**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All opinions are my own.

About the Book

Book: Her Part to Play

Author: Jenny Erlingsson

Genre:Contemporary Romance

Release date: June 18, 2024

Desperate for extra income after her mother’s passing, Adanne accepts a last-minute job as a makeup artist for a movie filming in her small Alabama hometown. She’s working to save her parents’ legacy and help her brother, but the money hardly seems worth having to face the actor who got her fired from her last job in Hollywood.

John Pope has made his share of mistakes over the years. But after turning his life over to God and enduring a messy breakup, he’s ready to start rebuilding his career. Imagine his surprise when the woman called in to cover for his usual makeup artist is a quiet but feisty newcomer on the set–and definitely not a fan.

Sparks of tension–and could that be attraction?–fly between them, but Adanne hates the spotlight, and John’s scheming manager has bigger plans for him than to end up with the humble makeup girl from the small-town South. Can these star-crossed lovers find their way to happiness? Or will the bright lights of Hollywood blind their eyes to what’s right in front of them?

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About the Author

Jenny Erlingsson is an author and speaker of Nigerian descent. After 12 years working in junior high and women’s ministry, she moved with her family from Alabama to Iceland. When she’s not running after her four kids or ministering alongside her husband, she can be found writing romantic fiction and creative nonfiction to inspire deep faith in diverse settings, as well as encouraging other writers. Her other writings have been featured on (in)courage, Live Original, Velvet Ashes, and more. And in the margins, you might find her reading five books at a time with a side of Icelandic chocolate.

More from Jenny

Sometimes it can be easy to underestimate the significance of our part to play in God’s story, especially when it’s something behind-the-scenes. I wanted to portray that in the story that unfolds between my characters Adanne and John. In Her Part to Play, readers are introduced to a make-up artist who had dreams of becoming successful in her career, but she sacrificed that to take care of her dying mother and ended up getting fired in the process.

This idea actually developed while I watched behind the scenes footage of The Chosen. Like any industry, profession or product, what we see is only a small part of the process. There are details that we don’t consider when we are being swept away in a story.

On the surface, working with the actor who got her fired was not the way Adanne wanted to earn much needed income. But there’s so much beautiful redemption that can be found in hidden places and that’s what John finds as well. Every day that Adanne works on his face to get him ready for his scenes, God starts working on both of their hearts. A beautiful transformation is carried out through someone who may not have seemed valuable in the grand scheme of things, but who was a very important part of the process.

Her Part to Play gives a glimpse of that through a charming romance between two people with different roles and from different cultures, but they both have a core need to be known and loved for not just what they do, but for who they are.

Book Review

What a great debut! I've been very into celebrity romance books lately, so naturally this one caught my eye right away. John is a famous actor who had a bit of a messy past until he turned his life over to God and sought to make changes. Among those he hurt in the past is the makeup artist Adanna, though he has no idea. The curiosity as to what exactly happened kept me intrigued throughout the story and I loved that the author gave just enough to keep you wondering until it was full revealed. The chemistry between these two was really fun and I very much enjoyed them together. It was definitely a slow burn... but the payoff was worth it.

As much as I loved the romance, I also really loved the sense of community and faith themes within the story too. Yes, you get some of that Hollywood glam... but you also get the small-town moments too. I loved seeing John's desire to give back... and not just for publicity. Overall, it was a really beautiful story with lots of heartfelt moments that I really enjoyed. With a debut like this, I definitely look forward to seeing more from the author in the future.