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I’ll probably post about this book again later when it’s closer to its release date and I’ve actually finished it, lol, but y’all’re getting a sneak peek. =)

Right now I’m reading a galley of Finding Jeena by Miralee Ferrell. The sequel to her first book, The Other Daughter, this one follows Jeena Gregory. We met her in the first book as Susanne’s friend–the one who was a bad influence and kept encouraging our heroine to do what we, as wise readers, knew she absolutely should NOT do!

Now, I’m always a fan of reforming an antagonist, so I’ve been looking forward to this. It can be tricky, taking a character that’s full of herself, materialistic, and ambitious, and trying to make a heroine out of her. And I gotta say, at about halfway through the book I still don’t like Jeena–which is to say, I wouldn’t call her up for advice, lol. But Miralee’s doing something awesome with her. She’s making me cringe at all the right places, making me scream, “No, Jeena, don’t do it! Don’t be an idiot!” She’s letting me see from the get-go in what direction Jeena has room to grow, where she’s likely to change. And she’s making me hope, and look forward to the dynamics.

At the point I’m at in the story, the floor has dropped out from under Jeena’s feet, and she’s been plunged into an abyss darker than she thought possible. I can see the light shining through, but she hasn’t been able to turn her face away from the consuming darkness yet. I’m at the point where I’m aching.

Don’t you just love a book that makes you ache?

Last week was crazy-busy for me, so I didn’t get a whole lot of time to read. It wasn’t until yesterday that I really had the chance to sit down with it, and I got so involved that when my husband told me about something that came up in his business, I found myself projecting Jeena’s troubles onto it and turning it into something totally different in my mind. It took concerted effort to get out of the story and back to reality, LOL.

Finding Jeena doesn’t come out until April, but anyone interested in an intense women’s fiction should make a note to check it out this spring (I’ll undoubtedly remind you closer to release;-)

Miralee’s a lovely writer, a lovely woman, and this is yet another story from her that will take you to places you didn’t expect . . . and show you a little something about yourself along the way.