Beth is tired of living by her mother's rules. She tells her
who to date, where she should work, and who she should
befriend. Needing a change, Beth moves out of state to be
near her Aunt Sunshine. Beth finds a job as a school teacher,
gets her own apartment and is starting to make new
friends.
Beth has become good friends with Nicole and during a dinner
party meets a friend of Nicole's husband named Sam. Not one
for blind dates, Beth hesitates accepting the dinner
invitation, but she values her friendship with Nicole too
much to put up a big fight. Sam is really not Beth's type.
He's a long-haired mechanic that is everything her mother
would hate.
After leaving Nicole's home, Beth is waiting at the
intersection; next to her in his car is Sam. When the
light changes, Beth pulls out but is hit by a car. Sam
is the first one at the scene and he talks her through the
wait for the ambulance to
arrive. After waking up in the hospital, Beth is in
pretty bad shape. What a surprise to find out that Sam
is still there. Though her hospital stay, Sam visits all
the time. Beth's first impression of Sam completely
changes as he makes a point of being in her life.
I have always loved books by Debbie Macomber, as well as her
movies and TV series for Hallmark. She really knows how to
get to the meat of a story and packs an emotional punch
every time. The way she describes her characters makes you
almost believe they are flesh and blood.
I loved how Macomber pushes Beth out of her shell. She and
Sam don't see eye to eye at first, but with time their love
is healing for both of them. Sam realizes he can love again
when he falls for Beth. I would have loved to know more
about her aunt, Sunshine. We do learn some of her back story
and how she lost the love of her life, but I would like to
know if they ever got back together.
Macomber delivered with this book. I think I read it in two
days -- I just could not put it down. I hope she keeps up
the great writing, because you'll just want to sit back and
enjoy another one of her books after finishing IF NOT FOR YOU.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie
Macomber has written an emotionally stirring novel that
shows how sometimes a choice can seem wrong even though it’s
absolutely right.
If not for her loving but controlling parents, Beth
Prudhomme might never have taken charge of her life and
moved from her native Chicago to Portland, Oregon, where
she’s reconnected with her spirited Aunt Sunshine and found
a job as a high school music teacher. If not for her friend
Nichole, Beth would never have met Sam Carney, although
first impressions have left Beth with serious doubts. Sam is
everything Beth is not—and her parents’ worst nightmare: a
tattooed auto mechanic who’s rough around the edges.
Reserved and smart as a whip, Beth isn’t exactly Sam’s usual
beer-drinking, pool-playing type of woman, either.
But if not for an awkward setup one evening, Beth might
never have left early and been involved in a car crash. And
if not for Sam—who witnessed the terrifying ordeal, rushed
to her aid, and stayed with her until help arrived—Beth
might have been all alone, or worse. Yet as events play out,
Sam feels compelled to check on Beth almost daily at the
hospital—even bringing his guitar to play songs to lift her
spirits. Soon their unlikely friendship evolves into an
intense attraction that surprises them both.
Before long, Beth’s strong-willed mother, Ellie, blows into
town spouting harsh opinions, especially about Sam, and
reopening old wounds with Sunshine. When shocking secrets
from Sam’s past are revealed, Beth struggles to reconcile
her feelings. But when Beth goes a step too far, she risks
losing the man and the life she’s come to love.
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