The Ride of Her Life Book Review

Lake Manawa Summers

SUMMARY:  She's planted firmly on solid ground.  He's ready to sweep her off her feet.  

     The only man pragmatic Lilly Hart needs in her life is a six-year-old.  Widowed for three years, Lilly has decided to leave the home of her intrusive in-laws to stand on her own.  However, her in-laws find her new life as a cook at Lake Manawa utterly unsuitable for their grandson.  When an argument ensues, a handsome stranger - who designs roller coasters, of all things - intercedes on her behalf.  But Lilly is not about to get involved with any man, especially this cocky gentleman.  Little does she know she is about to begin the ride of her life.  

     Filled with the sweet romance of summer, The Ride of Her Life will have you laughing out loud and sighing contentedly as you spend the summer of 1906 at Lake Manawa.

REVIEW:  The year is 1906 in Lake Manawa, Iowa.  Lilly has her hands full cooking for the roller coaster construction workers at the Lake Manawa Park diner, training Eugenia to cook and how to work in a restaurant plus taking care of her precocious son, Levi.  Her in-laws, who are very wealthy, want Levi to go to a boarding school in the East and are trying to fight Lilly to do so.  Nick, the boss of the construction crew and the roller coaster designer, tries to help Lilly but she is determined to do it all on her own. 
     This was a pretty interesting book. I like how the characters develop and how the story flows.  Lilly's character is strong and resilient after growing up a servant for a rich family, marrying her wealthy husband, and trying to raise her son on her own after his death.  Nick is strong but compassionate.  He can relate to some of Lilly's struggles and wants to ease her burdens as much as he can.
     After reading this book, I realized it is the third book in the Lake Manawa Summers series.  It reads very well on its own but I would love to go back and read the other two to get all of the juicy details of Lilly's friends Marguerite and Emily and their husbands.  I can even see a potential story for book four with Eugenia and Mark as the headliners.
     This is a great book that I highly recommend for some fun summer reading.

This book was provided by Revell for review without compensation.

Available May 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

A history buff, antique collector, and freelance graphic designer, Lorna Seilstad is the author of Making Waves and A Great Catch.  She draws her setting from her home state of Iowa.  A former high school English and journalism teacher, she has won several online writing awards and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. For more information, check out her website at www.lornaseilstad.com.