A Gift of Grace was the most angsty book I have read in some time. The basic story was a touching one, but the pacing was off. The characters spent most of the book engulfed in grief and sorrow, then the book rushes toward its ending. And a potentially interesting subplot worthy of a story of its own got short-shrift.

Caleb Tucker and his wife Laney had been childhood sweethearts. Their marriage was a happy one, marred only slightly by Caleb’s workaholism. He put in long hours at his farm and the feedstore he owned with his father. Laney didn’t complain but she understandably felt a bit neglected at times. When Laney asked Caleb to go with her to town, as usual, he was too busy so she went alone. A man attacked her, raped her and left her in a coma and pregnant. Laney never regained consciousness and gave birth to a baby girl. Caleb, filled with grief and guilt, signed the baby for adoption sight unseen. Then he went on with his life. Or at least he tried to. It’s been three years since Laney’s death and Caleb is still so filled with grief it’s as if there’s a veil between him and the world.

Sophie Owens is a teacher in town. After putting her lonely childhood and failed marriage behind her, she’s found happiness in her work and her life. Three years ago, she adopted a little girl. Grace is the center of her life. When Sophie and Grace go to Caleb’s feedstore to get some food for the little girl’s new puppy, Caleb notices that Grace looks exactly like Laney did as a child.

Grace is Laney’s child and Caleb, still filled with grief and guilt, wants to become part of her life. This tears Sophie apart, but Caleb insists that he wants to be part of Grace’s life and the judge agrees with him.

I wanted to slap Caleb and the judge in the case. Caleb had no biological link to Grace, and to see this little three year old so scared and wanting her mama made me tear up. Luckily, Caleb comes to his senses after his first disasterous day with Grace in his house and offers to leave Sophie and Grace alone. Sophie, touched by his concern, offers to let him spend some time with Grace as long as she is there to make the little girl feel protected, and they slowly find themselves becoming a family.

For almost three quarters of its length, A Gift of Grace is marked by almost nonstop angst and brooding. All the characters suffer so much that it was almost tiresome, and my sympathy for them grew very, very thin. However, the book picked up after Grace’s terrible day with Caleb. Sophie and Caleb begin to talk and to listen. They quit focusing so much on themselves and think about each other, and especially about Grace. As soon as they quit obsessing about themselves (and Caleb was the worst about this) they become much more interesting characters and the story picks up.

A sub-plot involving Caleb’s parents – Catherine and Jeb – was interesting, but wasted. Catherine’s mother suffered from severe depression, and Laney’s death only aggravated Catherine’s own depressive tendencies. Jeb, although agrieved by the death of his daughter-in-law and the break-up of his son’s family, was able to go on with life. Catherine’s grief frightens Jeb, who sees her slipping into a deep depression, but she refuses to seek help, insisting everything is fine and denying all out of fear. While she eventually agrees to get help in a throwaway line, this very interesting sub-plot deserved more, possibly even its own book.

A Gift of Grace is well written, and the story had lots of potential. If the pacing of the story had been improved, and the sub-plot dropped, it would have been a stronger book. I think it could have made an excellent stand alone novel, but as it is, it’s still a better than average series romance. Fans of deeply emotional stories will eat this one up.