Love Providence by Jennifer H. Westall - Givaway!

YA Edgy Christian Romance

Date Published: May 24, 2012

Collegiate athlete Lily Brennon has always been the piece that doesn’t quite fit in the puzzle, especially
in her fragmented family, and no amount of rule-following perfection seems to bring her any closer to
the love and acceptance she desperately seeks. If not for Jackson Carter, her childhood best friend and
the only boy she’s ever loved, she’s sure she would have run away years ago. But when Jackson loses
his father and a future basketball career within months of each other, his faith is so shattered, he shuts
out everyone, including Lily.

After months of heartache, Lily begins to piece together a life without Jackson, and while vacationing
on a beautiful island off the Georgia coast, she begins a long-distance romance with Alex Walker, a
police officer with a quick wit and a cocky grin. He revives her hope in love again, but their intense
attraction and his devastating secret test Lily’s values, stretching them until they break. 
Through herstruggles to remain true to her principles, an agonizing choice between Alex and Jackson, and a seriesof terrifying events that threaten all of them, Lily must endure losing everything she’s been grasping so
tightly. Only then will she discover the depth of the love that already surrounds her.

                               Jennifer H. Westall

I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and Holly Pond, Alabama, two very different towns that I love for so many reasons.
Holly Pond is my soul, the place where I go to remind myself of who I am and where I come from. It's a quiet place that
allows me to reset when I've fallen off track.

Birmingham is my heart, the place where I lived out my story. I go there to remember my best friend, my first love, my first
job, my first heartbreak.

And then there is Saint Simons Island, the place I go to feel alive, to feel the breeze off the ocean, the salt on my tongue, the
excitement of my first (and only) summer fling.

I may reside in the suburbs of Atlanta, creating memories with my sweet boys, but I call several places home.

—Excerpt—

LOVE’S PROVIDENCE

Excerpt from end of Chapter 1

Later that evening, Lily stood on the playground and squeezed the sand between her toes as a warm, moist breeze swirled strands of hair around her face. The village shops by the pier had been teeming with tourists all afternoon, but most of them had closed down hours ago. The sounds of

traffic and screaming kids had faded into a gentle lapping of the ocean against the nearby rocks.

Her feet ached from walking around for the past several hours, and her head was beginning to throb as well. To make matters worse, her dad had insisted that she keep an eye on Kara and her cousin Rachel, which meant an evening full of aimlessly wandering through tourist shops and

listening to shallow comparisons of one guy after another. At this point, she wanted nothing more than to go back to the beach house, put her feet up, and relax with a good book.

A few yards away, Kara and Rachel competed to see who could swing the highest. As much as they insisted on being treated like adults, it was amazing how childish they could be. She rolled her eyes and sighed, glancing down at her watch. Nearly time to go. “Y’all about ready?” she called.

Rachel jumped out of her swing first, followed by Kara who narrowly missed landing on her rear. Rachel doubled over with laughter, and Lily couldn’t help but laugh too. Kara flushed bright red as she glanced around to see if anyone else had seen her stumble. Kara ignored her and straightened her clothes. Rachel slid her feet into her sandals and tugged her shorts back into place, though they still left little to the imagination. She smoothed her dark hair and picked her purse up off the ground. Then suddenly she squealed like a mouse and waved Kara “Look, those cops over there are cute!”

Lily followed her gaze to the massive live oaks that provided a canopy over a picnic area of the park. It was empty now except for two officers talking quietly at a picnic table in the lamp light, their bikes resting in a rack nearby. From several yards away they appeared similar—broad shoulders, dark hair, well-built. Nothing spectacular.

“You’re hopeless,” Lily said. “They’re way too old for you to even think about.”

Rachel shrugged. “So? Cute is just cute. Age doesn't factor.”

Lily looked at them again. Maybe Rachel was right, but she wasn’t interested in another lame discussion about guys like they were a tasty dessert item.

