Lone Star Book Blog Tour: Since You’ve Been Gone by Tari Faris (Review & Giveaway)

Genre: Fiction / Christian / Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Revell

Date of Publication: September 7, 2021

Number of Pages: 336 pages

“Maybe the first step in letting go of the past was moving forward.”

Since You’ve Been Gone by Tari Faris is book three in the Restoring Heritage series and can easily stand all by itself without too much confusion. So many characters, however, span across the series, so reading each book will definitely offer more character depth and overall reading satisfaction. With that said, this third book is an absolute delight, filled with romance, small-town hi-jinks, loss and grief, and second chances.

Leah Williams is back in Heritage, Michigan, and ready to re-open the eclectic family store, WIFI. Jon Kensington, whom Leah has known since high school, is the owner of the Heritage Fruit Company and controls what happens to the building that contains Leah’s and her twin sister’s old store that has been left untouched for the past two years. Leah and Jon come together like oil and water, at first, because of their shared adolescent past and because of their pure stubbornness, but chemistry between these two quickly flares up and burns bright, and this bonfire of emotions simply cannot be ignored for long. They become business partners to make the newly remodeled and renamed store a success, but can they put aside their differences and their rocky past and move that partnership to a more personal and romantic level?

Since You’ve Been Gone is predominantly about second chances, long harbored hurts and misconceptions, and the importance of family and friends. People change over the years, and Leah, Jon, and many other characters find that the various personas and relationships established in high school should not dictate what happens with the same people today. The Christian aspect is strong in this sweet story, providing plenty of distinct notes of hope, forgiveness, and love. Not everything is rosy in Heritage, however, and reading about both the new and old relationships among friends, enemies, and newcomers is quite captivating.

Since You’ve Been Gone is charming and offers a thought-provoking plot and subplots that have incredible depth and will definitely elicit self-reflection on the value of appreciating friendships, honoring family and family legacies, and forgiving oneself and others who have inflicted either physical or emotional (or both) wounds in the past. Romance is obviously a major theme in Since You’ve Been Gone, but this enchantment gently caresses and smooths the inevitable rough edges of life in Heritage, including those pesky grudges and chronic self-doubt, ultimately delivering an engaging amalgamation of personalities, dreams, promises, and, of course, romance.

If you love a Christian-based romance that also offers intricate relationships of all types, then Since You’ve Been Gone will be an excellent addition to your book list. In fact, check out the entire series and get to know all of the inhabitants of Heritage, Michigan. Amidst the standard fare of gossip, past mistakes, and hurt feelings, small towns have so much more to offer, including lasting friendships, new affinities, and just small-town life in general. Spending a little time in Heritage and getting to know the fabulous characters, including a metal hippo that is always on the move, will certainly be time well spent.

Tari Faris is the author of You Belong with Me and Until I Met You. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers and My Book Therapy, she is the projects manager for My Book Therapy, writes for learnhowtowriteanovel.com, and is a 2017 Genesis Award winner. She has an MDiv from Asbury Theological Seminary and lives in the Phoenix, Arizona, area with her husband and their three children. Although she lives in the Southwest now, she lived in a small town in Michigan for 25 years.