ReviewsByErin

I am pretty new to reading Beth K. Vogt's books, but this is my favorite of the ones I have read. I enjoyed having main characters who were a little older and more relatable to where I am in my stage of life.

Kendall Haynes has worked very hard to become a doctor and establish a successful family practice with a focus on allergies and asthma. She never put aside the dream of having a family, but that part just never materialized. Now with her much-younger sister getting married, as well as the last of Kendall's single girlfriends, she's starting to feel that longing ache again. What's a woman to do, though? She's got her practice, her dog, and her Jeep. Maybe that's all of the dream she'll get to have.

Having never expected to become the guardian of his teenage brother, grounded Air Force pilot Griffin Walker is floundering with his new responsibilities. He already felt a little lost, a physical condition having put his career on hold. Now with the death of his parents Griffin has Ian ushered into his life - the little brother he'd only met a few times. When Ian has an anaphylactic reaction while eating out at a restaurant, Griffin realizes how little he knows about the boy. Thankfully a doctor is present to help Ian, but the feisty female doctor lights into him for being so careless about his brother's health.

Griffin books an appointment to get Ian's allergies evaluated, and comes face to face with the disapproving Dr. Kendall Haynes again. He can see that she and Ian have formed a connection, largely because Kendall knows what it's like to be a young person who has lost a parent. Even though she makes him feel even more incompetent as a guardian, he soon realizes that her friendship is valuable.

Meanwhile Kendall has started dating a doctor who has just returned from the mission field and is starting a corporation for medical advancements in third world countries. Perhaps her dream of having it all is still attainable. But why is it that even though Heath is the one courting her, it's Griffin and Ian she can't get off her mind?

As I said, I enjoyed this story a lot. It showed the complexities of lives that have not turned out as expected. There also were hints of a darker mystery just under the surface that kept me turning pages. I had a few minor complaints, mainly that a few things seemed too convenient early in the story, but overall this is one I'd recommend and it certainly kept me interested in reading more from this author.

Allison Denman is about to reach happily ever after. Her wedding is just days away, and she's marrying the guy she's dated since high school. So why is she suddenly full of doubts that this is the right thing to do?

Beth K. Vogt brings us a quirky and interesting runaway bride story, as Allison's uncertainties override her longing for security, and she skips town while leaving her groom at the altar. Unable to unbutton the back of her dress, she's stuck in the silk and lace monstrosity - which wasn't what she wanted in the first place - until she can buy new clothes and find a helpful stranger to assist her. She doesn't want to go back to her apartment or answer the calls and texts from family and friends; she just wants to hide out and sort through her muddled emotions.

Fiance Seth is determined to win Allison back. So maybe he was too pushy getting the wedding he wanted instead of the quiet setting that Allison desired, but he's known her for so long that he believes he knows what is best.

Meanwhile Seth's brother Daniel is trying to push away the guilt that he feels for having kissed Allison five days before the doomed wedding. He's slowly fallen for her while sending her dozens of postcards from his adventures over the years. Allison deserves stability and his job requires him to travel all over the world - but he meant every word of those Wish You Were Here cards.

I enjoyed this contemporary romance. The themes were thought-provoking and while this could have been a very predictable story, it never stopped surprising me by going deeper at every turn. Allison's past struggle with cutting herself and current temptation to relieve her stress by going back to self-harm was something that I have never personally seen addressed in Christian fiction, and I thought it was masterfully handled. I look forward to reading more books by this author!