Celebrate Lit / May 28, 2024

Mayhem and Moonlight

About the Book Mayhem and Moonlight

Book: Mayhem and Moonlight

Author: Jennifer Sienes

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction, and Southern Fiction

Release date: April 16, 2024

Left at the altar holding the bill, a boatload of college debt, and piddly librarian salary has her praying for a miracle.

Lillian Murphy takes her life verse from a book titled—A Series of Unfortunate Events. Could be it was on account of her jumping into things without first dipping a toe in to test the waters that landed her in such a position. A cozy, cardboard box would suit her just fine if she could find a way to heat it, but she’s hoping the good Lord will do some better. She’s done dreaming of happily-ever-after – She’d settle for just debt- and drama-free.

Luca Giordano knows the minute he lands in Shelbyville, Tennessee with his three young boys that he’s in over his head. Leaving the pain of his past behind, he’d also left his parents—and they’d done the heavy lifting. All his charts, graphs, and scheduling expertise isn’t enough.

What kind of a productivity expert is he if he can’t be…productive? What he needs is a part-time Mary Poppins to swoop in and fill in for his gargantuan gaps—and Librarian Lillian seems the perfect solution.

But when Luca’s past converges with the present—and Lillian’s the catalyst—everything he loves most is at risk. How will a free spirit and fusspot find a way to a happy ending?

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My Thoughts on Mayhem and Moonlight

Mayhem and Moonlight is a wonderful romance novel that makes you feel like it’s part of your real life happening now. Lillian feels like her life is one disaster after another. Nothing seems to go right. She’s left at the altar. She has masses of bills to pay. Yes, she got all the wedding bills too. Plus student debt. And she’s only a librarian. Not a huge salary there. How can she make ends meet? What is even life anymore?

Enter our main male character. He has a need that Lillian can fill.

Luca has three little boys. He needs help with them. A Mary Poppins would be nice.

I can relate to Luca. There are times I think I’d love a Mary Poppins or a Nanny McPhee to come into my household. I’d settle for a Lillian as well.

The boys are adorable. Okay, well, they’re a bit mischievous too. But they’re boys.

Lillian has nowhere to live. Luca needs something to help get his boys and house under control. The solution is simple. Lillian becomes his live-in nanny.

And you can guess some of the fun and mayhem that come from that! This was such a fun novel and I really enjoyed reading it. This is one of those authors that I have come to love and respect because of how she can take hard situations and make them fun and enjoyable to read about while also not negating the hard.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of Mayhem and Moonlight

Award-winning author Jennifer Sienes holds a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in education but discovered life experience is the best teacher. She loves Jesus, romance, and writing—and puts it all together in inspirational women’s fiction. Two of the three novels in her Apple Hill Series (set in Northern California) were inspired by actual events. Her Southern fiction Bedford County Series is set in Tennessee where she now resides with her real-life hero (and husband).

More from Jennifer

I’m often asked where I draw inspiration for my stories. It was easy when I was writing the Apple Hill Series because the Lord took me through a long season of loss ripe with emotional angst and faith-building. So, two of the three novels in that series were inspired by actual events I lived through—my daughter’s traumatic brain injury and my brother’s suicide. Not exactly the stuff of happily-ever-afters. But being a romantic, I’m a sucker for a happy ending. It took quite a bit of spiritual growth and creative ingenuity (she says tongue-in-cheek) to be able to move past the pain and find the blessings for my characters. Proof that God uses every tear for our good and His glory.

The story behind Mayhem and Moonlight came from a friend of mine.

Annie.

Not long after I met her (at my release party for Night Songs) she told me about how she and her husband Peter came to be together. Annie was a school psychologist who had been left at the altar years before. Peter was a single father of three boys whose wife passed away from cancer. Annie loved children but was past her child-bearing years, so she was as enamoured with Peter’s three boys as she was by the man himself. Inept in the kitchen, she shared many hysterical culinary malfunctions with me, including how she almost burned the house down on more than one occasion.

The main character Lillian was also inspired by an actual person—my daughter Nikki.

Yes, this is the same daughter who suffered a near-fatal car accident and went through months of rehab for traumatic brain injury. What a sweet thing to be inspired by her when she was dealing with a disability and again years later with a master’s degree in library and information science—just like the main character Lillian. That’s how our good God works, though, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

But of course, a romance needs a protagonist, and Lillian’s is Luca Giordano—a single father to three young boys (just like Annie’s Peter) and a productivity expert in serious need of help. It wasn’t until after I started fleshing out ideas for this book that I’d even heard of a productivity expert. It was through one phone conversation with old friends who told me their son had written a book titled Winning the Week: How to Plan a Successful Week, Every Week. I could’ve never imagined purchasing this book to show support to my friends would lead to the inspiration I needed for Luca’s career.

And guess what?

Using the techniques laid out by authors Demir and Carey Bentley helped me become a more productive writer, too!

It was a win-win.

Once I got to know the characters, I let them loose in my imagination and had to race to keep up with them. That’s when I know my writing is in conjunction with the Lord. I literally cannot make this stuff up. I pray you will enjoy reading Mayhem and Moonlight as much as I did writing it.