Forever After Book Review

SUMMARY:  A fire killed his best friend and his lifelong dream of being a firefighter.  The same fire killed her husband and hopes for a family.  Can new dreams replace old?
    Lucas Vermontez was a proud firefighter like his father.  Now, not only has he lost his father and his best friend, Zach, in the fire at the Grove Street homeless shelter, but the devoted rookie can no longer do the work he loves after being crippled in the tragic event.  When friendship with his buddy's beautiful widow turns into more, he wonders, what could he possibly offer Jenna?
     Jenna Morgan is trying to grieve her husband's death like a proper widow, but the truth is, she never really loved Zach.  His death feels more like a relief to her.  But that relief is short-lived when she loses her home and the financial support of her in-laws.  Now the secrets of her past threaten to destroy her future.
     Can the two forget the painful past and discover new reasons to live and love?

REVIEW:  Forever After is the second novel in the Hanover Falls series.  It took me a bit to realize it was part of a series because it stands so well on its own.  Mrs. Raney does a great job with her characters, making them seem real.  The hardships both Lucas and Jenna face helps them grow in ways they never thought they could.  As their friendship develops, Jenna's relationship with God develops too.  This is a great book.  I would love to find the first novel, Almost Forever, and read the third when it is released.  I think anyone who reads it will not be disappointed.

This book was provided by Glass Road Publicity Group for review without compensation.

Deborah Raney's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, was awarded a Silver Angel from Excellence in Media and inspired the acclaimed World Wide Pictures film of the same title.  Since then her books have won the RITA Award, the HOLT Medallion, and the National Readers' Choice Award; Raney was also a finalist for the Christy Award.  She has also written Beneath A Southern Sky.  She and her husband, artist Ken Raney, make their home in their native Kansas.