An Echo of Hope

After waiting for her beloved for seven years, Hope Underwood felt she had no choice but to accept an arranged marriage. The marriage was not based on love, and Hope has never forgotten the man who left her behind, Michael Flanagan. She often wonders why he broke his promise. After learning her husband was killed at war, Hope decides to remain with her in-laws, who feel it is their younger son's duty to marry Hope and become father to her son. Despite their plans, Hope is determined to marry only for love; a dream that may come true when Michael suddenly returns. Michael finds himself thrust back into Hope's world. He promised her dying husband that he would deliver a note to Hope. Michael had his reasons for not returning. His father's shadow looms over him; and until he can forgive his father's crimes, he does not believe Hope will forgive him. When he learns that Hope never stopped loving him, he faces a bigger obstacle. A good majority of the community believe in the saying "Like father, like son", including Hope's father. AN ECHO OF HOPE marks the dramatic conclusion to the Reardon Valley series. Reunite with characters from the past - Hope is Jessica and Noah's daughter (FREEDOM'S HOPE), Max and Belinda are back (LADY OF THE RIVER), and many of the Clays (A HOME IN THE VALLEY) appear as well. Most characters in AN ECHO OF HOPE are well developed and enjoyable. However, I found it impossible to like Hope's brother-in-law, Joel. Thankfully, it soon became clear that Joel was not meant to be a nice man. So be prepared to spend a good deal of the book wanting to see his character get kicked out of town! Hope was a strong heroine, but I do wish she'd gotten over her hesitance and run off with Michael. Granted, that would have most likely ended the book, but she let people steamroll her despite her insistence that she was going to make her own decisions this time. Those nitpicks aside, I found AN ECHO OF HOPE to be a wonderful addition to this popular series. As I read it in a couple of hours, I can guarantee that the story holds your attention from start to finish. I do hope Dianna Crawford will return her readers to Reardon Valley in the future. Tracy Farnsworth - Former reviewer at TRRC