What if a woman who’s all about the goals and plans falls in love with man who no longer believes his life has a purpose? A novice life coach needs to cement her reputation with one great success story. When a wounded former Special Forces operator walks back into her life looking for a job, she decides to work with him—a win-win for them both.If Caroline Williams had her way, she’d help … help everyone in town find their purpose in life—unfortunately, no one seems to want her help. But she refuses to give up, and her new status as a certified life coach should provide her with some badly needed credibility. All she needs is her first client. When Grant Quinn walks in looking for a job, Caroline knows he needs more than that—he needs a new plan for his life. But when Grant refuses to be honest about his dreams and his struggles, Caroline’s business might come crashing down before it starts.
Wounded former Special Forces operator Grant Quinn understood the cost when he enlisted and served his country with pride. The scars on his face are reminders of what he lost, but he is moving on—now if he could just convince his family that he’s fine. When Caroline steps back into his life and offers to help find him a job in exchange for being her Guinea pig in her new life coaching business, he agrees. After all, what better way to show his family he’s okay than with a new, stable job? But when the anxiety he’s been running from ruins his one interview, his plans come crashing down. Can he trust Caroline enough to be honest about everything?
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A good, clean romance and a new author. This storyline supports the premise that it is the heart that makes a convert of the mind and not the other way around.
P.S. Goodbye is the prequel novella to the Restoring Heritage series by Tari Faris. It is well-written because not only are the characters relatable, they also come across as real. I chuckled out loud in several spots, and that’s always a good sign that the writing is engaging. I appreciate clean fiction that is not preachy but still carries a message. This is the first I’ve read of Faris and I’m looking forward to the rest of her series.
(3.5 / 5)
When Caroline Williams, expecting a proposal, is dumped instead, the last person she wants to see is Grant Quinn, on whom she had a huge crush when she was thirteen. But he’s moved to town, and comes to the store she runs with her sister, looking for work. Caroline offers a trade–he can work for them if he lets her help him find a more permanent situation…somewhere else. But Grant is a harder nut to crack than she thought he’d be, and she can’t afford to let her ordered, list-driven life fall apart by letting him in.
This is a short book, only about 170 pages. Grant’s character has some depth, but I think Caroline stayed in the shallow end. The most interesting thing about her was related to love letters she wrote to Grant when she was thirteen, and then letters she wrote him after the two had a short-lived connection when Caroline was 18. But that part of the story wasn’t fleshed out nearly enough for me (especially considering that the title of the book is related to it). Caroline also had a tendency to impose ground rules, only to break them herself. She was said to live her life by lists, but in the end, her actions did not prove that about her.
There were also some romance tropes in this book that aren’t my favorite, like one pretending to be the other’s girlfriend/boyfriend to get family off the one’s back. And then the pretend girlfriend/boyfriend initiating a steamy kiss just to make it seem more real. And this leads to one of the other things I didn’t like about it–it was more about the physical than I prefer, especially in a Christian story. There was nothing graphic at all, but definitely more emphasis was put on physical attraction and touching than I like.
I did enjoy this book more often than not, which was mostly due to Grant, because Caroline was a flat heroine/romantic lead. This is a prequel to a short series of full-length romances, and I would be interested in seeing how the author does with a novel-length story.
I really enjoyed this opposites attract romance. It’s also a bit of a second chance romance as well. The military background was a great addition. I loved the small town and the personal hurdles our characters had to overcome.
“Remember, God promises to direct our paths when we submit to Him. He doesn’t promise to bless any plan we decide on our own to make. We get that confused sometimes.”
What a fantastic contemporary romance novella by Tari Faris! This was my introduction to her writing and you can bet that I’ll be reading her full-length novels in the Restoring Heritage series (You Belong with Me is already out and Until I Met You is scheduled to release in Sept 2020). Nestled in a small, historical, yet somewhat forgotten town of Heritage, MI, the characters who are introduced in this novella have deep connections and roots with each other and in the town. The story of Grant and Caroline is fun but also filled with angst and shadowed by their past hurts and assumptions. As their plans go astray, they both need to learn to let go of plans of their own making and look to the One who is the ultimate guide for their lives. I enjoyed that Grant and Caroline were so different from each other, one a former Special Forces solider and the other a certified life coach, but learned to overcome their differences. I can’t wait to read the other books!
I would like to say that I read this book in one sitting, on a long ride, to another state hours away for a fun family buffet dinner, which meant I had plenty of reading time. And this little novella? It was lovely! If I hadn’t been in love with Tari Faris’ stories already I would have been after reading this spectacular little story. There were several more mature scenes. P.S. Goodbye is a sweet, hard, and somewhat realistic story that romance readers are sure to love.
Plus, it has the most adorable cover, normally I don’t love covers with the couple embracing/hugging/whatever but this just fits the story so well. And the colors!