Book Review: Love in the Balance by Regina Jennings

Handsome Cowboy or Debonair Tycoon.
How’s a Girl to Choose?

Molly Lovelace dreams of a life without cares in Lockhart, Texas. She also dreams of handsome wrangler Bailey Garner, her ardent but inconsistent beau. The problem is, with Bailey’s poor prospects, she just can’t fit the two dreams together. 


Then mysterious stranger Edward Pierrepont sweeps into town–and her life–and for the first time Molly wonders if she’s met the man who can give her everything. But he won’t be in Lockhart long and while it certainly seems like he talks about their glorious future together, she can’t quite get Bailey out of her mind. 

What’s a girl to do with all these decisions when love is in the balance?

It’s no secret I loved Regina’s debut novel, Sixty Acres and a Bride. A loose retelling of Ruth and Boaz, it was on the top of my list for 2012. This year, I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of Love in the Balance. This one isn’t based on a Bible story, but does follow a couple involved on the periphery in the first book.

I loved Molly and Bailey. I hated Edward. But I was supposed to, I suppose ;).

This is one of those books where I don’t feel I can get too involved in discussing the plot without giving away major plot points. 🙁

And I hate that.

That said, Regina once again does a masterful job of pulling us back into Texas in the late 1800s and giving us characters we can root for, cheer with and cry over.

Her characters are flawed, but in the end, all is washed clean through the blood of Christ and His forgiveness.

The down side to reading this early? [I read an advance copy in January.]

I have to wait that much longer for her next book. Sigh.

Overall rating: 9.25 out of 10 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ecopy in exchange for my review. Thanks to Regina and the publisher for a hard copy in exchange for my review [don’t ask how I somehow ended up with both ;)].