Book Review: Welcome to Last Chance

          Welcome to Last Chance

By Cathleen Armstrong

The red warning light on her car dashboard may have driven Lainie Davis to seek help in the tiny town of Last Chance, New Mexico, but as she meets the people who make this one-horse town their home, it's her heart that is flashing bright red warning lights. These people are entirely too nice, too accommodating, and too interested in her personal life-especially since she's on the run and hoping to slip away unnoticed.

Yet in spite of herself, Lainie is increasingly drawn into the small-town dramas and to a handsome local guy with a secret of his own. Could Lainie actually make a life in this little town? Or will the past catch up to her even here in the middle of nowhere?

Cathleen Armstrong lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, but her roots remain deep in New Mexico, where she grew up and where much of her family still lives. Her debut novel, Welcome to Last Chance, has already won the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award for Women's Fiction.

 

Praise for Welcome to Last Chance

"With equal parts hope, charm, and tender faith, Cathleen Armstrong spins a tale as warm and welcoming as a roadside cafe on a dusty highway. Exit from the fast lane and visit Last Chance. It's a place you won't soon forget."

Lisa Wingate, bestselling and award-winning author of Firefly Island and Blue Moon Bay

"Cathleen Armstrong packs a lot into her debut novel: the suspense of danger lurking on the edges of Lainie Davis's life, a touch of can-this-really-go-anywhere romance, small-town friendships becoming like family, and the disappointment of family being less than ideal. With an eclectic cast of characters and well-developed plot, Welcome to Last Chance pulls the reader in from the first blink of the warning light on the dashboard of Lainie's car to the happily-ever-after waiting at the end of her last chance to get her life right."

Beth K. Vogt, author of Catch a Falling Star and Wish You Were Here

"An outstanding debut novel! Welcome to Last Chance gives us a warm but never sentimental view of small-town life, sprinkled with characters full of quirks and faults--all seen through the eyes of a tough but fragile heroine. Cathleen Armstrong has crafted a story to cherish."

Sarah Sundin, award-winning author of With Every Letter

MY THOUGHTS 

Last Chance.....it sounds so final, so serious, but this book has the word "welcome" in front of it, it sounds so much more friendly...and it is!  The problem is, Lainie not so comfortable with friendly, she's had a rough life, and friendly makes her uncomfortable, and maybe even a bit suspicious.

I enjoyed how Lainie softened throughout the story .  As you read you can feel her wanting to, but she has such a hard time letting go of her toughness.  Several of the characters have some pretty big issues, but only Lainie's seems to have danger lurking behind.

A few twists and turns kept the book exciting and fun, a great end of the summer read.

 *I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for review from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

 “Available August 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”