Valerie S. (VolunteerVal) - reviewed on 1/11/2022 + 594 more book reviews

Time Travel + Christian Fiction + Chaste Steam + Marriage of Necessity + Second Chances

Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund, the second and final book of the Waters of Time series, met my high expectations as a much-anticipated new release of early 2022.

The concept of holy water connected to the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden having miraculous powers of healing and time travel was introduced in Come Back to Me and is continued in this story which features Ellen and Harrison, intriguing secondary characters from book 1. Harrison loves Ellen but won't act upon his feelings due to his disability and age. Ellen never imagined marriage and motherhood in her future because of her terminal medical condition and imminent death. The discovery of two tiny vials of holy water impacts their lives, as well as the lives of others, beyond their comprehension.

If the term "chaste steam" doesn't exist, I'm inventing it for this novel! Harrison's longing for Ellen before and after their marriage of necessity was intense but his actions didn't cross a moral line, and Ellen's feelings for Harrison grew as her future expanded. Jody Hedlund's writing is a great example that romance need not be explicit to express passion and desire.

There's a LOT of time travel in this story, and some of it became confusing, but I enjoyed the ride and was pleased with the ending for all of the characters, even though it felt a bit rushed.

I'm going to be book-bossy and insist that readers must read Come Back to Me before reading Never Leave Me. The framework for this 'world' is established in the first book, and the second picks up soon after the first ends without lengthy explanation (which I appreciated).

Thank you to NetGalley and Revell Publishing for the review copy of this fabulous novel.

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