Winter's End

Seasons of Faith #2

by Rebekah Lyn

Musician Michelle Burton just had the best night of her life. Her band Tangled Web opened for Wonderland in downtown Orlando and the crowd loved them. Too excited to sleep she makes a fateful decision to go to work early. The best night of her life turns into the worst day of her life.

Nearby, at boutique Hotel Lago, Stephen Longbottom, acting concierge manager, is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the board of directors for Silken Pleasures, a multimillion dollar company based in New York and specializing in high end cosmetics, fragrances and lingerie. Their incessant demands before they even arrive are driving him to distraction. Meanwhile Lizzie Reynolds, his boss is on a romantic ski trip in Vermont leaving him to manage his first solo event.

Hope, forgiveness and love are an integral message throughout the book and like a fine tapestry the threads of God’s master plan for the character’s lives are woven into a fabric of great storytelling, conflict and humor.

Readers who came to know and love the characters of Summer Storms will enjoy catching up with Lizzie, Stephen, Michelle, Jeffrey and Ian.

Genres: Romance

334 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 27, 2012

About the author

Rebekah is a Christian with a heart for new beginnings. She is a Florida native and a graduate of Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Fl. A love of history, research and journaling led naturally to a passion for writing. She enjoys travel and has traveled extensively across the United States and Canada as well as Europe and the Caribbean. Her reading taste run from the classics to light fiction. When she is not working or writing, she enjoys cooking,baking and sharing recipes on her blog, http://rebekahlynskitchen.wordpress.com

Her current works include, Summer Storms and the new release Winter's End, books 1 & 2 in The Seasons of Faith series and Julianne the first book in The Coastal Chronicle series. She is currently working on the second installment of the Coastal Chronicles, set in Brevard County, Florida during the early years of the space program.

Rebekah currently resides in Florida along with her "attack" cat, Mia. They would enjoy meeting with you on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/authorRebekahLyn

Reviews

[C A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Rebekah Lyn book, but certainly not may last. I loved the storyline, cast of characters and could not put this book down. I read it in less than 2 days, and wished it had more chapters to read. The characters were those that had many stories to tell, and you wanted to know more about them, I hope Rebekah continues telling their stories in up coming books. I would recommend this book to those who like suspense, mystery and a good read.

[Danielle Thorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Michelle Burton walks into work early one winter morning, the last thing she expects to find is a body. Devastated and confused by the violent death of her coworker, Michelle's recent success with her Florida band becomes less important than recovering from shock and finding someone to comfort her. Through her connections of friends and acquaintances, Jeffery comes back into her life, and she realizes the once wild party boy has changed and wants to be there.

This continued story that started with author Rebekah Lyn's Summer Storms, includes the budding romance between Lizzie and Ian, and the funny firsthand view of life behind the concierge desk at the Hotel Lago. New acting manager, Stephen Longbottom, solves the inconveniences of the rich and famous with flair, and new characters that arrive from a million dollar company, Silken Pleasures, keep heads shaking and pages turning.

Lyn writes fabulous down-to-earth stories of faith and romance. She has a knack for taking the trials we face in life and putting them into perspective. Her writing is a doorway into another neighborhood that is real and relatable, and her characters are the people next door we come across every day. Lyn tackles real issues with grace and hope. She reminds us that life from the Godly perspective is a life that can help us grow and become. This second installment of the Seasons of Faith series is a great read that makes you want to have the next on hand. Check out the first novel, Summer Storms to meet the cast and enjoy this sequel.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter's End is the second book in Rebekah Lyn's Seasons of Faith series. In book 1 we meet Elizabeth Reynolds, Ian Cavanaugh, Jeffrey Robbins, Stephen Longbottom, and Michelle Burton. The first book's emphasis was on Elizabeth and those involved in her circumstances. By the conclusion of that book, Elizabeth and Ian had begun a new romantic relationship. Their story continues in this second book as a subplot where the author explores their growth individually and as a couple, while LIzzie and Ian are in Vermont on a ski trip with his parents and her adopted parents.

In the meantime, the main plot is split between Stephen and Michelle. While Lizzie is away on vacation, Stephen is in charge of their concierge team at Hotel Lago. He is professionally tested when he spends the weekend overseeing a particularly fussy group of executives on a business retreat. Michelle, on the other hand, had just experienced an exhilarating night with her rock band, only to arrive at her office job the next morning to discover a co-worker had been brutally murdered and left in one of the office's bathrooms. The three storylines, plus a subplot where the murder investigation moves forward in its own suspenseful timeline, weave and intertwine with each other in a similar manner to Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series.

Then there's Jeffrey. He noticed Michelle was on the news because she was the one who discovered the body and called 911. Although their last time together was a disaster, he decided to call her to check on how she was dealing with the shock. They got together and she immediately noticed how he had changed. Eventually she discovered he had become a Christian. His presence helped her cope with her new fears. Their relationship is yet another subplot that will apparently continue in one of the future books in this series.

