HAVE THE YEARS TAUGHT THEM HOW TO FORGIVE…AND TO TRUST THEIR HEARTS?Megann Reilly returns home to Wildwood, Tennessee to help nurse her estranged mother back to health. She’s grateful for her newfound job as an administrative assistant at Wildwood Community Church…until she runs into Colton Kendrick, the bad-boy-wannabe who broke her heart.Colt’s job as Youth Director at the church is a … church is a cavernous stretch from his high school days as the town’s privileged rich kid. The death of his sister has left him with a young niece to raise and an unruly puppy to tame. He’s not the self-centered person who once hurt Megann, and all he wants is a chance to prove to her the man he’s become—and to love her.
Is it true that time heals all wounds, or has Colt found Megann…only to lose her again?
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This was my first Mary Manners book and it absolutely will not be my last. I knew, from page 1, that I was not putting this book down until I finished, and I was right. Less than 24 hours later and I was done. And I wanted more. I wanted to be lost in this story of Proven Love forever!
These characters. Oh, how I loved these blessed characters. They dealt with real life issues, issues that had me tearing up because I often felt like it was exactly what I went through years ago. These issues absolutely needed to be a part of the story to fully appreciate the meaning of the story. As someone who has been in Meg’s shoes, I appreciated the strength and conviction that Manners chiseled into her character. And Colt. Oh, my! How I loved his devotion his sister, little Suzie, and to Meg.
This is a beautifully and tenderly woven story of letting the pain of the past go. It is one not to be missed by anyone! The messages are vibrantly woven into the story, the love shines bright through the characters, and Manners show us that not everyone is the same, but to Him, we are just who we need to be and we don’t need to lose sight of that. A magnificent, 5 star love story for the keeper shelf, for sure!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*Mary Manners
This book is absolutely amazing!! It is very well written and you can feel all of the emotions in the story. A wonderful story about overcoming the mistakes and pain of the past. I highly recommend this book.
I think this is the best book I’ve read from Manners! It was a full length novel with incredible characters. They both had pasts and issues to work through and had to learn to trust in God. There were multiple barriers that we read about (cancer, mistakes, etc) and it was wonderful to see the characters come through them. The Bible verses, the faith, the community. A great addition to the Potter’s House series.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Mary Manners always seems to bring the hard truth home. She did it again in this book. We’ve often heard about the sins of the fathers but in this case it also is the sins of the mothers. And in ‘Proven Love’, it’s the children that suffer the collateral damage.
OBSERVATIONS:
Injustice and broken hearts can cause irrevocable damage. There can be forgiveness and even healing, but scars remain.
… The one truly innocent person, Meg’s dad, suffered the most and paid the highest price.
… Mrs. Kendrick worked through her disgust and pain by hardening her heart.
… Meg and Colt both suffered. Pain knows no class difference. It hurts the rich and the poor, the innocent and the guilty. It will remain until someone finally chooses to doctor it and let it heal. However, often choosing to heal will be costly. It will require deeply hidden denial to surface, fester and burst wide open. Meg chose to run, hide and not face it. Tragedy forced Colt to take a good, hard look in the mirror.
WISHES and WONDERINGS (beware of spoilers here)
Would like to know more about Mr Kendrick. He was far from innocent. His role brought about immediate consequences as well as future repercussions.
Kept wondering why Mrs K sought revenge on the innocent party, rather than the guilty. Also, what brought about her turnaround? What happened? Need more depth/development into Mr and Mrs K. We get lots of insight into Megs mother but not so into Mr. and Mrs. K.
Megan and Colt’s story is a tender tale of forgiveness, second chances, and finding love while healing from the past. Mary weaves grace and redemption into her stories in a way that is never forced, never preachy, but always heartfelt and real.
This was a wonderful book about overcoming the past, forgiveness, and second chances. Both Megann and Colt had a past that they needed to deal with. You could see Megann, especially, struggle throughout the story. Megann also had to learn how to face the future. The characters of Megann and Colt were wonderful, and Susie was a delight. I had to stop and wipe the tears from my eyes several times before I could continue reading which, for me, is one of the signs of a great story.
I received a digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.