The Best is Yet to Come by Renee Peterson Blog Tour!

Book Description

Rafe Chauvin left his home in the blink of an eye twelve years ago, running from a secret he kept buried deep inside. The day after his high school graduation, he joined the Army to escape the pain the secret brought. When Serena Adams told Rafe Chauvin the lie of a lifetime twelve years ago, she thought he would be relieved. She never imagined what consequences that one reckless night would lead to. After years of trying to escape her lies, she returns to her hometown in South Louisiana. Hannah Matthews is a war widow. Her husband, Tom, left her behind with two very young daughters and made his best friend Rafe promise that if anything were to happen to him that he would look after his girls. Bound by honor, Rafe keeps his promise, stepping up and forming a close friendship with Hannah. When Serena is hired to plan the weddings of both Rafe’s brothers, they are brought together for the first time in over a decade. Lies are finally uncovered, leaving a trail of anger and bitterness in their wake. As the paths of these three individuals converge, and they reach a crossroads in their lives, will they move forward and discover that the best is yet to come?

Ariana's review:

4.5 STARS!

When I was asked to partake in this blog tour, I had not yet read anything written by Renee Peterson. I had been told that this could be read as a standalone book, which was great since I hadn't read the first two yet. I had began reading The Best is Yet to Come, completely blind, not knowing what to expect from the book, or from her as an author. What I received was a VERY pleasant surprise. Not only did this turn out to be a book that kept my attention with a wonderful story, but Renee was also a wonderful writer.

This book was on the shorter side at just under 180 pages. Usually, a book of this length would feel very rushed to me, like there wasn't enough story to it. You can imagine how shocked I was when I finished and everything felt complete. There were no "what ifs" or "did I miss something"... nothing felt rushed or unfinished.

The story followed the Journey of Rafe and Hannah, who were brought together by the death of Tom (Hannah's husband and Rafe's best friend). And while Rafe made it through alive, Tom left behind his wife and two young daughters. Fast forward 3 years, and Rafe is still keeping his promise to his friend, and taking care of Hannah and the girls. Hanna and Rafe have been a support system for each other over the years since Tom's death, and Hannah is one of the only people Rafe opened up to about losing the daughter that was never born into this world. Serena, who would have been the mother of Rafe's daughter, opted to have an abortion, regardless of how much Rafe had wanted to keep the baby. For 12 years, Rafe has carried around this secret, kept it from the majority of his family, sat with this guilt and anger, and was too afraid to face it head on. He avoided visiting his family as much as possible, but when his two younger brothers get engaged, and are to be married a month apart, there is no way to avoid going home anymore. Since the first wedding is during Christmas, he brings Hannah and the girls with him to stay with his family so that Hannah will not have to face a Christmas alone and sad. Once there, he soon finds out that Serena had been hired as the wedding planner for BOTH of his brothers weddings, and there would no longer be any way for him to avoid facing the demons of his past. As the story progresses, you see Rafe and Hannah finally start to admit, and give in to the love that has blossomed between them, and they stop fighting the feelings. What transpires between them throughout the story is very heartwarming. It shows there is more to life than just grief when you lose a loved one. If you are willing to open your heart again, you can find happiness and love once more. That love lost will always remain with you, but it does not have to overpower you.

"And you, my Hannah,

are the breath that breathes life into me."

I must say, there was one part that left me with my jaw hitting the ground. Completely unexpected... never saw it coming. I actually had to re-read those few sentences to make sure my eyes were not playing tricks on me LOL. Renee did a wonderful job of making you feel the emotions with the characters. It had me smiling, then bawling my eyes out, and back to smiling again. I look forward to reading the other books by Renee Peterson. I am so happy that I was introduced to this author's work!

Author Bio:

Renee Peterson is the author of the Brothers of the Bayou series and several short stories.  She has multiple works in progress to be released in the upcoming months. She spends most of her time raising two young kids and the remaining part of her time creating stories of love in the places she has been the places she wants to go. She grew up in the country side of Maryland, but has traveled around the country living in California's Mojave Desert, along the Crystal Coast of North Carolina and now resides in the Cajun country of Southern Louisiana where she has fallen in love with the culture and food. Renee loves hearing from her fans and welcomes their feedback. You can e-mail her at authorreneepeterson@gmail.com, follow her on twitter at @reneepeterson18 or friend her at facebook.com/reneepetersonauthor

To purchase this book for your kindle Click here