phyllish
Written on Apr 13, 2020
I loved Clara and Andrew! They came from such different, yet similar worlds, with brokenness and sin. His hurts had driven him to the Lord. Hers had convinced her that God didn't care.
Andrew's persistence to convince Clara to give him a chance was so sweet! His commitment to the Lord and purity was strong and yet he still experienced temptation. Despite this, he had a plank in his eye in the form of unforgiveness and judgement that kept him quite human.
I loved all the sweet things that Andrew did for Clara and how much it meant to him to be able to do them. And I loved the way she accepted his kindnesses and allowed him the privilege of caring for her in even the simple act of opening her door.
When Clara heard the truth taught in church about sin and realized how it applied to her, she struggled with being able to forgive herself for what she had done. Her shame was great and yet she learned that the Lord's love is greater.
Patricia Beal did such a great job with carrying themes throughout the story, even the detail about Andrew's goldfish! In fact, I loved how they came back into play at the end of the story !
With plenty of tension, conflict, and temptation, the story remained clean. Though it is written for adults, it would not be too much for a teenager to read and could help encourage sexual purity.
If you enjoy romance where the gospel is front and center without being preachy, I can highly recommend Desert Willow.
Read my full review at Among the Reads
I was given a copy of this book. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own.