Thankful by Shelley Shepard Gray

Aden loves Christina.  Christina loves Aden.  Neither one know that.  Age separates them at first, but Aden is content to wait.  Then circumstances change.  Contemplating a future with each other wouldn't be bad until Aden's life changes. When Aden's parents died, Christina's family took him in and raised him.

Aden does a good job at stifling his emotions and desires to court Christina.  So many times in the book I wanted Aden to pour out his feelings to Christina.  Especially because Christina felt the same way but thought he didn't care in that way for her! 

I liked Christina's parents, but I wanted them to believe in the two of them and a future courtship.  I understood why Aden kept his feelings silent, and the guilt from a previous incident on the ice didn't help matters for either one of them.  I was cheering for them at the end of the book and wanted them to have that happy ever after!

Shelley Shepard Gray has written a great follow-up book to Hopeful, which is part of the Return to Sugarcreek series.  After reading the sneak peek for Joyful, her next book, I'm now really looking forward to reading that one, too!

For more reviews on this book, go to http://litfusegroup.com/author/SGray.

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Thankful, Book Two in the Return to Sugarcreek series
New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray captures the beauty, devotion, and warmth of Amish life in this engaging tale of family, commitment, trust, and love set in the beloved community of Sugarcreek.
Christina Kempf has always known that God chose Aden Reese to be her husband. As children, he was there to save her when she fell through the ice, and he’s been by her side ever since. After his parents died in a car accident ten years ago, the Kempfs raised Aden as one of their own, and everyone sees Aden and Christina as brother and sister. But Christina has never given up hope that Aden will one day ask her to be his wife.
Aden always planned to court Christina. But losing his mother and father changed everything—except his love for her. Her parents generously welcomed him into their home and treated him like a son. He can’t betray their kindness by admitting his feelings for the girl who is like a sister . . . yet so much more.
Pressured by her parents to court, Christina begins to accept the attentions of Sugarcreek’s young men, and now, Aden must make a choice. Will he stand by and watch the love of his life slip away? Or will he risk losing the love and trust of the family he holds dear to tell Christina how he truly feels?
Thankful includes a P.S. section with additional insights from the author, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more.
Learn more and purchase a copy here.

Shelley Shepard Gray

Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Times bestseller, a two-time USA Today bestseller, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Holt Medallion winner. She lives in Southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
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I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group and Avon Inspire in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.