Just Dessert (Ladies of Larkspur #2)

INSPIRATIONAL:  Seventeen year old Mary Fitzgerald has spent the last several years of her life caring for her four younger siblings and protecting them from their father’s drunken abuse. Determined to find a way out, she bakes a pie for the church auction in hopes of finding a man to marry that will take in her and her siblings. However, when her father arrives on the scene and sends his children running, Grady Carlisle comes to the rescue. Grady has been living with his family in Texas and can’t believe that the girl who lives next to his grandparents is the same Mary he remembers from his childhood. Unwilling to abandon his old friend and her siblings to their father’s care, he steps in to help and finds himself head over heels for Mary. Unfortunately, Mary no longer believes in God, and Grady finds that it will take all his faith to save the girl he’s lost his heart to.

A sweet Christian western romance, “Just Dessert” focuses on the romance between Mary and Grady and the path to rediscovering faith in God. The second in the “Ladies of Larkspur” series, a cast of caring characters (many from the first book) surround the couple, as the town attempts to help the Fitzgerald children. The romance and Christian ideals are both smoothly intertwined throughout the book, and there is a nice balance of drama, humor, with a little suspense. Although the story isn’t particularly new or deep, it is a worthwhile read for lovers of clean western romance.

Sarah E. Bradley