Fiction Friday #11 - Erynn Mangum

Friends, let me introduce you to my new favorite author, Erynn Mangum. She's amazing!A while ago I got a call from my best friend Emma saying she had found a series of books that she loved because the main character reminded her of me. Therefore, she insisted that I needed to find the Lauren Holbrook series by Erynn Mangum. I realized that I had picked up these books at some point, but they were in storage. I've been wanting to find my copies and read them.So last week when I FINALLY unpacked all my many boxes of books, the first thing I pulled off the shelf was the Lauren Holbrook series. I'm honestly having a hard time knowing how to describe them because the only words I can think of are funny and amazing!! The three books in the Lauren Holbrook series are about none other than Lauren Holbrook, a quirky, coffee-addicted, chick-flick loving, photographer who thinks she's a great matchmaker! Throughout the three novels, Lauren works hard (with some seriously entertaining results) to set up her friends and family and help them find marital bliss, fueled by an excessive amount of coffee! Even though I'm not a coffee drinker, I did relate to Lauren's unique and creative sense of humor, so I spent a lot of time last weekend laughing hysterically by myself as I read! If you are looking for a story that's fun and lighthearted, but with some solid biblical encouragement woven in, I would HIGHLY recommend reading these books. I would even love to let you borrow my copy of them if you can't find them on your own!!Naturally, after finishing the Lauren Holbrook books, I felt the need to read through Erynn Mangum's Maya Davis series (which I also own). Now, I had read these books once before, but they were still extremely enjoyable the second time around. Maya Davis has a great job in a coffee shop, which fuels her dramatic caffeine addiction; two great best friends; fun, weekly family dinners with her parents; and a dog who loves ice cream as much as she does. However, Maya doesn't handle change super well and these books are all about her life changing! It's fun to watch Maya scramble as she tries to figure out how to handle the changes that take place at work, with her family, and with her friends. Although I would say that the Lauren Holbrook books are funnier, the Maya Davis series is not lacking in comical scenes that will make you laugh! I once again would recommend that you go out and find these books!!While I have spent the last week immersed in Erynn Mangum books, she has plenty more that I haven't read! She has another series about a girl named Paige Alder, which Emma says are amazing! Erynn has also written a number of E-Novellas that are available only on Kindle, and I hope to read all of these someday! I look forward to finding them all!!I feel like I have given you sufficient reasons go find and read these books, but in case you're not convinced yet I thought I would tell you what I have learned about Erynn by reading her books.1. She has a serious obsession with chick-flicks, which comes out in her writing. (I'm guessing her favorites are Pride and Prejudice and While You Were Sleeping).2. While she understands the importance of working out and being healthy, she also understands the importance of chocolate and ice cream!3. She gets that being in a small group/Bible study of some sort at church is super important, especially as a young adult trying to figure out life!4. I'm gonna guess that she was an unmarried 20-something who watched a number of her friends get married, she seems to get what that's like.5. She seems to get that some people don't graduate college knowing exactly what they want to do with their lives, and that's okay. (Maya was an English education major in college who decided she didn't want to teach and now doesn't know what to do with her degree, which makes me happy because it means I'm not the only one with an English degree who graduated without a clue!)6. Her sense of humor is amazing. I have a feeling we would get along! :)