Fresh Face Friday: Just Destiny by Theresa Rizzo

Happy Friday!  Today I get to spotlight a wonderful author and book.  Just Destiny is the second book of Theresa Rizzo’s that I have read.  After reading this I have come to expect poignant and heartfelt books.  This book did not disappoint and is definitely one that draws you in and won’t let go until the very end.  For my full review keep reading after the book blurb.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and get to do something great.

Book Blurb:

What would you do if your whole world fell apart?
Jenny Harrison made some poor choices in the past, but marrying Gabe was the best thing she’d ever done. They had the perfect marriage, until a tragic accident leaves Gabe brain dead and her world in ruins.
Devastated by grief, she decides to preserve the best of their love by conceiving his child, but Gabe’s family is adamantly opposed, even willing to chance exposing long-held family secrets to stop her. Caught in a web of twisted motives and contentious legal issues, Jenny turns to best friend and attorney, Steve Grant. Steve wants to help Jenny, but he has reservations and secrets of his own.
When something so private and simple turns public and complicated, will Jenny relent? What is Steve willing to sacrifice to help Jenny?

Review:

Jenny’s life was perfect.  That was until the accident that turned her world upside down making it not so perfect anymore.  Throughout her life she has made mistakes and errors in judgment but when she married Gabe it was the best decision she ever made.  They made each other happy despite the age difference and seemed to have the prospect of a happily ever after with their own child.  That is when the unthinkable happens and Jenny loses Gabe in an accident and in turn miscarried the baby.  When the tough decision to let Gabe go comes and she decides to donate his organs and harvest his sperm she is met with contention from his uncle.  Jenny leans on her best friend, Steve Grant to help her get through these losses and the impending trial.  It soon becomes very clear that Steve has strong feelings for Jenny and can’t do what she asks.  In the end will Jenny get her happy ending out of the tragedy or will her world crumble and everything she has lost be for not?
This is a wonderful novel.  Theresa Rizzo has done it again with a fantastic story and wonderful characters.  Though many may have differing opinions about what Jenny wants to do the story allows for you to see both sides and root for who you believe to be right.  The characters of Jenny and Steve are great.  They are well-written and develop nicely through the story.  Their relationship, though only a friendship at first, develops very naturally through Jenny’s trials.  I think one of the best parts of this story is how it illustrates the levels of grief along with the emotional toll a trial can take on a person.  Theresa Rizzo really does a phenomenal job in capturing the emotions of these characters and the story.  In the end, you realize the real point of everything and you along with the characters have an “ah ha” moment.  If you like books that can give you an emotional ride and will leave you emotionally spent, you have to pick up Just Destiny.  You will not be disappointed when Theresa Rizzo is writing the book.

Author Bio:

Theresa Rizzo is an award-winning author who writes emotional stories that explore the complexity of relationships and families through real-life trials. Born and raised in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, she now lives outside of Boulder, Colorado with her husband of thirty years.