Review: Two Steps Forward by Suzanne Woods Fisher

To Purchase

About:

Back and broke in Stoney Ridge, Jimmy Fisher has coasted as long as he could through life on charm, good looks, and deep-set dimples. They always worked just fine for him--until they didn't. His smile has no effect on the violet-eyed beauty he met at the Bent N' Dent, the one with that stunning horse. She's offered him a job, but nothing else.

The last thing Sylvie Schrock King needs around Rising Star Farm is a grown boy working for her, especially her neighbor Edith's son. The woman holds a serious grudge against Sylvie and her son, and hiring Jimmy Fisher will only fan the flames of Edith's rancor. But Sylvie is desperate for help on the farm, and Jimmy understands horses like no one else.

While Jimmy's lazy smile and teasing ways steal Sylvie's heart, Edith is working on a way to claim her land. Has Sylvie made another terrible mistake? Or is it too late to outfox the fox? More importantly . . . just who is the fox?

Writing with both wit and warmth, Fisher delivers a supremely satisfying conclusion to the popular Deacon's Family series.

My Thoughts:

I liked visiting Stoney Ridge and catching up with all of its characters. This story starts off with Jimmy Fisher coming back home and his first meeting with widow Sylvie King. She thinks he is homeless and he thinks she keeps "winking" at him. More on that later.

This town has a lot of colorful characters and on more than one occasion I found myself laughing out loud. This story focuses on Sylvie, her son, and Jimmy. How they begin to work together to clean up her ranch and start a business with her Arabian horse, Prince. However we do get to continue Izzy's story as well. Izzy is struggling with the fact that she does not know her own biological father and the fact that she still has not conceived. She is also learning to be thankful for the blessings that God has already provided for her. I understood her struggles, the wanting to know why, and how does she make peace.

Jimmy was quite a charmer and very good natured. Quite unlike his bitter mother. Oh, and the "winks"- well Sylvie has an eye twitching problem. Jimmy does not realize this and her "winks" drive poor Jimmy to distraction.

I liked that these characters are real and quirky. Sylvie was the type of character who knew that she needed to look after herself So that is why she married Jake (her first husband) whom she did not love, and he was twenty years older, but she set out to make the marriage work. If only for her son and the ranch she dreamed of. She was certainly not a romantic but a practical woman.

This was a nice visit.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.