Review: Secretly Yours, by Valerie Comer

Secretly Yours, by Valerie ComerSecretly Yours, by Valerie Comer (GreenWords Media, 2014)

Who doesn’t love a secret admirer story? When chef Lindsey Solberg returns to the small town of Riverbend, BC, she’s shocked to recognize the youth pastor of her sister’s church. The way Nick Harrison behaved in high school, church was the last place she’d expect to see him.

No way will Lindsey risk Nick hurting her again. What’s a guy to do but send anonymous gifts and try to win her trust?

Secretly Yours is a Valentine’s Day novella, and the shorter length is perfect for an afternoon’s read. Author Valerie Comer always adds more than the romance. In this story (the first of a series to be set in Riverbend) we see Lindsey’s step-father as a morose, deflated kind of man. Dynamics in the household are not good—that’s why Lindsey returned, to act as a buffer for her younger sister. I suspect we’ll see some changes and growth in these characters as the series progresses.

What I most appreciated about Secretly Yours was watching Lindsey’s discovery of God’s love as personal. It’s a tricky balance, to know He loves each individual as if he/she were special. As Lindsey says in the story, we can think of Jesus’ death to save us something for everyone—which of course it was—without realizing how personal it was for each soul.

Valerie Comer is a prolific Canadian author of romance (plus one fantasy novel). She’s most known for her Farm Fresh Romance series. This new Riverbend series is set in Canada, which is a treat for readers like me. For more about the author and her books, visit valeriecomer.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

3 thoughts on “Review: Secretly Yours, by Valerie Comer

    1. Janet Sketchley Post author

      The best part about series like these is that we sometimes see a character from a previous story just walk through a scene. It’s like seeing an old friend, even if they never do get their own stories.

      Reply
      1. Valerie Comer

        That’s kind of what I’m planning. For example, Nick will always be the youth pastor at River of Life, so whenever that’s part of a story, he’ll walk through. Carmen’s Cupcakes will be visited by more residents of Riverbend, as will the Water Wheel, etc. But in novella length, I don’t have room to keep building the character cast to include all the old favorites, as I’m doing in the Farm Fresh Romance series. It’s a fun change!

        Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.