An Unexpected Woman - Sandi Layne
3 Stars
ABOUT THE BOOK -
“Put a bow around the woman you want for me, so I’ll know.”
Associate Pastor Dr. Mark Countryman is a recent transplant to North Fort Myers, Florida. Although it’s a paradise for some, Dr. Countryman has never felt more alone. As his fortieth birthday approaches, he reevaluates his past relationships and prays that God will guard his heart so it will not be broken again. If only there was a way he could be sure of God’s will.
“God says that a man is not meant to live alone always.”
As a child, Shelley watched her mother lose the battle against breast cancer. In her late teens, she survived a major hurricane with her father while living in Southwest Florida. Now twenty-five, Shelley Roberts is a furniture repairwoman who believes in being prepared for every contingency while enjoying life and seizing the moment.
A random encounter throws these two people into each other’s lives. Soon after, Shelley is assigned to do some work at Mark’s church. As they spend more time together, a relationship slowly begins to blossom, though whether they’re “friends” or “more” is something neither of them is certain of.
While growing closer to Mark, Shelley encourages him to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season—something she had to learn to do some years before. Though a woman of faith, her life’s experiences have taught her that preparation is necessary. She is enthusiastic in this belief, even when Mark tries to get her to relax and have faith in God’s protection.
Their beliefs will be tested when hurricane season begins in earnest and a storm grows in strength as it nears the Florida Peninsula.
Associate Pastor Dr. Mark Countryman is a recent transplant to North Fort Myers, Florida. Although it’s a paradise for some, Dr. Countryman has never felt more alone. As his fortieth birthday approaches, he reevaluates his past relationships and prays that God will guard his heart so it will not be broken again. If only there was a way he could be sure of God’s will.
“God says that a man is not meant to live alone always.”
As a child, Shelley watched her mother lose the battle against breast cancer. In her late teens, she survived a major hurricane with her father while living in Southwest Florida. Now twenty-five, Shelley Roberts is a furniture repairwoman who believes in being prepared for every contingency while enjoying life and seizing the moment.
A random encounter throws these two people into each other’s lives. Soon after, Shelley is assigned to do some work at Mark’s church. As they spend more time together, a relationship slowly begins to blossom, though whether they’re “friends” or “more” is something neither of them is certain of.
While growing closer to Mark, Shelley encourages him to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season—something she had to learn to do some years before. Though a woman of faith, her life’s experiences have taught her that preparation is necessary. She is enthusiastic in this belief, even when Mark tries to get her to relax and have faith in God’s protection.
Their beliefs will be tested when hurricane season begins in earnest and a storm grows in strength as it nears the Florida Peninsula.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
Sandi Layne is the author of Christian romances and historical fiction
novels, as well as being an award-winning writer of short stories and a
former e-zine columnist. Married for seventeen years, she and her
husband have two sons and live in Southwest Florida, where they are
becoming adept amateur meteorologists.
She welcomes visitors to her
website at www.sandyquill.net.
MY REVIEW -
This book received some really great reviews on Amazon and on Goodreads. But, unfortunately, for me it was just OK. It dragged on and was pretty slow for the first 2/3 of the book. Then finally, through the last 1/3 it really picked up and was much better. Of course this was when the storm hit and I am a storm chaser at heart.
The character development was OK. I liked the characters well enough. I just didn't find them very believable. I liked Shelley better than Mark, for some reason he rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't like the way he made light of her fear of storms.
I did like the little twist where he was almost 15 years older than her, gasp! I have always believed that age doesn't matter once you get past your teens.
This was a nice clean, quick read. It was enjoyable enough. There wasn't anything bad about it, it just didn't thrill me. This is a good book to read if you want to take a break from all the serious complated books you've been reading!
You can download your own copy from Amazon - HERE
Comments
Post a Comment