Mary M. (emeraldfire) - , reviewed on 8/19/2016

Lydia Porter loves everything about teaching at Shadrach High School. She enjoys working with children and loves being able to shape their young minds in her position as the School-to-Careers Counselor. Lyddie especially loves everything about Charlie Stains - the school's very popular wood-working teacher.

As a matter of fact, Lydia truly believes that God answered her lonely prayers when big-hearted Charlie came into her life. And although she hasn't told a soul about it, Charlie has even given her an engagement ring. Lyddie may have waited for a very long time to find her happiness, but she is definitely looking forward to a delightful future with Charlie Stains.

However, she has recently become very concerned about one of her students - a bright, pretty, and popular sophomore by the name of Shelby Tatum. Shelby has always been a good student, but lately she seems to be deeply troubled by something. She has become less outgoing and her grades have begun to slip ever so slightly.

Convinced that the girl's problems go beyond just the typical teenage angst, Lyddie eventually confronts her - only to have Shelby make an unimaginable...and utterly devastating allegation. The distraught girl says that an adult - a teacher at the school - has been sexually abusing her, and that she's terrified of what he will do if Shelby tells anyone. While her story seems horrendously plausible, Lyddie is astonished to learn the name of Shelby's alleged abuser - Charlie Stains.

Suddenly Lydia is faced with the hardest decision of her life. Now she must, by law, report the teenager's charges - regardless of her own personal feelings. What happens next will ultimately challenge everything Lyddie holds so dear to her heart: her love; her resolve to discover the truth; and her belief in the power of faith to comfort, redeem, and heal.

This is actually the second book that I have read by this author and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. This was quite an intriguing story for me, and I definitely wanted to see how it would develop. While I believe that this would be classified as an inspirational romance - as well as contemporary fiction - I really appreciated that the romantic elements were treated so respectfully. I would give this book a definite A!

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