Book Review: After All by Deborah Raney

After All is the third book in the Hanover Falls trilogy by Deborah Raney. I have read and reviewed the second one and, although I didn't give it a five-star rating (I gave it four), I still recommended it. I would do the same with this one. It is a satisfying end to the series and I think most readers of this type of fiction will enjoy it.

I liked how Mrs. Raney wrote about characters who seemed very real and who struggled with real issues, not just things like "should I ask her out?" or "could I ever love again?". There could have been more fullness to the plot (such as background on the characters - it helps if you haven't read the first two books), but I know you can't put in everything and stay within the word count of your book. Perhaps writers should try writing more single ("stand-alone") books so that readers can get the full story at once and not have to wait for all the books of the series to come out. It is rather frustrating!

I give After All 4 out of 5 stars.

Description of the book from the publisher:

"Eighteen months after the tragic Grove Street Fire took the life of her husband, David, and four other heroic firefighters, Susan Marlowe thinks she’s finally beginning to heal.


But then she discovers that David carried a secret to his grave.

A secret that changes everything she thought their marriage had been.

For the sake of their sons, can Susan forgive the unforgivable?

Andrea Morley lost her closest friend in the fire. But she has no right to mourn him. Instead, she must forever grieve in silence—because her dearest friend was someone else’s husband. Peter Brennan carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. As Hanover Falls’ fire chief, he was responsible for the brave firefighters who lost their lives that awful November night.

Can he ever shake the feeling that he should have somehow prevented the tragedy?

As he tries to rebuild the team at Clemens County’s Station 2, it seems he might find comfort in the arms of the woman he least expected."

 

DEBORAH RANEY is bestselling novelist whose books have garnered multiple industry awards including the RITA Award, HOLT Medallion, National Readers' Choice Award, Silver Angel from Excellence in Media, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. Her first novel, A Vow to Cherish, shed light on the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. The novel inspired the highly acclaimed World Wide Pictures film of the same title and continues to be a tool for Alzheimer's families and caregivers. Deborah is on faculty for several national writers' conferences and serves on the advisory board of the 2500-member American Christian Fiction Writers organization. She has written more than 20 novels, and her recent Hanover Falls Novels series is published by Howard/Simon & Schuster. Deb and her husband, Ken Raney, enjoy small-town life in Kansas.


(I received this book from Glass Road Media for review purposes. I received no monetary compensation for this review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.)

Book Review: Forever After by Deborah Raney

Forever After by Deborah Raney is the second book in the series entitled Hanover Falls. It is the story of Lucas Vermontez, a firefighter who is involved in a fire where his father and several others are killed. Even though Lucas survives, he is crippled and scarred emotionally as a result. 

A year after the tragedy that took his father's life, Lucas reconnects with Jenna Morgan, whose husband, Zach, also perished in the blaze. Jenna is struggling with trying to pay the bills that have continued to mount since her husband's death. When she loses her home, she runs to her in-laws for help. But when their relationship becomes strained, Jenna is faced with homelessness and must find another place to live. 

Lucas and Jenna begin to lean on each other for support. However, secrets in Jenna's past creep in and threaten to destroy the happiness they have found. And Lucas' dreams of being a firefighter are crushed and must be replaced with new hope before he gives in to despair. 

When I began reading Forever After, there were a few things that I found a little incredible about the plot. For example, there are two couples engaged to be married at the beginning of the book; three of the people are ones whose spouses died in the fire. One of the men is marrying the woman who (unintentionally) caused the fire that killed his wife. Although I felt sympathy for these couples, I just thought it was too much to believe that there would be all these people who would be engaged so soon after their spouses died. And when you add in Jenna and Lucas (whose spouses also died in the fire), the author seems to put too much "coincidences" into that part of her plot.

After saying that, I must say that I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes Christian romance books. The plot is unique and not "cookie-cutter" like so many others. The characters are real and the pacing of the book is just right.

And I love the book's cover!

I give Forever After 4 out of 5 stars.

(I received this book from Glass Road for review purposes. I received no monetary compensation for this review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.)

DEBORAH RANEY is at work on her 20th novel. Her books have won the RITA Award, ACFW Carol Award, HOLT Medallion, National Readers' Choice Award, Silver Angel, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. Her first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title. Forever After, second in her new Hanover Falls Novels series, will release in June from Howard/Simon & Schuster. Deb and her husband, Ken Raney, enjoy small-town life in Kansas. They are new empty nesters with four children and a growing quiver of grandchildren, all of whom live much too far away.