Even Forever + Giveaway

The last thing Rosalie Tomkin wants is another man trying to control her life. Her abusive jailbird father and her ne’er-do-well brother have cured her of that. Not even the wealthy visitor staying in her beleaguered mother’s boarding house can tempt her. She plans to leave Boulder Creek as soon as she can scrape together the funds to do so, and when she does, she won’t ever look back.

Michael Randolph is in a high-stakes competition for the family business and intends to beat his half-brother, no matter what. So when an innocent encounter with Rosalie threatens to cost him everything he hopes to achieve, he’s willing to pay the price demanded by her no-good father. Even if it means marrying a damsel in distress.

Strangers placed in an impossible position, Michael and Rosalie can agree on one thing. Neither of them wants to stay together any longer than they must. What they don’t know is that fate might have a better future in store for them than either could imagine.

My Review:

published in 2021

A classic Western Romance with complex issues that kept me on an emotional rollercoaster all the way through! Robin Lee Hatcher knows how to incorporate faith and hope in the midst of struggles and turmoil and turns out a stunning novel every time!

Marriage of Convenience. Happy sigh (which is so weird, but love it in fiction.) A husband who doesn’t want a wife gradually realizing he does and then the wooing begins. Swoon! But this is the Wild West so their love story is nearly thwarted by the vilest of villains. Kept me on tenterhooks all the way to the end.

Honestly, my emotions were all over the place during this read. Loved Rosalie’s spunk and determination to get out of an untenable situation. But, oh my heart hurt for her! And her mother! Gah! That woman…there are no words. I mean, I could see why she acted the way she did and it fit the circumstances, especially for the time period, but 21st century ‘girl power’ me was spitting nails in an angry/sad jumble of emotions. Phew!

‘Even Forever’ is touching and tender with a healthy dose of grit. Sometimes a reader craves a good marriage of convenience story and this one delivers!

I enjoyed listening to the audio edition of Even Forever narrated by Eve Passeltiner. She delivered an emotional performance that matched these characters and their story perfectly.

I’ll Be Seeing You + Giveaway

Generations of secrets unfold as a young college student learns the truth about her great-grandmother’s World War II heartbreak and love.

Brianna Hastings’s life seems dull and full of disappointment until a handsome young man visits her church. She’s instantly smitten by the charming Greg, who leads an exciting, independent life—the kind of life she longs for. But when a college history assignment forces Brianna to interview her great-grandmother about life during World War II, she can’t believe it when Daisy presses her with questions about Greg’s character. “What sort of man is he? Who is he at his core?”

What could her great-grandmother possibly know about love at first sight?

The questions take both women back to Boise, Idaho, in the early 1940s, when war emphasized how fragile life could be. Daisy and her older sister pine for the same handsome bomber pilot—until one night of terrible judgment reveals their true characters and drives them apart. Trying to protect the people she loves the most, Daisy condemns herself to live a lie.

In the years that follow, as Daisy grapples with the consequences, she receives unexpected grace from a man she’s known her whole life but never looked at twice. Could what she learned about love save Brianna from heartache three generations later?

My Review:

I love intergenerational stories and this one is extra special because it involves a great-grandmother and her great-granddaughter. Love the way the two timelines compliment each other as we follow two young women, decades apart, learning about love and heartbreak and living in God’s grace with the choices made.

Present day Brianna (19 and with a bit of an attitude) tested my patience at the beginning of this book. Very much a product of our modern, fast-paced, want-it-now society. Thankfully, she matures over the course of the story, growing in her faith as she deepens her bond with her great-grandmother who patiently guides her and isn’t afraid to ask Brianna the hard questions.

Daisy (our 1940s heroine) is just as young, but in some ways more mature. In other ways she’s quite naive. She too, is a product of her time and the backdrop of war adds a whole other dimension to her story.

Oh, the foibles of youth and the mistakes we make! That’s at the heart of both timelines and Hatcher portrays both women realistically. There’s angst and romance and more angst. My heart hurt for both of them at different points in their stories. But there’s rejoicing also and a stirring conclusion that delivers hope and happily ever afters.

I so appreciated the myriad of faith threads. There is no doubt that this is a Christian Fiction offering and the author pours her heart into the lives of these characters, showing them the difference a deeper relationship with Christ can make in their lives. So inspiring!

I listened to the audible edition narrated by Windy Lanzl who did an excellent job of bringing these characters to life.