Review of "Love and the Silver Lining" by Tammy L. Gray

I will tell you straight up that this is going to be an incredibly positive review. I loved this book. I loved it even more than the first one (this is #2 in the State of Grace series; although you might THINK you can read them as standalone, in my longstanding opinion it is a MUCH BETTER experience - remember, context is key - if you read things in order. So go ahead and read this review because I'm not going to give you any spoilers, then go get "Love and a Little White Lie" and read it first, pretty please.)

Darcy Malone has banked her future on a couple of things: she is going to be a missionary, and love is not reliable...the second conclusion reached following her parent's divorce. When the proverbial rug is yanked out from under her missionary plans at the last possible moment, she becomes paralyzed from one too many major letdowns at once.

Darcy's lifelong BEST FRIEND (yes the caps are intentional, because their BESTFRIENDNESS is a v. important part of the storyline) Cameron Lee had his own life turned upside down in book one, and he is counting on the band he joined to be his future. Cam is Darcy's go-to for basically everything - but when their mutual friend and lead singer in the band Bryson Katsaros is integral in finding Darcy a new place to live, she begins to look at him in a different light.

This book addresses grief - mourning the future you thought you were going to have; disconnecting from your faith and other things that kept you grounded - but still finding your way back; how even the deepestr of relationships can change and grow; and, not everything will be resolved by the end of the book - I appreciated the author's willingness to go there. The book is complete on its own but you will still look forward to the next one. Rich in snappy and compelling dialogue, laugh out loud moments, and dog training (you don't see too many romantic comedies that weave dog training into the story in an effective way, but this one does, and does it well)! I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.