Review: Love Without End

Love Without End
By Robin Lee Hatcher
A Kings Meadow Romance, #1
Thomas Nelson, 2014


Summary

Chet and Kimberly have both failed when it comes to love. Will they risk their hearts to love again?

Chet Leonard's life was forever changed when his seventeen-year-old son died and then, soon after, his wife walked out on their family. Over two years later, all he wants to do is hold onto his horse ranch and raise his remaining sons to be honorable men.

Kimberly Welch, widowed mother of Tara, a rebellious fifteen-year-old, has reached the end of her finances and nearly the end of her rope. She and Tara come to Kings Meadow to try to piece their lives back together again. Kimberly has no intention of becoming involved with the residents of this remote mountain community and certainly not with any man.

When 84-year-old Anna McKenna returns to Kings Meadow and to the Leonard ranch, she becomes an agent of change and healing for the two hurting families. With her help, Kimberly and Chet's families at last discover a love without end.


My thoughts

In Love Without End, Robin returns to Kings Meadow, Idaho, the setting that I fell in love with in her previous novel,  A Promise Kept. If you look at the cover and decide to pass, assuming this is just another typical "city-girl-meets-handsome-cowboy" romance, you will be mistaken and miss out on a moving story.

In Love Without End, Robin skillfully pens a narrative with deep emotion and a maturity that has to have come out of life experiences.  She writes of the brokenness of life, of broken people, of loss, and how we handle the unexpected.

And that "unexpected" even becomes a second chance at love, born out of a seeking and surrender to God's will, for two characters could hardly be more wrong for each other on the surface. I found Chet and Kimberly to be appealing and realistic, easy to relate to through their losses and struggles, and the steady building of their romance was great.

Single parent Chet loved Kings Meadow, the close community, the land, and the Leonard Quarter Horse Ranch that had been in his family for generations - yet he felt he had let his family and God down. Prior to personal and financial losses, Kimberly had lived a rather shallow, surface-level life:  "Once she'd been the stay-at-home wife of a prosperous businessman and the mother of a bright and popular daughter. Now she was a financially struggling widow, unable to find employment after too many years out of the job market, and  mother to a hurting, sometimes sulky teenager whom Kimberly hardly recognized as the joyful child she'd raised."

And then there's the beloved 84-year-old Anna McKenna, whose story is seamlessly interwoven from 1944 to the present day, adding much richness through the insight into Chet's family heritage and her never-failing faith. I love it when an elderly character is featured in a story, and the fact that my grandmother and I were very close not only deepens my connection to Love Without End, but takes it to another level.

Chet's boys, Sam and Pete, and Kimberly's daughter, Tara, also feature prominently in this story, and I hope we see more of them. I especially delighted in Tara's love for horses and the way she blossoms through the Leonard family and the Kings Meadow environment.

I expect Christian fiction to not only entertain, but to inspire, challenge, or move me in some way, and Love Without End did exactly that. The beauty of a setting that felt like a main character, Anna's life journey, the support of the Kings Meadow community, and the welcoming acceptance the Leonard family offered all combined into a poignant and heartwarming read. I'd like to end with one of my favorite quotes, spoken by Anna to Chet:  "Some folks say God never gives us more than we can handle. I don't believe that's true. He doesn't give us more than He can handle. The battle belongs to the Lord. Let Him fight it for you."

Love Without End is a story that touched me. A 5-star rating for that touch.

Robin Lee Hatcher

Best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heart-warming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction, the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance, two RT Career Achievement Awards, and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of more than sixty novels.

Connect with Robin online at robinleehatcher.com, Facebook, and Twitter. Also visit the Litfuse Blog Tour page for more information.

Love Without End can be purchased online at CBD, DeeperShopping, B&N, and Amazon.

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.