The third in the McBride Series, “Dylan’s Redemption” is another brilliant creation from Jennifer Ryan. A story of young love gone awry, of lost relations and evil close to home, of second chances and putting to rest the ghosts of a past that had changed lives and causes so much pain and anguish, and of finding love that was meant to be for a future filled with faith and trust.
Dylan McBride and Jessica Thompson had one starry night on their prom day and circumstances take Dylan away from Fallbrook. Jessica ends up pregnant and as her alcoholic father tries to kill her, she escapes without a trace. Everyone assumes she was killed by her father and buried in a place unknown.
Dylan never stopped looking for Jessie and eight years later, returns to Fallbrook as the county Sheriff and hoping to get some answers to Jessie’s disappearance. Jessie’s father dies of a heart attack and she returns to Fallbrook to settle her father’s affairs and finally lay to rest the torment he had caused. Dylan is flabbergasted that Jessie is still alive and he has a daunting task of making sure Jessie understands and believes him that he had never meant to abandon her.
The past comes colliding with the present, bringing fresh pain and hurt. Dylan’s family plays a part in their separation and the pain of losing something very precious for Jessie. Jessie is one strong woman, who with tunnel focus and grit, rises above her loss and builds a successful career in the construction industry, and she was never far from Fallbrook either. Now it is left for Dylan and Jessie to put a closure to their painful past and see if they can make a future together.
Jennifer Ryan writes stories involving some very strong women, and I love her for doing so. She portrays women of great strength and courage who overcome dire circumstances and make a life for them. After Jenna in her first book of her Hunted Series, Jessie is my favorite, with her sheer determination, courage and tremendous focus, to make a second life for her.
There are lot of scenes in the story that brought tears to my eyes and tugs at your heartstrings. Dylan’s Redemption makes you angry towards the ones causing pain, makes you shed tears as Dylan and Jessica talk of their past and what they have lost, makes you happy for them as they try to make a new life, and makes you believe that there are good people left in the world.
Hope, Will and Faith – fabulous symbolism!
Romancing Life 