My review of Together for Good by Melanie Dobson

Together for Good is an awesome read. It has a great plot with several unique twists and subplots. Instead of the same-old same-old, this time the story focuses on a woman who wanted a child and the birthmother reclaimed the child before relinquishing her rights. Now twenty years later, Abby needs to know if her almost-son was safe and doing well.

The author created loveable characters who felt like real people to me. And the guys were hunks! Amazingly well-written for a debut novel, IMHO. All around, I'm impressed. The character emotion and grief issues felt real. Plus, to top it all off, the author obviously did her research and got her facts straight about adoption. Whoo hoo! I hate it when an author is clueless about the subject matter and they guess at how the system works.

In addition, I felt like I was in the Puget Sound during the story. I love slipping into another time and place. Honestly, the scenery and sailing felt very real to me. Now I want to visit Washington and Puget Sound. I loved the snorkeling scenes and the wildlife sightings. Wonderful description of the orcas, too. Plus, this story had an environmental issue as part of the plot, so awareness about the harmful effects of pollution came across. Very cool.

The ending was a bit of a tear jerker, but it perfectly illustrated the scripture from Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose.

I had a warm fuzzy along with my clogged throat when I reached the end of the story. the kind that makes you want to sigh with satisfaction. The story didn't have a tidy, unrealistic ending, but one that glorified God! I loved this book and highly recommend it! Oh, and it was very romantic even without a lot of physical contact. Very well done!

Together for Good was published by Kregel and was released in June 2006.