"Loving Helen"

Eighteen-year-old Helen Thatcher grew up under the protection of her older siblings, Grace and Christopher. Living in their shadows and keeping to herself suited Helen just fine—until she met widower Samuel Preston. Watching Mr. Preston care for his young daughter Beth, and seeing his concern extend to her own family, Helen felt her reserve slipping away, as she learned first to trust him and then realized she had fallen in love with him. But instead of returning—or even noticing her affection—Mr. Preston developed his own tender, and unrequited feelings, for Grace. 

In the midst of each silently nursing their broken hearts, Helen and Samuel are faced with a daunting task—reuniting Grace with her fiancé, Nicholas Sutherland. Now it is Helen who must look out for her sister and sacrifice her own fragile heart, as she and Samuel pretend to be engaged. Helen finds the role surprisingly easy to play, allowing herself to imagine that Samuel’s loving remarks are sincere. As the time for their charade to end draws near Helen must summon her courage and tell Samuel the truth of her feelings, or risk losing him forever.

My Thoughts...

This is the sequel to Saving Grace but really it covers the same time period that the first book did. However, this time it is from Helen's character's point of view. It really isn't a stand alone book, although you could read it as such, but you will enjoy it so much more if you read Saving Grace first. I really liked the first book and this one didn't disappoint either. I enjoyed getting to know Grace's sister Helen, from another angle, so to speak. In Saving Grace Helen was very shy, but this story helps us see her come out of that shyness shell, but also we learn why she was so shy. 

I really liked this book and look forward to reading the next book in the series, Marrying Christopher, about their brother Christopher. I can't wait to see where his adventures take him. I enjoyed this book enough to award it 4 "Loving" stars. This book is a part of my Nook library.