The Guardian's Honor Book

A pleasant conclusion to the Bodine family trilogy. I enjoyed the beach scenes, the little boy in the tidal pools, and Miz Callie, as always. A good gift from a good friend. "The Guardian's Honor" was said to be one of the better romances in a box of books, and I agree.

Although these Love Inspired romances frequently have single-parent situations, and I suspect that's wish-fulfillment literature for single-parent readers, I am finding that I do enjoy reading the books with children. I appreciate their antics and their point of view, in keeping situations from becoming too serious or melodramatic. Jamie's medical issues in this one do naturally add to the crisis involved.

I thought the descriptions and the character descriptions were well done, particularly Cathy's motivations for some of her secretive actions. The plot was a little predictable, but I found that I didn't even mind because it was so well told. I do think that Adam's secret could have led him down much darker paths than could be wrapped up in so short a book.

SPOILER - I was proud of one character for refusing a marriage proposal.

A different friend of mine would state that it's not very clear what the characters believe in this book, and that's true. But the characterization of this family has been building throughout this series, as far as what beliefs and values they hold together. Of course, an individual in the family could disagree, but Adam's issue seems to be more emotional than philosophical.

Favorite quotes: (All Miz Callie quotes)

"I've never been overly impressed with the wisdom of most people."

"It's always dangerous to have specific dreams for your children and grandchildren. Life so often takes them in another direction. I find I have to count on the good Lord to get them to the place where they belong."

"If there's one thing I've learned as I've gotten older, it's that the best way to look at the past is to sift through it for those bright moments. They'll come up, shining like a bit of beach glass in the sand, and you can just let the rest slip away."