Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans

Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans is a story of one man's unfailing love. Although Beth Cardall's world rapidly disintegrates, an unexpected visitor brings hope to the darkness surrounding her. Beth meets Matthew at a 7-11 in a chance encounter. She's sure she's never met him before, but he seems to know so much about her. He keeps showing up and insisting on spending time with her; yet, Beth is reluctant to open her heart to him. Her daughter is plagued by an unknown sickness, she's grieving her late husband and his infidelity, and her financial problems seem to be mounting. Does she really need any more complications in her life? What she finds is that she does need Matthew – more than she could have imagined.

From the beginning of Promise Me, there is a delightful suspense due to a few carefully placed tidbits of information. As the story continues, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit into place. However, until the final, powerful twist, the reader is kept guessing about what some of those opening statements mean. Personally, I found the suspense delightful. It cultivated interest in the story and kept me turning the pages. I also liked the character of Matthew. I wouldn't consider him a stereotype, but he definitely falls into the “ideal man” category – handsome, understanding, faithful, loving, etc. 
 
Another great read from Richard Paul Evans.

Grace

Grace by Richard Paul Evans is the fictional story of two teenagers whose chance meeting one evening changes both of their lives forever. Grace, a runaway teenage girl who is sheltered by a somewhat innocent, teenage boy, harbors an ugly secret that threatens to ruin not only her life, but the lives of those around her. As their time together continues, their relationship grows and develops into young love which is threatened when Grace's secret can not longer stay hidden.

Ultimately, Grace is a story about growing up and realizing that sometimes life is not the happy fairy-tale that we envision it to be when we are children. While this was not a book that kept me constantly wanting to turn the page, I did enjoy it. Evans' writing style was engaging and believable.

One of the things that I really liked about this book was the reality factor. Things did not always work out perfectly for the characters. Such is true of life. Sometimes things do happen like we want or expect them too; but many times, they do not. I think that too often in fiction books, the happily ever after ending is too predictable from the start and it seems the protagonists almost always have loving Christian families to support them. Unfortunately, that is not true of real life. Grace resonates with an authenticity that many books lack.

Overall, Grace is an excellent read and I would recommend it to a person of any age.