die.... Like I'd be in sunday school sitting at a table full of people in their late 20's and them complaining about their parents wanting them to clean their rooms or help w/ chores or come home by a certain time. I kept thinking "dude, grow up and move out and you can do whatever you want". And ironically the other day I went on a date with a man who is 35 and still lives at home and does a minimum wage job... and one of my big city friends didn't understand why I don't want a second date with him - even after explaining he still lives at home. I agree with the author on this one - after a certain age, it is time to move out and grow up.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this series. The first book was different from Mangum's norm and I enjoyed seeing the growth in the writing. This book picks up where Katie left off and focuses on Eliza.
Mangum tackles some hard topics, while infusing light humor. The relationships are what makes the book. Friendships, siblings, and romantic. Mangum writes with realism and she wraps up Eliza's story very well. I am excited to read Ashton's story next and wrapping up this series!

[Julianna Royer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story. Eliza and I share many of the same personality traits, so it was easy to get inside her head. Some of her life situations mirror my own as well. Her mother had cancer; my dad is fighting stage IV cancer. This book doesn't shy away from the hard stuff, but it is lovingly infused with humor and warmth. A new favorite. I loved it - typos and all!