Another winner from Ann Tatlock: My review of Travelers Rest

ABOUT THE BOOK

A YOUNG WOMAN determined to honor her commitment...

AN INJURED SOLDIER convinced life is no longer worth living...

A RETIRED DOCTOR certain it's too late to be forgiven...

Jane Morrow has a dilemma. She's engaged to Seth Ballantine, a member of the National Guard's 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, and he's returned from Iraq severely wounded. Jane hasn't seen him for nearly a year, and with trepidation, she heads to the VA hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, where he is being treated.

Seth isn't happy to see her. He'd asked her not to come. He wants to end the relationship. But Jane loves him, and despite his injury, she's determined to convince him that they can have a life together. Her faith has never been strong, yet she hopes God will answer her prayers and tell her what to do....

MY REVIEW

Ann Tatlock is an author who has never shied away from dealing with difficult issues of grief and loss and pain, and yet she does so in a way that is uplifting and ultimately entertaining as well. Her ninth book to date,  Travelers Rest, is another winner that again satisfies on many levels, a book that is utterly moving and is written with skill and artful prose. The characters are beautifully developed, and they are ones readers will easily connect with. I especially enjoyed the character of Jane Morrow and the struggles that she faces, interwoven with the story of the retired African-American doctor, Truman, and his own difficult past. I loved the vision/dream that Jane experiences near the end of the book, and while I don't want to give away details for fear of providing spoilers, I loved how it pointed so clearly to what Jesus accomplished for each of us, experiencing brokenness in His own body so that we might be healed. The conclusion is poignant, true to life in that everything is not tied up in a neat knot, and yet providing an ending that left me truly satisfied with how things end up even better than the characters could have hoped or dreamed of! That, itself, is a testimony to how God has so many blessings up His sleeve, blessings that may not always be apparent when we are down in the valley experiencing pain and uncertainty.

Travelers Rest is a book that is sure to delight fans of Ann Tatlock's previous novels, and equally sure to inspire new fans to pick up one of her books and savour the delightful words therein. I highly recommend this book and award it 5 out of 5 stars.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Ann Tatlock is the author of the Christy Award-winning novel All the Way Home. She has also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association "Book of the Year" in fiction for both All the Way Home and I'll Watch the Moon. Her novel Things We Once Held Dear received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly calls her "one of Christian fiction's better wordsmiths, and her lovely prose reminds readers why it is a joy to savor her stories." Ann lives with her husband and daughter in Asheville, North Carolina.

Visit www.anntatlock.com