This summer, my husband and I drove through the mountains in Virginia on our way to Tennessee and I couldn’t get Lonnie and Gideon out of my mind. I’d read the first two books in this series earlier in the year and I was left in limbo as to how things were going to end for them.
When I finally received an advance reading copy of My Hope is Found, the third book in the Cadence of Grace series, I hesitated to start reading it because I wasn’t sure I wanted to hurt again. The first two books wrecked me in a good way and I ignored my real life to get through them. I was an emotional mess, and part of me didn’t want to go there. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from the author in exchange for my review.)
But I went there, and in a span of 8 hours, off and on, I finished the story of Lonnie and Gideon. And oh. my. word. I can’t–and won’t–give too much away, but here’s what I can say: this story is full of emotion. The ache of longing. The fear of losing. The pain of letting go. I felt it all, and even though I didn’t cry as much as I did with book 2, I was still moved.
I have appreciated Bischof’s willingness to travel the hard road with her characters. As in life, there are no guarantees that things will work out as they have planned (or as we as readers might want!) but there is hope that things work out for good.
If I had an official list of all-time favorite books, this series would be on it, and it would be near the top.
Joanne Bischof has created a romance to rival the best classic love stories. I highly recommend this series, but a warning: if you start with the first book, have the next two on hand because you’re not going to want to wait to finish it. Also, stock up on tissue and whatever comfort food or drink you need to soothe the pain. You’ll need it.
You can find out more about Joanne Bischof here.
[…] You can read my reviews of those here. And then I waited months for the finale, which I reviewed here. I couldn’t get the characters out of my head, and the story is a gritty look at the price of […]