I bought Where Grace Appears on sale for 99 cents after seeing it advertised online, and I read it in less than a day. That, to me, is the highest compliment. Oh, and then I went and bought the sequel, Where Hope Begins.
The opening line got me intrigued from the start:
It’s been said that all good novels start with a secret, and Where Grace Appears certainly backs that view.
Josie Martin has one year to go to achieve her dream of a master’s in clinical psychology in New York, but now she’s home and hiding a secret: she’s pregnant to one of her professors, an old friend of her deceased father. And Professor Finn Becker wants nothing to do with Josie or their baby.
Tripp Colton is the man who has loved her since forever, the man whose marriage proposal she turned down last year. Now he’s managing his grandfather’s construction business in Camden, Maine, and trying to convince himself to move on from Josie. But he can’t.
I admired Tripp for being up-front with Josie about his feelings for her. He loves her, and he’ll wait as long as it takes for her to return the feelings. And I wanted him and Josie to get together, just as soon as Josie shares her secret with him.
She plans to tell Tripp just as soon as she’s told her family, but that goes predictably wrong (thanks, small-town gossip). Without wanting to add spoilers, Tripp’s reaction was both unbelievable and everything it should be: a perfect picture of unconditional love underpinned by forgiveness.
God loves us with unconditional love, and this is one of the few contemporary Christian romances that shows the tough side of unconditional love.
Tripp almost seemed too good to be believable until I remembered that’s how God loves us, and how he calls us to love others.
Where Grace Appears is a departure from Heidi Chiavaroli’s dual-timeline stories, but does link back to one of her previous novels. The Orchard House is set in Louisa May Alcott’s home, and Where Grace Appears is set in a house of the same name, and features a family named for the Alcott family (and with similar personality traits).
Little Women fans will enjoy spotting all the Little Women references. However, you don’t need to be a fan to enjoy the story.
Where Grace Appears is a strong contemporary romance that hits all the expected small-town notes while showing an enviable demonstration of Christian forgiveness and unconditional love.
About Heidi Chiavaroli
Heidi Chiavaroli is a writer, runner, and grace-clinger who could spend hours exploring Boston’s Freedom Trail. She writes Women’s Fiction and won the 2014 ACFW Genesis contest in the historical category. She makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband, two sons, and Howie, her standard poodle.
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About Where Grace Appears
When Josie announces she will not return to school to finish her graduate degree but wishes to remain in Camden to help her mother achieve a lifelong dream, the entire family gets behind her idea to open and run a bed and breakfast inspired by Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House. Even Tripp gets excited about restoring Josie’s great-aunt’s Victorian home for the purpose, but when Josie’s unexpected news is revealed, their friendship and the new feelings blooming between them are threatened.
As summer gives way to fall, Josie struggles with decisions regarding her family’s future, dealing with past mistakes she cannot run from, and her feelings for Tripp. When the opportunity for grace comes along, will she take it? Or will she continue to allow her failures to define her worth?
A contemporary twist on the well-loved classic, Little Women, readers will fall in love with the Martin family—Maggie, Josie, Lizzie, Bronson, Amie, and their mother Hannah—each trying to find their own way in the world and each discovering that love, home, and hope are closer than they appear.
Heidi Chiavaroli is a writer, runner, and grace-clinger who could spend hours exploring Boston’s Freedom Trail. She writes Women’s Fiction and won the 2014 ACFW Genesis contest in the historical category. She makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband, two sons, and Howie, her standard poodle.