Madeleine's life hasn't been easy, her father has died as has her abusive husband so when her aunt asks her to visit and help sort out an old property she is only too keen to start again.

Along the way she is forced to think about where God is in her life as she meets several people along her path.

Unlike many Christian books this one actually feels more realistic than many as Madeleine wrestles with her faith in a desperate attempt to make sense of her life rather than a simplistic unrealistic faith shown by many books.

The characterisation was done well and you didn't know who was on her side and who was the enemy at times.

I really enjoyed reading the cooking scenes as she tries different recipes for her cooking course. ( )

The Forever Stone by Gloria Repp is a wonderful story of forgiveness, hope, restoration, healing, and love, both between a man and a woman and the forever love of God. I was hooked from the first page and had trouble putting the book down to do other things that needed to be done. In fact when I was about two chapters from the end I just kept reading even though I should have been working on a quilting project that has a time limit. The book started out great and just got better and better.

Madeline, known to her friends as Mollie, is a young widow who feels that she must get away from her domineering mother, two dysfunctional aunts and an uncle who is a doctor and is such an arrogant and dishonest man that Mollie has come to distrust all doctors. Mollie’s policeman father was killed two years earlier and she cannot come to terms with his death. A year ago her abusive husband was killed in a car accident and Mollie has finally gotten up enough courage to leave her family and in so doing she hopes to have the chance to renew her faith in God, find herself, and to realize her dreams.

Mollie’s Aunt Lin, her father’s sister, invites Mollie to come to New Jersey to help her in the restoring of a very large mansion that she has inherited. Of course her family try everything they can think of to keep her from going to the “wilderness” and even try to force her to marry again. When Mollie arrives at the mansion, she is disappointed to see that it is in such sad shape but she really has nothing else to do or anywhere to go so she settles in to working on the house. When Mollie goes into town for supplies, she meets Timothy and immediately she accepts his friendship and he becomes somewhat of a father figure. At the same time she meets Nathan and when she learns that he is the local doctor, she gives him the cold shoulder. Mollie also meets Kent and he shows an interest in her but she has a feeling that something is just not quite right with him and that he is hiding something.

This is a very well written novel. There are many extremely interesting characters in the story and the author skillfully weaves each of them into the story and they all come alive and are an important element in the story. The plot has many twists and turns but again the author developed it so well that all the subplots came together in a very interesting way. The book not only had a good romance going on but there was also a puzzling mystery, arson, theft, a missing person, fraud, and possible murder, which just added to the already great story. All the scenes were so real that I felt as if I were a part of the action that was taking place. At the end of the book all the different mysteries had been solved but I will not reveal how things worked out for Mollie. And for me an important part of the story was the way that the author dealt with faith in God, His grace, His forgiveness, and His forever love.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes a great story with romance, suspense, and a happy ending.

A big thank you to the author, Gloria Repp, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

"The Forever Stone" by Gloria Repp ISBN: 9781482022339

After her father’s death and the abrupt end to her abusive marriage, Madeleine decides she needs a change of scenery and her Aunt Lin’s manor is just the place to start her new life. God has always been in her life, little does she know she will be needing him now more than ever………

"The Forever Stone" by Gloria Repp is as story of a young woman, Madeleine, who feels she need to change her life and regain her independence. She lost her father – whom she dearly loved, suffered unspeakable abuse from her husband and was freed from that abuse when her husband died in a car accident. Aunt Lin made her an offer to stay and help her at the Manor. It is just what she needs to start her new life. After arriving, mysteries start popping up around every corner and she is finding herself right in the middle of it. Through it all, she learns to put her trust back in God and to call on him in times of need. She also learns to trust her gut feelings and finally she learns to love again.

"The Forever Stone" classified as a Christian Romance novel, but it is much more than that. You will find a little mystery, some suspense, a bit of detective work and some action combined with God’s healing, a new found self and love all wrapped up into one novel. Gloria Repp’s talent for writing really shines in this book. She introduces so many seemingly unrelated characters – each with their own piece of the puzzle – and masterfully weaves them all together to create this novel you will find hard to put down. ( )