An Unbelievable Intersection of Lives

This is the third contemporary romance I have read recently, and the second by a Christian writer. Normally I don’t read this genre because the stories tend to focus on the self-centered “sufferings” of a heroine who doesn’t have any real sufferings. I have been blessed, however, to find two out of three gems in the genre.

You know Maggie Montgomery has seen real trouble from the very beginning. But you also know she’s learned to “pray without ceasing” in the most down to earth sense. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is “The Nanny” with tacked-on Christianity. This is no comedy. Grab your box of tissues and follow Maggie through her stunning discoveries and what people discover about her, themselves, and her God. Who becomes her only real friend? Someone who’s totally off-limits. Who does she teach to pray? Not just the sweet little four-year-old boy she cares for. Whose lives does she change? Almost the entire rest of the cast of the book.

I thought the scenes at church were a little strange. They never met a single church member. Didn’t even shake hands with the pastor or say his name. Some of the sermon illustrations were application rather than strictly correct interpretation, but the points made were easy to understand. The focus was on Maggie’s living faith, and that shined clear. Romantic tension seesaws through everything, but was a little repetitive in the way was portrayed sometimes.

The characters were well-rounded, even the secondary ones. Plenty of internal and external conflicts keep the reader going and guessing. It’s an excellent read with a resolution of so much more than just the impossible romance.