Somewhere, My Love

Somewhere, My Love: An inspirational romance novella collection about taking a leap of faith for love. . . 

Susan May Warren (Author)

• Print Length: 228 pages
• Publisher: My Book Therapy 
• May 26, 2015
• ASIN: B00XD9EIJE

**Limited Pre-Order price of .99!** 

We’d all like to believe that there is someone out there, waiting for us. The perfect one, who is exactly the right fit. But sometimes the wait – and the fear of launching out to find that special someone -- keep us from leaping out in faith. From saying hello, accepting that cup of coffee, saying yes to a romantic walk on the beach. 

Sometimes it just takes a providential moment to change everything. RITA and Christy award-winning, ECPA and CPA best-selling novelist, Susan May Warren brings you three delightful novellas about leaping out into the unknown only to discover that yes, somewhere, my love is waiting. 

This Little House of Mine 

When they said "Missionary," Interior Decorator Ellen White expected, well, not the hot, tall, and sweet Paul Stoneman, fresh from the backwoods of some Russian village. And sure, she'll help him redecorate his cute missionary home. After all, clearly the confirmed, rough-around-the edges bachelor needs a woman's touch. But when she falls for him, she discovers that loving a man with a heart for God requires more from her than she's willing to give. 

Paul Stoneman longs for a wife to share his life wife. Sure, he loves his life as a missionary, but admittedly, he's lonely. Beautiful Ellen White is exactly what he's prayed for - right down to her ability to turn his life into something beautiful. But Ellen isn't interesting in leaving the comforts of America for the rustic life of a missionary, right? 

More than just a romance, this story will tug at the heart of anyone who loves a man whose heart belongs first, to God. 

My thoughts:  Ellen is bubbly and instantly wins over Paul's heart. Whereas Ellen is torn, wanting to throw over her dream career for a mission field... is God actually calling her or is it because of Paul? 

I'm used to reading Susan's more developed stories, with characters that you fall in love with despite their issues. I wasn't there with Paul and Ellen but I wanted to. Maybe I went in with too high of expectations, since this was one of Ms. Warren's first published books and she hadn't honed her skill to the level it is now. 

Regardless, I enjoyed getting reacquainted with Paul and Ellen. All he wanted to do was build a deck. . . and she turned his life upside down. One just has to be amazed at how God works . . .  I may have wanted this story to be longer and more developed, but it was still good.  A quick read.  4 stars.

Measure of a Man 

The last person Calli Deane expects to find trapped in an elevator in Siberia at 2.a.m is Peter Samuelson—the man who broke her heart. Besides, she has a life she loves now - as a missionary in Russia. But Peter is not the man she remembers, and suddenly, she has to take another look, remeasure the man she once knew. But can love be reignited, or will the fears – and mistakes – of the past drive them apart again? 

My thoughts.  This story was also previously published -- Ms. Warren's very first published book. I remember her excitement when her real-life story of being stuck in a Russian elevator turned into a published novel. I was excited for  her! 

It was good getting reacquainted with Peter and Calli, and as I said with the first novella in this collection, these books in no way mirror the talent Ms. Warren currently is. It made me initially fall in love with her books, and it might bring a whole new flock of fans to Ms. Warren's doorsteps, but as with most author's, their writing ability improve with each book they write. 

It was interesting finding Peter out of his element in Russia and floundering around. Getting robbed... poisoned... tricked. Callie was the true hero, coming to his rescue, time and again, and pointing him to God. But--will Peter give up his legacy and surrender to missions work? Or will he call Callie out of the wilderness?  4 stars. 


Proof of Your Love 

Investigative Reporter Justine Proof knows she doesn't belong in the small, backwater town in East Tennessee...not only is she a Yankee, and hasn't the foggiest idea what grits are, but she's pretty sure someone is out to get her. And yes, it might be because she's investigating a murder, but someone is making it personal. Certainly it can't be cute, but redneck, coffee shop owner "Wild" Pat Bells, right? Still, every time she has car trouble, Pat "seems" to show up, raspberry latte in hand. Is he a rogue meaning her harm - or a friend trying to help? 

Patrick Bells can’t believe he heard a woman plan a murder into her tape recorder. And not just any woman – cute and sassy Justine Proof, a woman he’s been scraping up the courage to meet since the first day she ordered a raspberry latte in his coffee shop, the Right Cup. But Pat isn't going to let anyone get hurt in his town. . . 

Justine has finally found someone she’d like to trust -- someone who has suddenly become more than just an early morning ray of sunshine in her life. But her suspicious mind stands between her and true love. She’s about to learn that trust is a choice, and that only God can help her make it. 

My thoughts:  Again, Proof of Your Love was previously published, this one with a collection with Barbour. I remember reading it when it first came out. I enjoyed getting reacquainted with Justine and Patrick, and remembering the story behind this story. It was funny how Patrick heard Justine plotting a murder in her recorder, and worried that she might be trying to kill someone for real. 

But things are not as peaceful in this Tennessee town as one would think. There are long buried feuds, murders unsolved, and someone out to kill Justine. Why? And who?  You'll have to read the book to find out. 

This was Ms. Warren's deput suspense/thriller which led to her her series with Love Inspired about Russia and another one set in Tennessee and Missouri. 4.5 stars. 

Overall, 4.166667 stars  A great collection of Ms. Warren's beginning novellas now out of print. Fans who haven't read her early works will want this, in addition to contemporary romance readers who haven't discovered her yet.