Carol Moncado

Singer Ginny Marshall is one signature away from the recording contract of her dreams—a deal that would guarantee success for the former foster child, who still struggles to bury the memories of her painful childhood. But Ginny needs advice from the one person who will look out for her best interests—her former fiancé, Brett Miller. She travels to the remote town of Glacier Bay, Alaska, where the town’s colorful characters and stunning scenery provide respite from LA’s pressures.
 
In Glacier Bay, Ginny discovers a box of old letters and is swept up in the love story between Clay, an early missionary to Alaska Territory, and Ellie, the woman who traveled there to be his children’s governess. When Ginny is reunited with Brett in Glacier Bay, will she discover—as Ellie did—that healing and love are sometimes found in the most unexpected places?

This is my second book by Ms. Goyer and my first the three books co-written with Ms. Fleiss. By the Light of the Silvery Moon was my favorite book of 2012.

The authors do a fabulous job of putting us in Glacier Bay [I’m planning my vacation ;)]. The places, the people, all somewhere I can’t wait to visit!

This is a bit different from your typical romance. It’s two romances told side-by-side. Ginny and Brett in present day and Ellie and Clay through letters written by them – and others – decades earlier.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ellie and Clay’s story. I would have loved to see it as a fully fleshed out historical novel, but there’s enough here for me to sink my teeth into. I felt for Ellie as she struggled to acclimate to the Alaskan wilderness. For Clay as he fought against feelings for another woman after the death of his beloved wife. For Clay’s oldest son as he struggled with Ellie’s place in their lives.

I also enjoyed Ginny and Brett’s story. By my completely unscientific scanning of the book [meaning fanning through it to see what’s in italics [the letters] and what’s not [Ginny/Brett]], they took up more than half the book.

This is mostly Ginny’s story. Brett’s already done most of his growing up/finding God/whathaveyou, but he still has things to learn. But mostly Ginny – in her quest for stardom – has forgotten the truths found in the Bible and that God is always waiting for her, with open arms.

Goyer and Fleiss weave the two stories together in a way that you’re eager for both parts of the story to come to their climax. It’s a romance, so the outcome – for Ginny and Brett at least – is pretty much a given, but the story with Ellie and Clay – notsomuch. Plus there’s a surprise relationship between the past and present.

This was a quick, easy read – perfect for a week when the kids were on break. But the truths were deep and timeless.

Overall rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars*

In honor of this release – and the new year – I’m giving away my copy of Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska! To enter, leave a comment below. For additional entries, “like” Tricia’s Facebook Page and Ocieanna’s Facebook Page. Be sure to let me know which pages you like/d and leave your email address [but like myname at gmail dot com to fool the bots], with a minimum of ten unique entrants.

Special thanks to Tricia and Ocieanna for including me in their launch team and to them and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my review.

*For those new to my site, I’m pretty stingy with my stars. Anything over an 8 is really good. To get a 9 or better, it’s gotta be among my all-time favorites. 8.5 is quite good :D.