Can You Go Back Home Again?

Twenty years ago Jake and Lyndie were best friends living in Texas.  Lyndie loved horses, was a dreamer with a huge imagination and very impetuous.  Jake, Lyndie’s self-appointed guardian, had a heart of gold who followed her everywhere and kept her safe.  Suddenly their idyllic childhood was torn apart when Lyndie’s family moved to California.

Now, two decades later, Jake and Lyndie are reunited.  Lyndie has become an author, a published writer and an expert horsewoman.  She is also a woman with a strong Christian faith.  Jake, on the other hand, has become dark, brooding and is suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  He wants nothing to do with God or people.

Slowly, a relationship forms because of Lyndie’s perseverance, but Jake does everything he can to sabotage them.  This story describes some very intense and dark situations that Jake has experienced, and that continue to haunt him.  The seriousness of PTSD is not sugar coated.

Everybody needs a friend…

Lyndie’s friendship with Amber provides some hilarious situations.  Amber, a single mom, has a story that many will be able to relate to.  Especially her vow, since becoming a Christian, to put her love-life into God’s hands–even if that means never having another man in her life.

Will Jake’s dogged determination for self-destruction destroy both Lyndie and his life?   Or will Lyndie compromise her faith and values to have a love relationship with Jake?  Does  Mollie, Lyndie’s severely disabled sister, truly have healing powers, or is this another one of Lyndie’s fantasizes?

Count the cost, some relationships are harder than others.

This is an uncommon romance because it includes the serious situation of PTSD.  I applaud the author for addressing it, along with some of the possible consequences that could come from it.  A couple of cautions about some of the subject matter:   first, each person struggling with PTSD is unique, and a romance will not necessarily turn out well, or the way this story does.   Also, Christians are playing a dangerous game when they become romantically involved with a non-believer.  More often than not, there is a lot of heartache when that happens in real-life.

A Love Like Ours is part of a series, but can be read as a stand-alone tale.  I read it without reading the others, and it did not keep me from enjoying this one.  Although I now want to get the rest of the series after reading it.  This 5-star book will appeal to people who like horses, tales of people attempting to overcome big obstacles, and those who enjoy Christian fiction.

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through Bethany House Publishing for the purpose of review.   I have not been compensated in any other manner.  All opinions expressed are my own, and I was not required, or influenced, to give anything but an honest appraisal.

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