Clouds by Robin Jones Gunn

A while back, I read Sisterchicks in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn. After reading it, I decided that I wanted to check out more of her books. My most recently completed book by her was Clouds. Clouds is part of the Glenbrooke Series - I have not read any of the others - it was #5 of 8. I do not feel like I missed out on anything by not having read any of the others, but really, the only way to tell if I did will be to read more! As it turns out, Glenbrooke is not 'in' the story until near the end of this book, further reason to support my theory that I didn't miss anything.

The story tells the tale of Shelly Graham. She is the daughter of the local preacher and moved away from home 5 years earlier to pursue her dream of being a flight attendant. She always wanted to be able to travel and see the world. When the airline does some downsizing, she requests a transfer home and returns to her parent's house. When her sister moves to a cabin, they decide to share and further their relationship as sisters. Getting closer to her sister allows Shelly the opportunity to travel and see more of the world. Their first trip is to Germany. There, she runs into the former boy next door and her first, and only, true love. As the fates would have it, she also meets his fiancee, whom he only recently became engaged to. A trip with the two of them to the towns where her family is from, leaves her with mixed feelings. Returning home, she has a new perspective on life and what she wants to do with it. Is it to late for her to live her dreams? Will she ever get the chance to let Jonathan know how she really feels?

I'd tell you more, but then reading it wouldn't be as much fun!

I really enjoy the storytelling that Robin Jones Gunn provides. She does a great job developing her characters and I simply love that they get the chance to travel to new locations and live and experience it almost like locals. It allows me to experience a new location, vicariously and I must say that this story has me wanting to head back to Europe again - my family is originally from Austria/Germany and I still have relatives there. I have only been once, when I went with my family as a senior in college and it was a great and memorable experience that I was fortunate enough to share with my parents, my siblings and my grandma. There is a Christian based backbone to her stories, which is present but not pushy. In both books that I have read by her, not only are the characters well developed, but we get to watch them grow through their faith and their travels.

I definitely will look to read more books by Robin Jones Gunn. I am debating on the Glenbrooke Series, whether to move forward from where I am or to start from the beginning.

You can learn more about the author and this book through the links below:

Robin Jones Gunn website
her Bio
Clouds

No compensation was received for this review. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Waterbrook Multnomah through their Blogging for Books program. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.