Hello Friends :)
I pray today finds you all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review.
Within the last couple of years, I've become a big fan of Amanda Cabot's wonderful Christian historical fiction titles.
I love the mystery, the romance, and the excellent faith portrayal.
When I discovered she had a contemporary series as well, I knew I wanted to go ahead and give it a try.
Unfortunately, I didn't end up enjoying the first title in that series as much as I did her historical stories. You can find that review below:
However, I was still invested enough to want to go ahead and read the second title in the series, and today I'm here to share with you all what I ended up thinking about that one.
Keep reading below for my full review.
In Firefly Valley by Amanda Cabot:
Source: Library
Publisher: Revell
Publication Date: May 19th, 2015
Genre: Christian Fiction/Contemporary
Series: Texas Crossroads
Synopsis:
Marisa St. George is devastated when she is a victim of downsizing and has no choice but to return to the small Texas town where she grew up. Though it's a giant step backward, she accepts a position as business manager at the struggling Rainbow's End resort. The only silver lining is Blake Kendall, a new guest who is making her believe in love at first sight. But will her dreams of happily-ever-after be turned upside down when she discovers who he really is?
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
The first title in Amanda Cabot's Texas Crossroads series didn't end up being a new favorite for me, but I was still interested enough to want to go ahead and pick up the second title. I will say that I did end up enjoying this one more than I did it's predecessor, but I still wouldn't go as far as saying I loved it, and I still much prefer this author's historical titles to her contemporary titles so far.
I loved the premise of this one being about a famous author who has kept his identity a secret from almost everyone coming to stay at the the resort that Greg and Kate founded in the first title. I ended up really enjoying Blake's character, and the plot points about his not so great childhood having had such an impact on the way he sees himself today. Marisa, on the other hand, was a character that really grated on my nerves for the majority of the story, but I do give the author props for realistically representing the damage that alcoholism can have on innocent children who have no choice with what's being presented to them in their home on a daily basis.
It did take me awhile to get invested in the romance because of my negative feelings towards the main female protagonist, but I still felt it was a fairly cute and clean faith based romance. I have to be honest that I actually ended up enjoying the secondary romance between Marisa's best friend and her surprise suitor much more than I did the main romance, and I almost wish the two had been swapped in the amount of time they were given in the word count.
One last mention is that I did find that the story dragged a bit, especially in the middle. The ending was sweet and enjoyable, but I felt I had to drag myself through the middle parts to get to that point.
Overall, I appreciate that this one dealt with some deeper themes, and I did really enjoy Blake as a character, and the swoon worthy secondary romance. I wouldn't consider it a new favorite, but if you're a fan of clean, contemporary Christian titles, this one might end up being one you'd enjoy.
Final Rating: 3/5.
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
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