AUTHOR: Victoria Bylin
DATE: 2017
PUBLISHER: Bethany House
STARS: ****
After two broken engagements, nurse practitioner Mia Robinson is done with dating. From now on, she only trusts herself and God, and she's focused on her eighteen-year-old sister, Lucy, and caring for patients. Just as she applies to work for an international aid organization, a phone call from Lucy, who's pregnant and running off to marry her twenty-one-year-old boyfriend, throws a wrench into all of Mia's plans.
Jake Tanner may have recovered from the physical injuries he sustained on the job as a police officer, but his heart has yet to heal from losing his former partner in the tragedy. He's poured himself into starting a camp for the sons of fallen officers and mentoring Sam, the adult son of his deceased partner, who's asked him to be his best man at his wedding.
Mia is expecting a mess when she arrives to sort out the situation with Lucy, but she wasn't expecting Jake. And Jake, who can't help envying Sam and Lucy, doubts he'll ever experience their happiness for himself. But maybe Jake's courage and Mia's caring spirit are just what they need to bring them a lifetime of healing and a forever kind of love.
Jake and Mia intrigue one another from the get-go, but neither wants to admit it. Sounds like a typical romance, right? But it isn’t. Mia’s goals are self-sacrificing, a commitment to use her talents to serve God in third-world countries. Jake’s plans are also worthy, but his small town may split over the unexpected controversy. When “fate” steps in to bring these two together on a semi-permanent basis, sparks fly—and they’re not all romantic.
Lots of drama in this story kept me reading, and the characters are wonderfully complex. The one negative for me was Mia regretting her purity vow and seeming to be the only one to consider it important. However, the faith message came through clearly in spite of the casual attitude regarding sex before marriage. I enjoyed The Two of Us, and award it four stars. Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.