Beneath a Southern Sky by Deborah Raney (Book Review)

Title: Beneath a Southern Sky
Author: Deborah Raney
Publisher: WaterBrook Multnomah

My synopsis: Daria and her husband Nate are missionaries in a remote Colombian village called Timone. Nate is a medical doctor and was called there even before he and Daria were married. He is called to a neighboring village due to illness, but is reported killed in a fire.

Daria returns home devastated, but also pregnant with their child. She slowly puts her life back together and gets a job to provide for herself and Natalie, her infant daughter. The job is at a local vet's office where she meets Dr. Colson Hunter. He is also a Christian and working there is like a dream come true. The office staff is like family and she is able to work flexible hours around her daughter. Slowly, her and Cole become more than friends. Daria struggles with her feelings for Nate and whether or not she should even be pursuing a relationship already. Then a letter comes from the missionary that was in Timone before her and Nate, urging her to go back to the mission field.

Daria rationalizes all the reasons why she shouldn't return and when Cole asks her to marry him, she says yes. But then the unspeakable happens - she receives a telegram telling her that her husband has been found alive and is flying home. . .

You gotta read it to see what happens - and it is worth it!

My thoughts: I liked this book and the way it talked about hearing the voice of God. It was also suspenseful and kept me reading later at night than was good for me! It showed Daria was very human in the ways she tried to rationalize certain actions in her life - while basically ignoring God's will - (this fits right in with a Bible study that I am in right now in 1 Samuel). Being a Christian book, I was very pleased with how they ended this dilemma, even when you thought there could not be an acceptable outcome. . .

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~I received this book for review from Waterbrook Multnomah.~