The Girl in a Cafe

First Date, at first, is a book that sounds like any other teen novel. The pitch reminded me of a Meg Cabot book I once picked up and put back on the shelf, and I can remember thinking to myself that it would be a great book to read one day.Needless when I was given the opportunity by Thomas Nelson Publishers to read First Date before it was released, I was very excited. It seemed just the sort of book that I needed at the time, and First Date did not disappoint.Based on the timeless Bible story of Queen Esther, First Date goes through the motions of our MC, Addy, unwillingly taking part in a contest where the President's son is in need of a Prom date. Needless to say, we can all see what is going to happen right from the start, but McGee has written an extremely witty and enjoyable book, which makes it even more fun to read. It reminds me almost of a Greek tragedy, where back in Ancient Greece the audience used to know what the outcome of the play was going to be, despite the characters not (or, we could relate it more to the modern day panto - "Oh no he's not!" "Oh yes he is!"), only this is no tragedy!My only issue with this book was its two main characters. Whilst everyone else shone, from Addy's best friend in the competition to the horrible producer Hank, Addy just didn't cut it for me. She was whiny and annoying most of the time, which was completely out of character for someone who was Christian. Sure, I understood that Addy needed to go through a development period to understand that sometimes God places people in certain situations for a reason, but I couldn't help but feel that, as a Christian myself, though Addy did not want to be a part of the TV show, she should have automatically gone into it with an open Christian heart, knowing and asking God to be with her from day one.Then there was Jonathon. Jonathon was a character that grew on me only by the very end, as there really wasn't much of Jonathon to go on. Sure, he was there, but he was mainly a character in writing, not in personality. When Addy first meets Jonathon, it's only for a few minutes, but it was such a blink and you miss it thing that I didn't realise she had met Jonathon until a page later. What I really loved, however, was Addy's mother's diary, and her recounting life as a missionary in Columbia. The diary, in a way, gave Addy the hope and courage that she needed to progress throughout the show, as well as helping her to turn to God in her hour of need. Another thing that I really loved is it had, as almost a theme throughout the book, my one of my favourite passages from the Bible - Esther 4:14 - "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”Overall, this was a great quick read, something I would love to read on a lazy date - definitely a feel good book! The Christian aspect of the novel was done in quite a subtle way, meaning that readers were able to enjoy the book without having the Christian message shoved down your throat - something many Christian novels have a tendency to do.