Four Stars: Dana Pratola’s “The Covering”
“Praying for the Leader of the Pack”
This is a formula romance that defies the formulas. Good girl attracted to bad boy — Check. Bad boy tortures himself over what is and isn’t his fault about his past — Check. But then there’s that prayer thing, unleashing the Power of God. That power doesn’t take a back seat to anything in this story. It’s not tacked on, it’s not preachy, it’s persistent, flowing into all the cracks in everybody’s armor, especially Gunnar’s, but even Tessa’s got some armor God needs to seep through. I almost thought it was really going formula when tragedy struck, but hey, even that was a surprise. Way to shake up the “Leader of the Pack” stereotype, Dana Pratola. Thanks for a great ride!
Four Stars: Laura J. Marshall’s Faith, Love, and Fried Chicken
“When Things Don’t Go Like You Planned … ”
Warning! This is a serial, which means the story’s not finished with this short episode. And it seems like a pretty predictable, old-fashioned romance at first. But the Jock from high school and the quiet girl dreaming of adventure away from tiny town USA have some surprises for us. Dash’s secret recipe for romance will make you smile, even when he’s not the one who makes the fried chicken part of the story a reality. Pretend you live back in the days where magazines had serial stories and you couldn’t wait for the next installment.