A Gift to Cherish

GIVEAWAY

BYLIN, VICTORIA
A GIFT TO CHERISH

Rafe Donovan, a cop from Cincinnati is haunted by a recurring nightmare about the death of his high school sweetheart. Those nightmares force him to take leave from his job, seek help, and shelter in Refuge where he pounds nails for his brother's construction business. Rafe has no desire to stay in Wyoming. His goal is to get back to being a cop in Ohio as soon as possible.

But then he meets Daisy Riley...When he finds her stranded late at night with a flat tire, he's impressed by her courage. Daisy is equally impressed by him, but as a former victim of violence she treasures her secure life in Refuge. Together they navigate the road to love -- one that's complicated by Daisy's troubled best friend online dating, and the impossible obstacle of 1600 miles between her home and his.

My Review:

"Not a day passes that I'm not scared about something and mad about something else. The calm you see? That's me hanging on to what Jesus did on the cross -- and I'm usually white-knuckling it with both hands." (p 214)

Real lives, broken people and the quest to find God in the midst of it all. I love that Victoria Bylin tackles current issues that affect women -- physically, mentally and emotionally -- with such grace and heart. She gets that Christians come in all shapes and sizes with diverse pasts and challenges...and degrees of brokeness. And that's okay, because...Jesus.

Survivor Daisy is determined to stay strong in her faith as she embraces a new beginning. She's guarded and cautious and definitely not in a place to start a relationship. But Rafe is pretty hard to resist. And in Refuge temporarily. The whole notion of getting to know him better spells disaster. He's just as aware of the potential complications of falling for a woman determined to grow roots in Refuge. But he's having the same problem resisting the attraction.

I love the way Bylin has woven their love story around day to day life in a small town with tons of heart and a great team of supportive secondary characters. And contrasts it with a very different kind of romance that took place nearly fifty years ago that had a very different ending. The very real struggle over choosing between our will or God's will plays a recurring theme as Daisy and Rafe expose their own hidden truths and learn to be vulnerable with each other...and with God.

This is the second book in Bylin's Road to Refuge series and, shame on me, I haven't read the first one -- it was completely off my radar for some strange reason -- so I can attest to the fact that you can definitely enjoy A Gift to Cherish without reading When He Found Me first. However, if you have read WHFM you will be thrilled to reconnect with Shane and MJ (I'm was and I just met them!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

Unfortunately this is another indie pubbed book that isn't available on Book Depository so this giveaway is for an ebook.

If you would like a chance to win an e copy of  A Gift to Remember, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday July 18 2020 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck