A very special delivery ~ Linda Goodnight

Thankfully Molly McCreight had prepared well for the ice storm raging outside - food and water supply stocked and firewood chopped and stacked. No one should be out in that storm but Ethan Hunter didn't have a choice; if he couldn't get the old man's medication to his secluded cabin on time, he could die. Not having anyone to look after his infant daughter, he had to risk taking her with for the ride. In the end, though, he has no choice but to make a different plan. If he knew anything about Molly he might have reconsidered but his "mistake" is about to change several lives for good. By the time  the storm is over and the Hunters are ready to return home, Molly discovers that they'd be leaving with a piece of her heart; it is too late to go back to the way things used to be no matter how she tries to convince herself that it is what she wants. It is time to face the demons from her past so that she may finally be free to embrace the future that she's been secretly craving for way too long.

This was a wonderful feel-good read. I loved how the characters evolved - the characters in the end is very different from those that you meet in the beginning. It is a tale about overcoming the failures of your past and facing your fears so that
it may no longer have power over the future that your heart dreams of. I thought that the plot was very realistic. I felt like it had several lessons that could be learned and the story line was a good demonstration of it's application - very much true to the Love Inspired theme. 

In some ways the story was a little predictable - boy meets girl - but I nonetheless enjoyed reading the details of how the story unfolded. It reminded me again of how you sometimes have to walk a mile in someone's shoes before you can really understand, and how that mile has the power to bring about very deep, meaningful healing and growth - individually and in relationships with others. This is a lesson that I've been learning over and over again in my own life over the past year or so and so, in that regard, it was more personal instead of pure fiction.

There is definitely a thread of relationship with Christ and I liked how it was written very naturally - not clinically quoting Bible verses, but rather some very real questions in the hearts of the characters about very real fears, resistance to God's guidance and love because of their pain, and also the choices that has to be made on their part in order to overcome - no "drive-through", "magician religion".   

It is an uplifting / encouraging / inspiring story and an easy read; I just love happy endings. (This ending wasn't completely typical, though - I especially liked that; it made it a bit more realistic and less fairy tale-like.)

Probably more of a book for the ladies, I imagine.