My latest book from Bethany House Publishing is Together with You by Victoria Bylin. I really enjoyed this contemporary story, although at first I was unsure if I would because the premise involved the nanny falling for the dad of the house. I feared that it would be a simplistic romance, but I was very happy with the depth of all of the characters.
The main character, Carly, is working on her phD when she meets Dr. Ryan Tremaine and his children. She is pulled to his young daughter, Penny. Penny has Fetal Alcohol Effects, and Carly has extensive expertise in this area. She is reluctant to take the nanny job that Ryan offers because her big heart has been broken by past mistakes, but she does agree to the job. In the process of taking care of Penny and her teenage brothers, Carly shows Ryan how to connect with his kids. The growing attraction between Ryan and Carly is not welcome by either one, and is compounded by the fact that Carly is a devout Christian while Ryan is agnostic.
The characters are well-developed and the Tremaine family and Carly both show character growth throughout the book. The author does a good job of educating about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome without sounding like a textbook. I also like how she made flawed characters who had made serious mistakes but were still likable. It is nice to note that Ryan has made the choice to redeem himself from past mistakes and live by a moral code even before he realizes the necessity of relying on God. Sometimes Christian authors portray Christians as "good" and agnostics/atheists as "bad", but this gives more realistic and nuanced characters.
I enjoyed this book very much, and I would recommend it to others. I was given this book by Bethany House for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.
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