Winter's End gives readers a little bit of everything. Suspense quickens the pace when Detective Mike Emerson and his assistant try to hunt down the murderer while the evidence in fresh and before he strikes again. Good character work is evident as we learn how Lizzie and Ian's relationship is developing. Spiritual topics crop up naturally when Michelle's experience shakes her to the core. Jeffrey plays an important role in answering some of life's toughest questions. Continuity flows throughout the tale, connecting the books closely, allowing resolution in some relationships while anticipating how some other events will need to be resolved in the future.

I have noticed that the best way to read these books is to read them back to back to enjoy the story's flow. The first three books are already out. Another book will be coming out soon, in late 2015 or early 2016. I am looking forward to reading the next two books. If you enjoy Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove books and other author's works with a similar style of writing, then I recommend this book and the series to you.

[Deanna Gottreu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter’s End by Rebekah Lyn was just as enjoyable to read as the first book in the Season of Faith series. Stephen Longbottom is the acting concierge manager at the Hotel Lago while Lizzy is up in Vermont on a romantic vacation. One gets to wonder for a while just who she is with in Vermont. While Stephen is being driven to distraction by the demands of the board of directors of Silken Pleasures, a multimillion dollar company in New York, Lizzie is having a wonderful time learning to ski and being with the man she loves. Michelle Burton and her band, Tangled Web, have been trying for a very long time to break into the music field and finally they get to open for Wonderland in a club in down Orlando. The crowd goes wild for the band and when Michelle gets home she is too wound up to sleep so she decides to bake a batch of scones and go into work early. What had been the best night of her life quickly turned into the worse day of her life when she reached work and made a discovery. Jeff has become a Christian but is fighting the temptation to slip back into his old life. Ian, Emma, and Ron are also main characters in this second book. The ending of the book was heartwarming.

The plot, characters, dialogue, and action scenes were all very well developed by the author. I was on that ski slope with Lizzy and was also feeling Stephen’s stress as he dealt with unreasonable people. Rebekah has a knack to pulling the reader right into the story. This book has more romance than the first and there were some great scenes with Lizzy and her man. Don’t want to give away which guy she chose. There was also a good mystery woven through the book. God’s love and forgiveness and faith and hope are an important part of the book and are seen in the lives of all the characters. They all learn that after God forgives, then one must forgive herself or himself. The author had one of the characters explaining God’s love and forgiveness in a way that really caught my attention. “God works on us one piece at a time, like putting together a broken vase, because we are all broken when we come to Him. He works with patience and tenderness, fitting the pieces back together. Sometimes a piece needs extra time for the glue to dry so it will stay in place, but He will hold onto that piece until it does finally stick. So today one more piece of your vase has been repaired.”

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a well written romantic story with a good bit of mystery and that is also a Christian story. I definitely hope that Rebekah Lyn will write at least two more books in this series, Spring and Fall.

Thank you to the Author/Publicist for providing this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you read Rebekah Lyn's Summer Storms, you will love to see the continuation of the story. Winter's End starts with a gripping murder scene that has you hooked right away. Michelle (she dated Jeffrey in the first book) finds the body and is then forced to deal with her past as well as her unbelief. Jeffrey, who got saved at the end of Summer Storms, reached out to Michelle and tries to help her deal with what life has thrown her. Lizzie and Ian are still dating and Lizzie is still dealing with her past and accepting that God has forgiven her for past sins. Stephen, Lizzie apprentice at the hotel, is left in charge while Lizzie is gone and has to deal with some very difficult clients. If you wondered what would happen after Summer Storms, you really need to read Winter's End. I did find that since it had been a while since I read Summer Storms that I was a little lost at the beginning. Once I started to remember all the characters and stories, I couldn't put the book down.

Overall I enjoyed the book, however, like I mentioned, if it has been a while since you read Summer Storms, I would re-read that first. I initially was hooked with the murder scene but then got a little lost/confused with the jumping around in the story. Ultimately the book is very good and very well written. It's a quick read and once you start you can't put it down!

[Trinity Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another intruging story by Rebekah Lyn. This is the second book in the Seasons of Faith series. It’s called Winter’s End and I just love it. It was great to find out how the charcters from book one Summer Storm were doing and to meet some new interesting characters in this book.

This book is very suspenseful, full of faith, love, forgiveness and hope. It tells us once God forgives us we need to forgive ourselves and forget about the past.

One paragraph in the story Winter’s End really spoke to me. I will quote it “God works on us one piece at a time, like putting together a broken vase, because we are all broken when we come to him. He works with patience and tenderness, fitting the pieces back together. Sometimes a piece needs extra time for the glue to dry so it will stay in place, but He will hold onto that piece until it does finally stick. So today one more piece of your vase has been repaired.”

I really love this series and this author. I recommend you find her books and read something really full of love and forgiveness.


Thank you to the Author/Publicist for providing this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are three stories in this one book. They are all intertwined but easy to follow. I was somewhat disappointed in Lizzie's story line. While some may think the story showed her as human, I thought she appeared weak in contrast to her personality in SUMMER STORMS. But it is an enjoyable read.

[Nadene Hrabak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not care a lot for this book. I thought it was slow and didn't have enough excitement.