Reeling from a broken engagement that resulted in a small town scandal, ER nurse Julie Crain just wants to be left alone over the Fourth of July Holiday weekend. But when single dad, Derek Ryerson and his young daughter need a place to stay to recuperate from a car accident, Julie can’t ignore their plight. She knows she needs to protect her heart, but little Lexi needs love and support. But soon … soon she realizes the former soldier has a secret that could tear them apart forever.
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Good plot. Nice easy read.
This book was interesting, I enjoyed the characters. Will have to read more of Ms Scott’s books.
Good story
Nice g rated read
Great story.
The characters are realistic with strengths and flaws. Plots are well developed and keep you up turning the pages. Her characters deal with real life problems and as they deal they draw strength from their faith in God’s mercy and love. Good Clean stories with out foul language nor pornography. Uplifting!
Beautiful
A accident brings them together. But a little girls helps bring them closer. A wonderful continuation of the series. Derek & his little girl are hurt in accident and Julie gets assigned to work on dad in the ER. His friends girl is scared. But Julie helps calm the little girl but ends up helping them as much as they help her.
There are six books in this series. I’m now reading #6. Easy reads
Great book from a Christian writer. Just the right amount of reference to God without being overbearing.
Quick read and inspirational. Highly recommend.
(3.5 / 5)
Derek wants nothing more than to be a father to his recently motherless daughter Lexi, but there are some seemingly insurmountable obstacles to that dream. As he tries to outrun some of those obstacles, he’s in a car accident that forces him to stop his flight in Crystal Lake. There, he and his daughter are helped by ER nurse Julie, who has her own burdens to shake off. Will these three find what they’re looking for in each other?
This story is about a novella-length, about twice the length of the previous one. And it did have more substance than the previous book, even allowing for a fairly serious storyline to be tied up. Unfortunately, even with the shorter format, there’s a good deal of repetitiveness in the narration, especially involving the main characters’ inner turmoil about their individual situations (as well as their joint situation). I appreciated Derek’s characterization, but felt Julie left a lot to be desired in, regarding having much of a personality.
Most likely because the story is so short, it has the unfortunate common situation where two characters who have only just met develop feelings for each other very quickly. This particular relationship moved to kissing more quickly than I prefer, especially for a Christian read. And so much of the romance we see them develop revolves around them admiring each others’ looks.
I appreciated that Julie wanted to share her faith with Derek, and by extension, with Lexi. I don’t recall it being wrapped up in the story, but it certainly wouldn’t have to be, realistically speaking. I think there was a good foundation there for the future, though (their fictitious future that won’t likely be in any future books, of course). There was one theology point I didn’t agree with, but I won’t mention it here.
As the second book in a series of similar stories, and both being decent, but not stand-out reads, I don’t plan to move on in this series. However, if you are interested in a short, sweet, clean romance, this book can easily be read as a standalone in the series. I thought we might get a bit more of a glimpse of the characters (as a pair) from the first book than we did, since they all work in the same hospital. Please be sure to check out other reviews, as there are plenty who liked it more than I did.
Interesting read but too much suggestive sex to suit me. Would not recommend for my friends.
There are a zillion books in this genre available these days, and this one is actually quite readable. You can float through it in little more than an hour, and the two main characters are appealing, as is the child.
The dilemma is always the same though: there’s just SO VERY LITTLE going on! The story is told from his-and-her perspectives, and that’s kind of a problem. All the way through, we’re aware of her inner dialogue, which isn’t much more than: He’s so handsome! That chin! Is he going to kiss me? Oh! He DID kiss me! Should I have let him kiss me? No, that was a mistake! Um, now what?
On the other side, he’s thinking exactly the same thing. “What a cute girl! Those dimples! I should kiss her! Oh, wait, I just did. Oops. Should I have kissed her? Why is she frowning at me? I’ve blown it!” There’s page after page that isn’t much more than this, and meanwhile the story has stalled.
I commented to my wife (and yes, my being a male reader and reviewer is something to take into account): “It’s all decently interesting, but the emotions are ramped up to 10 and 11 at all times. Every upturned eyebrow or silent moment is a crisis of the most hand-writing sort.”
One element that’s a definite plus is that the Christian element is nicely tuned: gracious, believable, not stuffy. More writers these days are doing that part quite well, and I salute this franchise for handling that aspect admirably. Although one other reviewer correctly pointed out that people do NOT die and immediately float up to heaven and turn into angels!
I’m confident that this writer, Laura Scott, could come up with a much more plausible and engaging plot, where there’s a heightened level of mystery about how it will all turn out.
A nice Christian book with HEA and a couple of twists.
Heart warming and captivating
An ER nurse takes in a single (“widowed”) father and daughter over a holiday weekend after a drunk driver totals their car. He was running from an expected custody battle with the grandparents who were mourning the recent loss of their daughter and never thought he was good enough. 4 stars because a relationship develops sooo quickly between him and the nurse, but 5 stars for how they all end up dealing with the custody battle.
Romance. Reminds us that its never too late and its good to never close ones heart because love could be around the corner.
4 stars
I purchased the short story A Soldier’s Promise : Crystal Lake Series book 2 by Laura Scott and this review was given freely.
The continued crimes of the Hinkle men , the ER staff and Julie link this sweet Christian short story to Healing Her Heart. Larissa’s friend and ER Nurse Julie meets former Army soldier and single dad Derek after a July 4th weekend accident caused by Tommy Hinkle. This is a story of finding love and returning to Faith in God after loss: Julie’s broken engagement, her brother’s loss of wife and daughter, and Derek’s struggle not to lose Lexi after her mother dies.
Loved the story and the characters.
Great story with an underlying theme that doing the “right thing” may be hard but it is the right thing to do!