"Live Without You" by Sarah Grace Grzy

Six years after her brother was fatally shot, Piper Redding finds herself at the scene of another shooting, and this time she's the one who is injured. Having only recently moved to a small town in Washington, Piper knows no one. Utterly alone, she faces a difficult recovery.

Ezra Bryant ran away from everything after his mother's death, believing it to be his fault. Now a paramedic, he can hardly believe his eyes when he recognizes the shooting victim under his care. His former college roommate's little sister has now grown up — and somehow they both ended up living far away from the Chicago neighborhood where they knew each other before.

Piper is thankful to see a friendly face and eager to know Ezra again, although seeing him brings back painful memories of her brother's death. Coming face to face with her own mortality makes her wonder about her eternal soul. As Ezra has a chance to share his faith, his feelings for her begin to grow as well.

This book has a good depth of tension and emotional conflict. I liked how salvation was portrayed, as Piper was naturally drawn to God's love through not only Ezra but other believers she meets. In the second half of the story I could really hear the author's youth and conservatism in the prose. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but there are buzzwords and a certain tone that all young conservatives tend to have in their writing. Our God is very gracious and I look forward to how He leads Sarah Grace Grzy in the future. She's got a lot of talent if she wishes to continue to learn and grow in the craft of writing!

I received my copy of the book from JustRead Publicity Tours. All opinions in this review are my own.