cover image From Blushing Bride to Wedded Wife: Practical Advice from a Girlfriend--What Marriage Is Really Like

From Blushing Bride to Wedded Wife: Practical Advice from a Girlfriend--What Marriage Is Really Like

Marla Taviano. Harvest House Publishers, $11.99 (271pp) ISBN 978-0-7369-1757-5

Young mom Taviano is concerned that new Christian brides aren't getting the straight scoop on love, marriage, sex, in-laws and finances. Just name the topic and Taviano addresses it with a combination of quirky recollections from her own life and those of various interviewees, making the book fall somewhere between frivolous and functional. The first clue to the tone this book takes is best observed by its pirated subtitle: like other popular ""girlfriend"" books, Taviano's seeks to unveil the humorous, sometimes raucous, side to marital combat zones like dealing with an irksome mother-in-law, learning to live within a budget, discovering and disbanding the ""my needs come first"" syndrome and finding sexual satisfaction. Particularly entertaining is Taviano's take on hurdling past honeymoon sex expectations, noting that on her own honeymoon she would have given anything for a ""Get Out of Sex Free Card."" Taviano's candor and winsome style are sure to amuse women whose early marital experiences didn't match the bliss they expected, and who are renewing their commitment to discovering a marriage worth working for over the long haul.