Strong and confident, paralegal Liz Everton is one of the only female ranch owners in Florida. Having been a widow for many years, she strives to live life to the fullest on her own. So, why is she attracted the the minister of her small, community church?Pastor Isaiah Comstock is a widower who is fascinated with Liz’s wisdom and beauty. Being an introvert, he forces himself to interact with his … interact with his parishioners and to go to ballroom dance classes where he may be able to dance with Liz. When a weather emergency forces them together, can he overcome his past mistakes and church gossip to turn their friendship into love?
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Susan C. Fischer’s “Save the Last Dance” is a sweet, gentle faith-based well told story of a mid-life romance between a strong independent widow and a shy, hesitant widower. Liz is a paralegal who was introduced as an important secondary character in Fischer’s first novel in the-three-part series of Christian Romances, Dancing into Romance. Her love interest in “Save the Last Dance” is Isaiah, her pastor, who tends to live in the past and isn’t quite sure dating one of his parishioners will sit well with the church.
In a kind of two-steps forward, one step backwards dance between them, they are often their own worst enemies as they fall in love. Isaiah’s past troubles him—there’s a secret he hasn’t told Liz. And Liz, who owns a cattle ranch in Myakka in SW Florida, doesn’t want to be controlled or tied down. Yet…yet…they are so drawn to each other. At 52, and widowed ten years, Liz has a busy, productive life, yet…yet…she longs for the companionship of a man.
Isaiah is slow to act on his attraction and fears he has missed his chance when another man enters the picture at the dance studio where both Liz and Isaiah go. As Liz reflects, “I can’t believe that I have two men wantin’ to go out with me: a shy man of the cloth who’s stuck on memories of his dead wife and a dancin’ divorced guy.” Isaiah’s angry and rude daughter doesn’t help things out when she lashes out at both her father and Liz.
Other story lines weave through the Liz-Isaiah romance, including a medical malpractice case at the law firm where Liz works. The author, as she notes in her acknowledgements, is an attorney and so the legal aspects are realistic and add another dimension to the story. David, a young man who interns at the firm, adds yet another dimension as he becomes a welcomed addition to the cast of characters. A difficult pregnancy for the paralegal who is the center of book two is another subplot. Liz’s volunteer work at Turning Points and a tour she gives of the facility reflects the author’s own involvement in the very real Turning Points, which Fischer discusses in her acknowledgments.
The primary tension in the story—other than the Liz-Isaiah two-steps forward, one step back dance—is a category 4 hurricane that traps Liz, Isaiah and a hysterical woman in a bathroom as a tornado spawned by the hurricane rips the house down around them.
A strong message of faith permeates this honest, heartfelt story. One character is led to God, while Liz and Isaiah must learn to trust more fully in God’s plan even as they learn to trust more fully each other.
For fans of the Dancing into Romance series, “Save the Last Dance” catches up with the main characters in the first two books in the series, and completes the story of Liz, who plays a small but important role in the first two books. A welcome addition to faith-based clean romances, and a strong finish to the series, “Save the Last Dance” is a fine, charming book of faith and romance. Its main characters exemplify the Christian virtues of faith and trust in God, and kindness to others.