About the Book

Book: Desert Willow
Author: Patricia Beal
Genre: Romance
Release Date: February 12, 2020

After a failed engagement, Captain Andrew Lee James has focused on building a career in the Army he loves. That commitment includes helping a feisty, out-of-work ballerina whose devotion to her grandmother’s dying wish immediately grabs his heart. She’s the one, but will he be able to win the heart of a woman who has vowed to never be involved with a soldier?

College graduate Clara Malone swore to never love anyone in the military again but when her dying grandmother asks her to deliver a love letter to the general who broke her heart decades ago, she agrees and finds herself escorted by a handsome Army captain whose kindness challenges her beliefs. Surrounded by desert willows that shower her path with pretty pink flowers and sing with the buzzing of hummingbirds, Clara enjoys the wild beauty of El Paso—and her time with Andrew—more than expected.

Can she deliver her grandmother’s last love letter without losing her heart to a man who represents everything she fears?

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MY THOUGHTS.....

What would happen if a young woman, who has vowed never to become involved with a military man, suddenly finds herself working with a man dedicated to his Army career? Could that soldier, who is also a caring and devoted Christian, convince her to change her mind?

I love it when an author can entertain and inspire at the same time and author Patricia Beal has accomplished this in her story. Desert Willow centers on two people who are brought together in their efforts to help a dying woman and even though their attraction is strong, it appears that there are too many obstacles standing in their way. Clara Malone is determined to avoid any involvement with a military man and she has also drifted away from any personal relationship with God. As she observes Captain Andrew James and his very deep commitment to God, she begins to believe that she can also experience this until... her confession of past mistakes threaten any hopes for a happy future. As she watches Andrew's reaction, Clara tells him "The first night we went out you said that sometimes Christians are the only Bible most people will ever read.....You're not being a very good Bible right now. You are not representing Christ well. And I don't want to be like you."

Beal successfully portrays Clara's faltering steps toward redemption and Andrew's initial struggle to accept Clara's past. Desert Willow is a powerful reminder that God's Grace is available to each of us. If you enjoy contemporary romance with a strong faith element, you will certainly enjoy Desert Willow.

I received a copy of this book from the author via Celebrate Lit. There was no obligation for a favorable review. These are my own thoughts.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

About the Author

Patricia Beal is a 2015 Genesis semi-finalist and First Impressions finalist. A Season to Dance is her debut novel (Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, May 2017). Her second novel comes out in February of 2020. Patricia graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati in 1998 with a B.A. in English Literature and has worked for the U.S. Army as a writer and editor for many years. Patricia writes from Fayetteville, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband and two children. You can find more info about Patricia on her website here.

More from Patricia

Desert Willow: A Love Song to the City of El Paso, to Family, and to Prince Harry

I enjoy this story so much! It’s great to finally get to share it with you.

Desert Willow started as a NaNoWriMo project in 2015 and has a lot of my grandma’s history in it—life in the German colonies of the south of Brazil, the beginning of the shoe industry there, and the story of the most influential man her town has ever known, my great-grandfather.

And what does that have to do with El Paso and Prince Harry?

Well, my Prince Harry lookalike, a young Army captain named Andrew Lee James who lives in El Paso, is helping the protagonist deliver her grandmother’s last love letter, a letter she was urged to write all those years ago after what happened in Brazil.

The contemporary story of Clara (protagonist) and Andrew was fun to write too because I’ve been around the Army since the nineties. We moved to Fort Bliss/El Paso in 2012 and lived there for six years. I thought I was going to hate it, but I loved it, so I just had to write an El Paso story.

Now I think that what I enjoyed the most about writing this novel was making all the connections and showing how the actions of a distant past affect and inform the modern story so deeply.

Some of you have journeyed with me for a while and know that my debut, A Season to Dance, was my salvation process. What comes after salvation can be hard. What’s that? Well, looking at past mistakes through God’s eyes and realizing just how wrong we were, for starters.

We know how quickly God forgives us, but can we forgive ourselves and each other as quickly?
Desert Willow deals with all that. And with Prince Harry… 😊