This Muskoka Shores series is such a good one! The characters in this community felt like real people as I read all of their various stories. I have enjoyed all of these books.
I believe that you could pick up Muskoka Promise and enjoy it on its own, however, you will notice that the main character, Anna, has quite a grudge and some deeply hurt feelings toward her former friends for a good portion of the story. The author did a good job of showing the reader what Anna’s perception of the events were that led up to Anna separating herself from her closest friends, however, you will get the full stories and understanding of the build up to Anna’s melt down if you get to know her as a side character in the earlier novels.
I have to admit that I did not like Anna very much in the other books. It was easy to be frustrated with her. She was very needy and desperate to find a man and then resentful toward her friends when they fell in love. However, I did feel badly for her as it seemed that she had her focus in life on all of the wrong things for awhile. But, reading this story, I appreciated that Anna’s eyes began to open to the fact that she had reacted badly to her friends’ joys. She was still resentful for quite a bit of the book, but she did begin to have a heart change as the story moved forward. I was impressed with her emotional and spiritual growth and also impressed that the author created that growth in a believable way. Anna was not immediately selfless or able to keep her heart attitude in a better space. She struggled and she had set backs and she felt like she was failing in changing her focus to God. Her struggle to change her attitude was exactly that…a struggle.
I really liked Tom and felt for him and all that he had gone through. I liked that he was attracted to Anna because of her humor and snark and the many things they seemed to have in common. I also liked that he thought she was beautiful as she was, even as she was struggling with her weight. He had hard choices in this story and he tried to make the right decisions, even when they went against what his heart wanted.
I’m excited to see that there is supposed to be at least one more book in this series! I am looking forward to it.
(4 stars)
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
ABOUT THIS BOOK
All Anna Morely has wanted since she was a child is to feel loved. All Tom Woodmore has wanted is to uphold the law without fear or favor. When a traffic incident brings these two opposites together, sparks fly. But Anna’s wealthy family has certain social expectations that a humble police officer doesn’t exactly meet. And after the death of his fiancée, Tom has his own challenges in learning to risk his heart again. And then there is the matter of whether Anna will ever reconcile with her too-persistent friends…
Join Anna and Tom as they discover the path to real love holds unexpected joys and trials, and that God’s promises can always be relied on – including in beautiful Muskoka.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carolyn Miller is an Australian author of inspirational historical romance, particularly that of the Regency era, and loves creating worlds where flawed people can grow in faith, hope and love.