Today's Shadows - by Becky Melby

Heather Conrad has lost her job as an assistant to a hotel company's CEO when her boss is let go for scandalous reasons.  Choosing to spend some time house-sitting for her former boss while she gets her life plan together, Heather, instead is surprised that "house-sitting" turns into "babysitting" for 3 months while her former boss jets off to Venice.  Additionally, Heather is now responsible for helping 6-year-old Izzy settle into her new house, a task made more daunting by strangers continuing to show up too often for coincidence and by the fact that Izzy keeps getting lost in secret passages built for servants long ago.  Intertwined with the story of Heather and Izzy is the story of Maggie, a servant well-familiar with those secret passages and tiny room at the top of the stairs.  What do their stories mean to each other, and how will they intersect to tie them together?

I am not often drawn to books with half the story in the past, and half the story in the present, but this book was very well done, and I was equally invested in both Maggie's story of long-ago, and Heather and Izzy's story from today.  Although Ryan, the love-interest, initially appeared to be somewhat of a goof, as his story filled in, he became more endearing, and a good match for Heather.

I gave this book 4 stars, mostly based on the seamless joining of the disparate stories, and Heather's search for truth to where God has worked in her life.  Also, even though this book is listed as #3 in a series, there is no sense that the reader is missing anything for having not read the other two novels.  My theory from reading the other books' descriptions is that the series is linked by theme only, and not by a common character or story.  As much as I enjoyed this book, I will likely look to read the rest of the series.

You can find the author's blog HERE
You can purchase the book or read an excerpt HERE..

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.