Teresa Mathews Reviews Terri; Women of Valley View by Sharon Srock

Terri (Women of Valley View) by Sharon Srock

Pelican Ventures Book Group-Harbourlight Books

5 Stars*****

In this second book of the Women of Valley View Sharon gives us a closer look at Terri Hayes. We met Terri in book one of this heartwarming series, she was the one that helped Samantha and Iris Evans by babysitting Samantha’s baby. 

Terri is the proud owner of her own daycare but despite that there is something missing in her life. Terri longs for the perfect husband and family. She has come close to finding Mr. Right a few times but no one can quite meet her standards. So until he comes along Terri focuses on becoming a foster mom. 

Steve Evans is a man with a horrible past. As a young man he let drugs rob him of his family. After coming to his senses and giving his life over to God he was reunited with his two beautiful daughters, Samantha and Iris. Now he is a renowned author using his past as a compelling agent to win others to Christ. 

Terri and Steve have become friends since he moved to town to be with his daughters. When Terri and her new foster daughter are forced out of her house for a few weeks Steve offers his basement apartment to them. Will this be the perfect opportunity for his daughters to do a little matchmaking? Has Terri finally found Mr. Right or will a situation arise that makes change her mind?

Once again Ms. Srock has written such a moving story I found I was drawn into it from the very beginning. This was made even better by the secondary story of Terri's dealings with the young couple that are the parents of the foster child she took in. Ms. Srock is an excellent writer and I am looking forward to reading more of her books in the future.


You can find Ms. Srock's books at Amazon and CBD.

GIVEAWAY: We are giving away two copies of Ms. Srock's books, one from OWG and one from Ms. Srock. Winner's choice of book and format. International winners e-book only. Please like Ms Srock's Facebook page and leave us a comment along  your email, if you have already liked her page just put "liked" in your comments. 

Julie Lessman's new release "A Love Surrendered" Reviewed by Carrie Fancett Pagels

A Love Surrendered

A Love Surrendered
by Julie Lessman
(Revell, 2012)

Loved this book! 

Susannah Grace Kennedy, or  "Annie" used to be called Grace by her older sister and parents. Now an orphan, Annie brings her younger sister, Glory, to Boston where they must live with a spinster aunt. (Beautiful story arc with the aunt.) Their older sister, Maggie, lives in Hollywood and from all the tales she told of her time at college in Boston, Annie longs to follow in her sister's footsteps.  Unfortunately, the innocent young women has no idea of how "fast" her sister's crowd was.  She's about to find out!

Enter Steven O'Connor, prohibition agent and Maggie's former beau, who knows all too well the cost of failing to keep himself from moral turpitude.  Although Annie knows who he is, Stephen doesn't realize the young beauty he attempts to protect is Maggie's little sister. He makes it his mission to protect her from both the young women she's been associating with and the men who seek to take advantage of her innocence.

Julie does a great job of moving the reader past the "ew" factor of having two sisters in love with the same man, who has been a lover to the older sister. She's dealt with similar territory before in the extended O'Connor family and knows how to hook the reader and get them so involved they can understand why the characters might still fall in love.

Stephen and Annie both have their own spiritual issues to resolve. Annie finds a woman at church who begins guiding her--Stephen's older sister! Beautifully rich scenes where Annie is pulled into the circle of the O'Conner women's open arms. In fact, the entire extended O'Connor clan shows up in this novel, which is marvelous!

Wonderful secondary storyline woven in of Patrick and Marcy's progress in making decisions whether to adopt their foster daughter or not.  Always love the scenes with the parents and can't wait to read their story "A Light in the Window" which is available for pre-order now. 

Bibliotherapy: Sexual abstinence, foster parenting vs. adoption, sibling issues, alcohol use and abuse,  forgiveness, and loss of parents. Lots of great reading about overcoming!

The only problem with this book is that it concludes Julie Lessman's six books series! BUT--I ordered the audiobook, the first audiobook available, and so I can listen to this story again! And I have the pre-quel ahead of me!  I could not wait for the audiobook so I read the NG download on my Kindle.

As usual we have Passion with a Purpose all through this book.  Julie's mission is to caution young women about making poor decisions in relationships that have veered toward the mainly physical attraction and to find God's best for their lives.

A Love Surrendered has been placed on my Best of 2012 list!!!

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Julie Lessman's books can be purchased on CBD, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Lifeway, and other book stores.

GIVEAWAYS: Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week's contests. Three drawings will be done this week for all the posts, with the last one late Saturday, your choice of Julie's books and choice of format*. Void where prohibited by law. 

*International winners will only receive the book in ebook format, not as a paperback.

Readers: Which of Julie's books have you most related to?  Which had a theme of overcoming that resonated with you?