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Reviewed by Brenda Casto for Readers' Favorite
Do You See What I See? by Delia Latham is the first book in the Smoky Mountain Christmas series. In a short contemporary read, Ms. Latham provides a story of hurt and misunderstanding and ultimately finding that the truth isn't always what we think it is. Even though it's been three long years since Laramie Buchanan saw something that caused her to leave her fiance Evan Lassiter at the altar, she still can't get over the hurt, or the love that she still carries for him. Moving across the state with her best friend to start a new business, she hasn't returned home once. Now with the approach of her grandfather's eightieth birthday, she decides it's time to go home and try to put the past behind her, but can she face Evan without getting her heart broken all over again?
Delia Latham packs plenty of book into the eight chapters of Do You See What I See? Ms. Latham is easily becoming one of my favorite writers because she creates characters with depth and clarity who often struggle with faith, while living real lives. She allowed me to understand what Laramie was dealing with as she struggled not only with the heartbreak of what she thought she knew, but also the hurt she felt over losing her faith along the way.
Once I started reading the story, I was drawn in and had to know the why's of what had happened! It was interesting that Evan never really knew what had happened to cause Laramie to run, and once the truth was revealed it did make sense. I loved the many secondary characters, especially Sydney Traynor who was Laramie's best friend and business partner. Her no-nonsense attitude was fun, and the beginnings of her love story left me hoping that she might get her own book. A faith based, second chance at romance read that provides a wonderful family feel, that leaves me hoping the author will give a few of the secondary characters their own story. A great holiday read, but honestly it's a story that can be read any time of the year!