Love Unexpected

GIVEAWAY

HEDLUND, JODY
LOVE UNEXPECTED

1859
Presque Isle, Michigan

What Is the Secret That Could Shipwreck Both of Their Lives?

All Emma Chambers ever wanted was a home, but when her steamboat sinks just outside Presque Isle, she’s left destitute and with no place to stay.

An unlikely solution arises when the lighthouse keeper arrives in town. He’s just lost his wife and is having a difficult time caring for his child. So a traveling preacher gets the idea that the keeper and Emma might be the answer to each other’s dilemma. After a hasty marriage, she finds herself heading to the lighthouse with this handsome but quiet stranger. Nothing in her aimless life, though, has prepared her for parenting a rambunctious toddler, as well as managing a household.

Emma soon suspects Patrick may be hiding something from her, and then she hears a disturbing rumor about the circumstances surrounding his late wife’s death. It seems as if her wish for a home and family of her own could end up leading her once more into turbulent waters.

My Review:

Pirates on the Great Lakes? Who knew? Jody Hedlund, that's who! What a fantastic twist to an already riveting plot! And I've loved lighthouses and the notion of lighthouse keeping since reading Meg and the Lighthouse Mystery when I was a kid so this book captivated me on so many levels.

Lighthouses aside, this marriage of convenience story is rich and complex and utterly compelling. I was quickly caught up in the drama right from Emma and Patrick's first meet and then their hasty marriage. And if that isn't a complicated enough way to start a life together, the author adds in desperate secrets and roaming pirates for good measure.

And that left me compulsively reading late into the night even though I knew the gnarly bits were coming up in spades. I was about jumping out of my skin because I wanted to get past them and to the good, happily-ever-after part but I couldn't bring myself to skim because every word was precious. Sigh. That meant I would be in a gnarly mess of emotions by the end but there was nothing for it but to soldier on and savor every one of those words because the combined effect was all so sublime.

A soul-stirring romance with a moving inspirational thread about forgiveness and acceptance. Definitely not one to be missed.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Love Unexpected please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday December 14  2014. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!