Any Dream Will Do

"When we worry, we take reality and move it into the realm of fiction. What is real is transferred into the land of monsters and dragons, which are far bigger and frightening than they really are."

Shay Benson has dreams. Dreams of a future, being married, raising a family and perhaps finding a job in which her love of numbers becomes a reality. In fact getting a job as a bank teller is almost too good to be true. It seems as if her life is looking up now that her ex-boyfriend, Shooter has gone to jail for what could be life so now the choices she makes from now on will be her own. Until her brother Caden shows up on her front door step begging for money. She doesn't have much but she is willing to give him all she has saved. Yet when Caden tells her he needs $5000, it is out of her hands. Her brother tells her that he will be killed if he doesn't find a way to get the money and he can pay it all back by the end of the week. He tells Shay to take it from the bank, since they won't know its missing until he can repay it. Stuck between that proverbial rock and a hard place, Shay knows she shouldn't but she also knows she can't watch the only family she has left face being killed either.

Now three years later, she is finally getting another chance on life after being released from prison. She has no family and of course, once she loaned her brother the money, he took off and she never heard from his again, even knowing it would cost her everything. She has no where to go and her only hope had been from an elderly Christian woman who wrote to her in prison that told her to trust God and He would look out for her. Yeah like that would ever happen for Shay. Look where God has gotten her up to this point. Being dropped off in the middle of the day right in front of church, she at least figured she's go inside and try to think things through.

When Pastor Drew Douglas sees Shay in his church, he is immediately drawn to offer her help. He knows of a place where Shay might be able to get a second chance if she can endure their year long program. If she does, she will walk out of the Hope Center with a job and a place to stay. He just doesn't expect her to provide him the desperate help he needs after losing his wife, 3 years ago to cancer. His church is fall apart and church attendance is down, not to mention, his young children Sarah and Mark, who need a mother's touch and lately all the well-meaning women from the church just haven't measured up. Now with Shay trying to make a fresh start on her life, she needs to stay away from everything in her past if she is to make a new future for herself. She just never expected someone responsible and respectable as Drew would see her for what she is, not what she did in her past.

I received Any Dream Will Do by Debbie Macomber compliments of Ballantine Books, Random House Publishing and Net Galley. In accordance with the new FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book reviewed here at Reviews From The Heart was provided to the reviewer by the publisher, media group or the author for free and were received, unless specified otherwise. This is such a wonderful novel and would almost line up as a Christian novel except for a random profane word uttered from a church member. The theme is truly about second chances and for not judging people by their appearance, or in this case their past. Too often people hold us accountable based on our pasts and not where we are at today. As Christians it is our duty to show people forgiveness and not condemnation and give everyone a second chance at making better futures for themselves. I absolutely LOVE this novel and can't wait for more from Debbie Macomber in the future. I easily give this one a 5 out of 5 stars in this reader's opinion.

For more information about Any Dream Will Do, Debbie Macomber or where you can preorder a copy of this novel due out in August of 2017, please click on the links below:

Any Dream Will Do by Debbie Macomber

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