Review: The Shadow of Your Smile

The Shadow of Your Smile (Deep Haven)

About the Book:

A beautiful blanket of snow may cover the quaint town of Deep Haven each winter, but it can’t quite hide the wreckage of Noelle and Eli Hueston’s marriage. After twenty-five years, they’re contemplating divorce . . . just as soon as their youngest son graduates from high school. But then an accident erases part of Noelle's memory. Though her other injuries are minor, she doesn’t remember Eli, their children, or the tragedy that has ripped their family apart. What’s more, Noelle is shocked that her life has turned out nothing like she dreamed it would. As she tries to regain her memory and slowly steps into her role as a wife and mother, Eli helps her readjust to daily life with sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-heartwarming results. But can she fall in love again with a man she can’t remember? Will their secrets destroy them . . . or has erasing the past given them a chance for a future?

My Comments:

Given the choice today, would you marry your spouse all over again?  Put another way, if you couldn't remember any of your history with your spouse, would you love the person she/he is today?  That's what faced Noelle and Eli, residents of the small Minnesota town of Deep Haven.  Noelle is in an accident and wakes up thinking it is twenty-five years ago.  She does not know (and at first, doesn't like) her husband, or her kids--or anyone else in town.  She doesn't remember the problems she and her husband were having or where she was at the time of the accident.  We follow her and her husband as they become reacquainted, and as they decide the path their lives should take in the future.

While not a Catholic book, it is a Christian novel that stresses the sanctity of marriage and its sacramental nature (even if it doesn't call it sacramental).  It points out that we need to open and vulnerable to our spouses in much the way we need to be open and vulnerable to God.  While not a preachy book, it is probably too religious if you don't like religious books.

Besides the story of Noelle and Eli, this is also the story of their son and the woman in his life.  Susan May Warren does a good job of showing us a relationship with "sparks" but also of showing us why these two like each other (and not just because one thinks the other is "hot").  

I'd like to thank the  publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B+

Review: Waiting for Dawn

About the Story:

In this prequel to Flee the Night—the first book in Susan May Warren’s critically acclaimed Team Hope series—Lacey Galloway leads a rather predictable life as a contractor for the Department of Defense. But news that Sergeant First Class Jim Micah is missing in action leads her on a dangerous trek overseas to rescue the man who secretly captured her heart. 

Although her DOD connections quickly cut through the red tape, she also enlists the help of her ex-boyfriend and Micah’s best friend, Lieutenant John Montgomery. As they hatch a covert plan to find and rescue Micah, Lacey’s feelings are once again torn between the two men. 

Filled with romance and adventure, this twisty tale will hold you captive to the very last page.

My Comments:

You'll note that instead of the usual "About the Book" above, I wrote "About the Story".  That's because this isn't a full-length book but rather an ebook-only prequel to a 2005 novel entitled Flee the Night, which is the first of a series of books about a woman intelligence agent.  

Waiting for the Dawn is an exciting read about a search and rescue mission in which a woman enlists the help of her current beau (who really hasn't been that attentive to her) to rescue the hometown boy for whom she has always carried a flame.  As a prequel, it has a happy, but not quite settled ending--probably to encourage  you to read the rest of the books in the series.

The book is Christian fiction, which in this case means that the guy who is imprisoned thinks of God often and prays and repeats Bible verses.  It fits the story, but if faith-based fiction isn't your thing, this probably isn't the book for you.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  I was not obligated to write a positive review.  Grade:  B-.