Written by Deborah Miller

 

 

Shade’s life-altering vow to God leads to mysterious decisions that cause her to forfeit the man she loves.

Shade Doe believes her prayers are answered when she meets an older Christian man who offers her marriage and a name for her newborn child. Despite his overbearing nature, Shade delights in her new role as wife and mother. When her husband suddenly dies years later, she uncovers secrets from his past—secrets so profound they derail the lives of both her and her daughter.
After tragedy strikes, thirty-six-year-old Shade gains custody of her young grandson, Tyler, and moves to a small Michigan beach town where she becomes the owner of a successful bakery and café. Shade meets and falls in love with Tyler’s baseball coach, but their love for one another is doomed.

Shade’s internal struggle to honor her vow to God, while denying her own desires, throws her on a path of painful redemption.

 

 

 

 

A Beautiful, Satisfying Read! 

 

A wonderful book! Intriguing, informative with a hidden secret .. just soooo good!!

Shade has a rough start in life; raised in the foster system, she finds herself pregnant at 15 and left in a mother and baby home. When she meets an older man at church she seizes the chance of marriage and the opportunity to keep her child. Many years later when he dies suddenly, Shade begins to blossom and makes contact with her estranged daughter, revelling in the delights of her grandson Tyler. When unforeseen tragedy occurs, Shade finds herself with custody of the boy and vows to put him first, bringing him up with a strong Christian faith.

This is simply a terrific read; the story is eloquent, beautifully structured and provides plenty of food for thought. The religious element isn’t pompous and overbearing (as some are) but rather shows that faith is a big part of Shade’s life. Then comes the shock – a shocking revelation is dropped into the story with shocking results!

The characters are varied, and there is a healthy dose of humour between the pages; I laughed along with the story many times. Shade came alive for me, and I felt quite privileged to know all the details of how she dealt with the hand God gave her. A truly endearing read, and one I enjoyed very much. I can’t fault this one – author Deborah Miller has created a beautiful, satisfying read, fully deserving of the five shining stars I’m happy to give it.

My grateful thank to the author – both for drawing my attention to her work and for kindly providing me with a copy. As always, all opinions stated here are entirely honest and completely my own.

 

Tags: Christian fiction

• Format: ebook, paperback
• Size: 380 pages
• Publisher: amazon
• Publication Date: 17 January 2019
• Purchase Links: Barnes & Noble
•                                 Kobo
•                                 amazon

 

 

Meet the Author

 

 Born and raised in southeast Michigan, Deborah retired in 2016 after a long career in advertising where she honed her writing skills drafting spellbinding instructional training manuals – much to the delight of her co-workers. After settling into retirement, she decided to write her first novel – a story that had been simmering in her brain for over fifteen years. She can’t wait to finish her next novel.

An avid baker and cook, she can often be found in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes. She continues to live in The Great Lakes State with her husband and enjoys traveling — especially to the wine country in California. Recipes for foods mentioned in The Essence of Shade can be found on her website.

 

Follow Deborah

Website: www.deborahjeanmiller.com