Facelift by Leanna Ellis

Kaye's husband left her and their daughter for a younger woman. Kaye has spent the year since their divorce hoping and praying that they can be reconciled and get back together. When Cliff's mother calls her because she needs a place to stay after a botched facelift, Kaye believes this may be just the thing to bring Cliff back to her.

Isabel(Izzie) is a typical self-centered teen who has never had a relationship with her grandmother and is not happy about Marla moving in with them. She is resentful of her father leaving the family for another woman and has a more realistic view of it than Kaye does. When Izzie meets Gabe her interests are drawn outside of herself to helping other people.

Kaye's job is to get houses ready for the owner's to sell by staging furniture and highlighting the assets of the house. When she meets Jack there is instant attraction. But Kaye is determined that God's will is for her to win back her husband. Gabe's father died of cancer. Gabe is living with Jack so that Jack can help Gabe finish his Eagle Scout project, renovating a park for handicap children to be able to play.

Izzie is all for helping Gabe with his project but soon become involved in a project of her own. Lily whom she used to babysit is dying of cancer. Izzie is determined to raise money to help with Lily's rising medical bills. The swimathon becomes a community project that brings Izzie and Gabe and Jack and Kaye together.

Dealing with an ex-mother-in-law that never liked her, an ex-husband that is showing renewed interest in her, a daughter full of teen angst, and new feelings stirring for Jack, Kaye struggles to find what God's purpose for her is.

I'm torn about this author's writing. I read her book Elvis Takes a Back Seat and am having the same feelings about Facelift as I did about that book. Sometimes the writing seems disjointed. I had a hard time knowing if the character was saying something out loud or if she was "thinking" what she wanted to say. Sometimes I was lost as to who was doing the talking. The reason I am torn though is because Leanna Ellis' characters are so engaging that the book is hard to put down until after you find out how the story ends.