Dancing With Fireflies by Denise Hunter

★★★★★
Goodreads | Amazon

Jade returns home to Chapel Springs after years of protecting her fragile heart. Then along comes Daniel, making her long to dance again.

Creative and complicated, Jade McKinley felt like a weed in a rose garden growing up in Chapel Springs. When she left, she thought she’d never look back. But now, pregnant, alone, and broke, she has no other choice but to return.

The mayor of Chapel Springs, