"Through Raging Waters"
By Renee Blare

Synopsis:

If Mother Nature has her way, Timber Springs will never be the same…

A warm spring and early rainstorms melt the snowpack. Spring runoff compounded by the storm of the century sends Timber Springs into a tailspin.

Tossed into the role of rescuer, local pharmacist Paul Fitzgerald must face his past before the whole world falls apart. While he fights to contain the beast around him, he finds his steadfast control slipping through his fingers. And life…everyone’s life…hangs by a thread…once again.

She isn’t a hero. Melissa Hampton has her own demons to battle. After she learns of her mysterious beginnings amidst her mother’s keepsakes, she faces more than just the river rushing outside her door. Now, she must discern friend from foe…but as waters rise and tension climbs within Timber Springs, she needs to rise to the challenge or lose the only man she’s ever loved.

Can two people find each other through raging waters?

My Thoughts:

This book is a touching romance, that shows us how lives can be complicated and easily shattered, when struggling against challenges caused by the weather! Life is never a smooth road. Can a relationship develop and survive when the world around a couple is disintegrating???? The message of faith and forgiveness is woven throughout this story. God's plan is not always one that we want to accept , and often seems to be difficult. This is definitely the case when floods rage and the world around the characters seems to be changing.....for the worse!

There are many characters in this second book of the Snowy Range Chronicles Series, both involving Timber Springs. I found that it had helped that I had read the first in the series. Although this book can be read as a stand alone, reading Book One was beneficial to get to know the characters. I found it at times a bit confusing. I had to stop and reread to figure out who was who, as there were so many characters. Although interwoven in the story, it took me a good portion of the book to figure out who was who. They did each have an important part in this adventure. It just seemed to take me a long time to understand and identify with any one character.

The plot moved quickly and steadily as one tragedy after another struck these people's lives. I must admit that I was over involved with trying to understand which character did what , and sometimes missed what the story line was really about. Other readers may not experience this confusion. It has very interesting and fast moving issues taking place. If you can bypass some of the relationship issues, I think you will greatly enjoy the book. Perhaps my attention to detail distracted me too much to really take time to follow the story.

There is a good message that shines throughout the challenges. God is with us and always will be. Our journey through life is a roller coaster ride. We just have to survive the hard times to appreciate what is given to us.

This book was supplied by CelebrateLit and the author, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

About The Author:

Renee Blare’s nose has been buried in a book for as long as she can remember. Raised in Louisiana and Wyoming, she started writing poetry in junior high school and that, as they say, was that. After having her son, a desire to attend pharmacy school sent her small family to the University of Wyoming in Laramie. She’s been counting pills ever since. While writing’s her first love, well, after the Lord and her husband, she also likes to fish and hunt as well as pick away on her classical guitar.

Nestled in the foothills of the Wind River Mountains, she lives in Wyoming with her husband, crazy dogs, and ornery cat. She serves her beautiful small town as a pharmacist while penning her stories about struggling Christians as they travel along the journeys of their lives. She loves to interact with readers and invites you check out her website, blog, and social media.

Blog: Renee’s Inspirational Moments

Group Blog: The Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction

Website: Renee Blare|Christian Author Website

Guest Post from Renee Blare

Five years ago, I wrote a book…and then I wrote another and another and another. Many said that the words flowed like a river onto the page. Or I painted a picture with letters. As for me? I simply write what I see so you can see it too. What about you? Do you want to write a book?

If so, there’s one thing I’d like you to know. A book’s like a child. It starts out small or simple with garbled language…often repetitive and indistinguishable. Kind of like when a baby babbles “dada” over and over. And then that moment comes when you rejoice because you hear him say “mama.” That’s the growth every book…writer…reader…yearns for.

Different stories float around inside an author’s mind, flowing in a way much like labor. Some authors plot, others don’t. And still others combine the process in a convoluted method. But like birth, no matter how the words eventually find their way to the page, the development of a book doesn’t stop with its first dawn. It takes time, energy, and growth.

Take my first release, To Soar on Eagle’s Wings. Five years ago, I wrote it, my very first book, in three months. And it was awesome! I couldn’t believe it. God brought the plot together in a phenomenal way. But publication wasn’t the next step. I had a lot to learn before that could happen.

My latest release, Through Raging Waters is the example of a writer’s growth, but also her soul. I learned that I had to leave more than my knowledge and my heart on the page. I needed to leave a piece of my soul. When you read Paul’s struggles, you read mine. Melissa’s fear and confusion? Yes, they’re mine. The anger, the pain . . . the trials, the lessons learned are scriptural but also first-hand, taught by my Father.

Writing is more than a job. It’s more than a hobby. It’s sharing your knowledge, your hope with the world. So if you want to write a book. Do it. Then take that next step, and the next. You’ll get there. Oh, and I can’t wait to read it!

To read other reviews of this book: