Sunday, May 12, 2013

REVIEW: "Firefly Island"--engaging, involving, contemporary inspirational fiction from author Lisa Wingate

Firefly Island (Moses Lake, #3)

At thirty-four, congressional staffer Mallory Hale is about to embark on an adventure completely off the map. After a whirlwind romance, she is hopelessly in love with two men--fortunately, they're related. Daniel Everson and his little boy, Nick, are a package deal, and Mallory suddenly can't imagine her future without them. Mallory couldn't be more shocked when Daniel asks her to marry him, move to Texas, and form a family with him and motherless Nick. The idea is both thrilling and terrifying. Mallory takes a leap of faith and begins a sweet, mishap-filled journey into ranch living, Moses Lake society, and a marriage that at times reminds her of the mail-order-bride stories. But despite the wild adventure of her new life, she discovers secrets and questions beneath her rosy new life. Can she find answers on Firefly Island, a little chunk of property just off the lakeshore, where mysterious lights glisten at night?

Author Lisa Wingate writes in an engaging, fresh and funny style that is also heartwarming and inspiring. Her latest "Moses Lake" series entry is "Firefly Island", the tale of a woman who left Capitol Hill in a romantic whirlwind and found a life far beyond her imagining in a tiny, remote Texas town. When Mallory Hale met Daniel Everson, she was a newly-hired legal assistant for a senior congressman, and she had just dropped the collective papers that formed an important bill all over the floor of the Capitol building. Handsome, green-eyed, and gallant, Daniel helped her to retrieve the papers. Later, they would meet again in a twist of fate, and from that moment on, they became an item. Daniel informs Mallory that he has a young son, whose mother chose not to be a part of his life, and she wonders how the boy will change their relationship. Once she has met young Nick, she is as much taken with him as she is with his father, and the three of them are a happy trio. When Daniel, a biochemist for the USDA, is offered a job in Moses Lake, TX, he is thrilled. The position also includes housing, a car, and paid utilities, and Daniel sees Nick enjoying a childhood much like the one Daniel experienced with the freedom to explore the outdoors. Mallory is at a loss, thinking of how desolate her life will be without her two guys, but Daniel surprises her by proposing marriage so that the three of them can stay together. Even though they have only known each other a month, Mallory accepts, and prepares to leave behind the only life she has ever known. After breaking the news to their families, they are wed, and the adventure begins. Just before they leave for Texas, Mallory's brother-in-law drops the bombshell that Daniel's new employer, Jack West, is a man of mystery with a cloud of controversy hanging over his head. The long drive to their destination is tense, incident-prone, and complicated by a cranky, car-sick child. When they arrive at their new "home", it is late at night, and with no electricity, they sink into an exhausted sleep in the encompassing, cloaking darkness. The clarifying light of day exposes the rustic interior of the "ranch house", complete with trophy-kill animals stuffed and mounted on the walls--even in the bathroom. Determined to forge ahead, Mallory makes the best of the worst, getting to know her husband and learning how to be a mom all along the way. Eventually she will begin to write about her new home life and the people she meets, and she details her experiences in "The Frontier Woman" blog. When her curiosity leads her to discover a political scandal just outside her own front door, she will once again find herself on Capitol Hill. This time, she is fighting for a cause that hits all too close to home. "Firefly Island" is an involving and entertaining romantic story that is also thoughtful and touching. The first two books in the "Moses Lake" series are "Larkspur Cove" and "Blue Moon Bay".

Book Copy Gratis Bethany House Books

Lisa Wingate




Lisa Wingate is a magazine columnist, inspirational speaker, and the author of a host of mainstream fiction novels, including the national bestseller, Tending Roses, which is currently in its fourteenth reprint. Her books have been featured selections for Doubleday and Literary Guild book clubs, selected for The Reader's Club of America, and have garnered LORIES Best Fiction and Reader's Choice Awards, and been nominated for the ACFW Book of the Year Award. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. Lisa loves sharing with readers via Facebook, Youtube, and her website. More information about Lisa's novels can be found at www.Lisawingate.com

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