“They’re all right, I guess. Not really my type.”

Kara snorted. “Oh please. I think you have to date more than one person to have a type.” Rachel laughed and looked away from Lily’s glare.

“Well, you are the expert,” Lily said. “How many boyfriends have you had?” 

Kara took a few steps closer and jutted her chin at Lily. “I know a lot more than you think. I know that hanging out with one guy since you were nine years old doesn’t make you an expert. You wouldn’t even know what to do if a great guy was interested in you.”

“Sure I would. I’d say thanks but no thanks.”

“Oh my word, Lil. Seriously. There’s something wrong with you.”

“I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t want to date right now.”

Rachel’s mouth fell open. “Really?”

“Look, I just want to enjoy my vacation. You know, relax a little, read a good book, take a walk on the beach. I don’t need drama.”

Kara shook her head. “I’m not talking about a serious relationship here. Look around. There are cute guys everywhere. Loosen up and have some fun.”

“I don’t need a guy around to have fun.”

Kara winked at Rachel. “Well, if you’re going to be hanging around us, you better get used to cute guys being around. In fact, I think we should start right now.” She nodded toward the tree where the cops were still seated. Rachel’s face lit up.

“Oh no,” Lily said. “We’re going back to the house. It’s nearly midnight.”

Jen's Review

This was an Awesome book! I truly loved it! It had everything I love in a great romance book - 

Starting off with Jackson and Lily being best friends since they were 9 years old, dating when they turned 16, in love while in collage. 

Life was great! 

At least until things started going downhill for Jackson. His father died, he blew out his knee during basketball, and his coach just called and said the scouts didn't want to look at him anymore because of his injuries... 

As if things couldn't get any worse, he told Lily he needed to be alone.. not just for now, but he needed he gone.. for good - 

A few months later, Lily was still stirring over Jackson, but taking a family vacation was what she needed. Time away from her own thoughts. 

Her obnoxious step sister and cousin were trying to get her to loosen up a bit. 

When they wondered over to the cute cops that were sitting down at the picnic tables, she didn't care that she was being rude. She wasn't interested in anyone right now.. 

After a few days at the beach house, wondering around with the girls, and running into Steve and Alex a few more times, she decided to do the right thing. She apologized to Alex for being so rude and arrogant towards him. And in turn, he apologized to her for being rude right back. 

They decided to start over... this time, they were actually friendly towards each other. 

Days go by and Alex and Lily spend some more time getting to know one another. But it's time for Lily to go back home. Volleyball camp starts next week, and then it's practice and school - she doesn' tknow when she'll be able to see Alex again, but Alex still wants to keep in touch. 

After a bit of time away, but still communicating over the phone, Lily decides to go back to Georgia with her friends to visit Alex. 

Things heat up, and temptation overrides her beliefs. She feels the pull towards Alex, but she also knows that she wants to wait until she's married..

Going back home was hard. Jackson had a nice talk with his mom about learning to live and love is better then not to love at all. He wanted Lily back. 

But when he finds out she's seeing Alex, he can't take it anymore.

Lily is torn between her life long best friend, and the guy she seems to be falling for now. How can she decide between the two? 

Life starts to get stressful for Lily, and her confusion starts to blur her decisions. She loses her way, and struggles hard to get back on the right right.. 

Like I said, great story - we even had the crazy ex jump in and try to complicate things a lot - then the HEA was hard, because you can't help but fall in love with both Alex and Jackson. They're both great guys, and neither one of them deserves to be hurt. 

The Christian part of the book was really great. It wasn't deep into spirituality, but Lily's belief in God was strong. She made her choices based on how God wanted her to act, and she really believed that he was guiding their love life as he saw fit. 

It really opened my eyes to a few things I'd forgotten about in the past, and really touched me, personally :D 

GIVEAWAY!!! 

How to Enter:

*Leave a comment so we know how to reach you* 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of
this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading
Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was
no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not
necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure
is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of
Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*