On... God's Gift by Dee Henderson

I fell in love with Henderson's O'Malley series. I felt connected to these characters even though all of them were ten to fifteen years old than me. Her combination of suspense and romance went right up my alley.

This book, published before the O'Malley series but after the prequel Danger in the Shadows, did not have that same vibe. I struggled to enter the book. Henderson loaded a good deal of back story even before the twentieth page. (I think that I'm super sensitive to that because of something another favorite author of mine once wrote. She makes a point to avoid adding any extensive backstory before page 30).

The relationship between Rae and Leo, a character deceased before the beginning of the novel also confused me. Not until much later in the book does Henderson reveal that Rae and Leo were days away from being engaged. For several pages I couldn't figure out whether Leo was just a business partner, a husband, a fiance or a really good friend. I think that that relationship would have been one to clarify towards the beginning.

Once I got into the book I enjoyed it. I chafed though at the slow pace of the book. Nothing really drove the book, nothing drove Rae and James' relationship one way or the either. Of course the relationship went through its ups and downs but nothing dramatic, like in the O'Malley series laid the undertow to the relationship story.

I still enjoy Dee Henderson but I would not recommend this book to someone who had never read any of her books before.