The Forgiven Duke

Hello World!
What a morning,  sometimes I feel that having three kids under three can be extremely interesting when trying to get everyone ready for the day.  Right now I've given up hope of my son ever wearing clothes again.  At least I have two out of three clothed, right?  Luckily we're not going out today or it would be slightly embarrassing.  I hope your Wednesday is going well and that you have a great remainder of the week.

The Forgiven Duke...

Now I want to warn you that this book does not come out until this July.  I know you're wondering why I'm reviewing this book now instead of when it's coming out?  It's because I thought it would be appropriate to put the books in a row just in case someone was reading my blog and was curious to see what the 2nd book was like.  The Forgiven Duke starts with Alex on a ship with her fiance while the poor Duke is left on the shores watching her sail away.  Once again he is on the chase to catch up with her.  The question is, will Gabriel catch up to her and what will happen if he does?

This is definitely not a stand alone book, please be forewarned that you won't understand anything unless you read the first book The Guardian Duke (read my review right here).   I found myself clearly in angst with this book, feeling emotionally drained from catastrophe to catastrophe that happens to the poor Duke.  I was also really quite exasperated at our leading lady.  Lessons that I hoped she had learned in the first book were definitely not learned.  Personally, for me, I would have liked her to grow a little more.  All of this said, I did enjoy the book.  It's well written and once again we are left with a little bit of a cliff hanger.  There was just enough romance to keep me wondering where Alex and Gabriel's relationship will lead.  I'm excited to see what the final installment will take Alex and Gabriel.
 *This e-book was given to me via netgalley for my honest opinion and I honestly did.

2nd Timothy 4: 7-8 NASB
I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.  And now the prize awaits me - the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return.  And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his glorious return.

When I read this, I think of someone who has had years of walking in their faith.  They can look back and see how well they have run their race, but what happens if my candle is blown out early?  This proceeds with me asking myself am I running a good race right now?  When I ran track I would usually run the 400 meter dash,  I was trained to run my hardest in the beginning, because it doesn't matter how much I think I can sprint at the end, I won't have enough energy to run the last 100 meters.  If I held myself back in the beginning I could lose first place.  Many times I remember thinking I'll just conserve my energy until the end and sprint ahead of everyone the last 100 meters.  It never happened and I ended up in 2nd or 3rd place.  Where are you at in your race?  Are you giving it all your energy right now, or are you thinking I can make up for it later?  I encourage you dear readers to remember the race that we Christians are on and give it your all now.