Book: Jilted

Lynda Turner has struggled with depression since her husband abandoned her and their young daughter fifteen years ago.

Yet unexpected hope awakens when a local ex-convict shows interest. As long-hidden secrets resurface, Lynda must fight for her emotional stability and for a life where the shadow of shame is replaced by the light of love.

Jilted tells of a woman who has lost the joy of living, a man determined to draw her back toward happiness, and a town that must---once and for all---leave the past where it belongs. It is a gentle reminder that all things can work together for good.

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This book is the third in a series and I highly recommend reading them in order.  There is some more back story added in this one, but you really need to read the first two to understand it best.  See my review of book one and the summary of book two also on this blog.

Wow, Varina Denman is on my very short list of "authors I will always read".  I am so impressed by the quality of her story telling and the way she makes the characters true to life in all their struggles and triumphs.  

I'm really glad that all the pieces of this three part story were covered at the end.  That's not to say that it all had a happy ending, but at least you weren't left hanging!  

Lynda's story is told in the first book through her daughter's Ruthie's eyes, but you don't really get to know Lynda at all until this book.  I found it fascinating how my perspective changed while reading this story, even throughout the book.

We have a lot of giant windmills near us and I also have long been a big fan of Don Quixote so it was fun to see the part they played in this story.  The cover photo is superb choice for this book.

How to even summarize the story without giving any of it away... Lynda has a lot of choices to make.  Choices in how she reacts to life and things that have happened to her many years ago.  Choices in how she reacts to people currently in her life.  It makes you realize that while you can't control others and what they do or say, you do have a choice in what you do and how you react.  And in many ways that can affect them for good or bad and the cycle goes on.  

That is not to say that those choices are easy, far from it, but making good choices is so important.  Isn't that a life lesson we all want our kids to learn?  Maybe we still need it when we're older, just in different ways.

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Purchase your own copy and read other reviews.  And don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Varina Denman is author of the Mended Hearts series and a native Texan. She spent her high school years in a rural town and now writes stories about the struggles women face in similar small town settings. She and her husband live near Fort Worth, where they enjoy spending time with their five mostly grown children.

I received this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for my fair and honest review.