Here’s the review I promised a few weeks ago for Love Finds You In Last Chance, California by Miralee Ferrell.

Alexia Travers has had her share of hard knocks. Her father has died unexpectedly, and an older distant relative/neighbor wants to marry her, which would put an end to her problems, however, she has no feelings for her admirer. Her ranch is heavily in debt, and she has no idea why her father has left her in this predicament. She’s shunned by most of the women in town since she dons men’s trousers and runs her ranch by herself. Some of Alex’s ranch workers won’t take a female boss seriously, so some of them quit, leaving Alex in a bind. When somebody mysteriously steals Alex’s horses, she wonders what will become of her ranch. Will she be able to run her business alone?

When handsome Justin Philips arrives with his young son to work on her ranch, Alex finds herself smitten with her new employee. Justin harbors secrets, and is dealing with problems of his own. His wife recently passed and he’s struggling to care for his three-year-old son. However, when Christy, a saloon girl, visits the ranch, making unusual demands that could change Justin’s life forever, Justin feels his faith is weakened and he wonders why God has forsaken him.

Christy doesn’t feel worthy of God’s love because of her background. Alex ministers to Christy, both physically and spiritually, helping Christy to understand that we’re all sinners in this world and we need to accept God’s grace. This novel mixes love, suspense as well as a large dose of inspiration. The book is well-written and you’ll enjoy these wonderful characters! Miralee’s characters are VERY realistic! It especially angered me when the church members were so judgmental towards both Christy and Alex. You find people like this in churches all the time! It’s awful. When we find ourselves judging others for certain lifestyles and choices, we need to remember that Jesus ministered to prostitutes and sinners.

Have any of you ever dealt with judgmental people in your church? If so, how do you deal with it? Have you ever changed churches because of the attitudes of certain members?

One of my blog readers, Kandy Kane, said that the cover of this book reminded her of Little House On The Prairie. As Miralee said, if you like historical novels, then you should read this one! It’s a suspenseful, heartwarming story that teaches us a lesson about God’s love!

Oh, I wanted to point out that, although I enjoyed Miralee’s novel, The Other Daughter, I liked this one more. I felt it was written better than the contemporary book…but, that’s just my opinion!

~Cecelia Dowdy~