Just to See You Smile

The Other Way Home #3

by Sally John

This romantic series by Sally John follows a group of women who are knit together by friendship and faith. If your readers have enjoyed the Other Way Home stories in A Journey by Chance and After All These Years, you don’t want them to miss Just to See You Smile. Teacher and coach Britte Olafsson finds herself drawn to the new principal who’s an ex–Marine. His discipline toward life and in teaching matches her own, and when coaching dilemmas erupt, he strongly moves to support her. Despite her fears, Britte tentatively begins to open her heart to him. Just to See You Smile demonstrates the unconditional love of Jesus and the true meaning and beauty of semper fidelis (always faithful).  

Genres: Christian Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Christian, Inspirational, Fiction

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Sally John is the best-selling author of twenty novels, including the Side Roads series, the Safe Harbor series (coauthored with Gary Smalley), The Other Way Home series, The Beach House series, and In a Heartbeat series. A three-time finalist for the Christy Award, Sally writes contemporary stories that offer hope to readers in their own relational and faith journeys. She enjoys teaching writing workshops and spending time with her husband, adult children, and grandchildren. An Illinois native, Sally and her husband, Tim, live in southern California. Visit her Web site at www.sally-john.com.

Reviews

[Heidi Strybos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book. Someone else said a little old fashioned with the wooing but I liked it - refreshing from some of the junk out there

[Mary Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute read, and I enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters. The book is rated Christian fiction and presents the difficult choices involved in forgiveness and love for others.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice story about new love and old love renewed. I enjoy reading about the people in the little town of Valley Oaks.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want just a regular old nice clean love story, this is it. The characters are cute and sweet. Basketball coach and Principal romance. Just a fun read but the best in the series is book 4.

[Rissi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third installment in Sally John’s series is a story too comfortable in its own skin, really, and especially, the characters become too easy in their circumstances – each of them take too much for granted. It's a story about losing sight of what is most important in life and does have a lot of good things to say, but I had a really difficult time getting “into” the story. During the portions of novel that tells Anne and Alec’s story, there are some legitimate concerns aided by Alec’s concerns over providing for his household. As the primary provider, he was shaken after being passed over for a promotion which would have led to more money and subsequent stability, but the family also let their beliefs and relationships with each other suffer as a result. Anne felt under appreciated, which, let’s face it, we probably all have experienced a twinge of. I felt that by the time Alec realized he was “losing” his family, his wife; it was far too late in the novel to be properly examined. When he does begin to realize the error of his attitude, there just isn’t enough time left in the story to really feel interested in his romantic gestures.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did – especially since Britte is Brady’s sister (the hero from the first in the series). Britte and Joel make an interesting couple to have thrown together and their tale explores an age difference in a relationship. Neither one of them wants to admit to a growing attraction but when Britte’s life is threatened, that all changes. They see each other differently instead of the boss-employee type connection they had prior to Britte being injured. I don’t think it was the characters that bothered me – once again, they are “real,” as much as the story itself; it just didn’t hold my interest. It’s not that I wouldn’t recommend the book it’s just not my favorite. If you’ve read the others, I would definitely suggest you read this one, too. It is not directly connected, but still has common threads and revisits some previous characters. Something I am always up for since it is always a pleasure to see where beloved characters are in their lives: so many sequels disregard previous characters.

Originally published on Copyright © 2014 • Dreaming Under the Same Moon

[Allan67 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is my standard blurb for a book that I've read to my wife: Another book that I read to Diana. We can't do much anymore after her stroke, so I read to her to spend time together. Diana has always loved to have someone to read to her - and I like to do just that.

Again, this was not great literature, but entertaining. We pretty much knew the ending after the first few chapters when the characters were introduced. The author is working her way thru the characters in the first book of the series and getting them married off.

It was easy reading and Diana enjoyed the entertainment and gave it four stars.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but not as much as the others in the series. I like the idea of old fashioned courting and wooing and acting in a manner that will not make it seem like something tawdry is going on, when it's really not.

The plot was a bit slower than the other books in the series, and I would have liked to read more about Joel's military background and how it influenced who is is now.

[Melanie]

I read this book quite a while ago and I had forgotten to mark it as read. When I picked this book up I knew it sounded familiar. I just had to read the first sentence and I remembered the entire thing. Not many books do that for me. The drama in the book is real and so is the realistic portrayal of it all. No skimming around the edges. Great read

[Lisa]

The Other Way Home series / book three

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I really liked the ending. Good book about two couples. One was a married couple finding their way back to each other.

[Mamajil]

loved it!!! Read it in a day!