Prequel .5

The book is a short read that ends on a low point. Jenifer’s story continues through the O’Malley series. ( )

58300

The O’Malley family consists of seven young women and men who meet in an orphanage and make their own family, eventually adopting each other as siblings and taking on the name O’Malley. This is a very unique series (a prequel and six other books), each book focuses on one family member. The books are full of suspense, mystery, and romance. And Jennifer is the one family member that doesn’t have a book “all to herself”. She’s basically the backbone of the family in the way that she was the first to have a relationship with Jesus and she’s the love of the family.

Finally, Dee has written a beautiful novella about Jennifer and how she met and fell in love with Tom and how she came to know Jesus personally. At first I thought the book was too short and I wanted more, but thinking about it, her story does continue throughout the series, so this book is kind of like the first few chapters in the series. I’ll be content with this beautiful novella telling the beginning story of Jennifer.

It’s been several years since I read the O’Malley series and now I want to read them again, they are that good. So this book does deserve a 5 star rating because it makes you want more and I’m so glad that the books are available to read and we don’t have to wait.

If you haven’t read this series, I highly recommend it. The books are full of suspense, mystery, love, romance, devotion and falling in love with Jesus. ( )

Oh my word. Can I give this a thousand stars?

Y'all. THIS is how you write romance!

**Prepare yourselves for a minor rant on romances **

A good romantic relationship is not built on the "feels", the physical aspect - a tingling feeling when he touches your arm, constantly wanting to kiss, swooning over his blue eyes, getting lightheaded when you smell his aftershave . . . (*rolls eyes*) It's built on a solid friendship and a deep mutual respect and reverence for the other person - for their heart, their soul, their personality, not how cute they are.

Henderson nails that perfectly in "Jennifer". Tom and Jennifer's relationship is so pure, so sweet, and so beautiful. I fell in love with these amazing characters from the very start. I loved Jennifer's sweet servant's heart for others, and Tom's respect and support of her. Jennifer's salvation was incredibly realistic and beautiful, and actually had me tearing up. Henderson brings up some tough issues on God's sovereignty, and handles them with great tact, making things clear for the unbeliever, and strengthening the faith of the believer.

While very short, the pacing of this story was slow, peaceful, meandering. But not too slow that I lost interest. Just perfect. This could have been a full-blown novel and I would have loved it even more.

All in all, I very much enjoyed this short novella, and greatly look forward to reading more by this talented author! Highly recommended! ( )

I read Jennifer: An O'Malley Love Story in exchange for review from Bethany House.

The book is about Jennifer O'Malley, a pediatrician, who is in love with Tom Peterson, a lawyer. Jennifer is the youngest of the family. Jennifer has to tell her family about her newest relationship, in addition to a secret she is hiding.

The book was a quick read. I loved reading the beginning of the book. It was interesting. The ending was sad though. The hardback is a little over 153 pages. The book is also available in Kindle and Audible format.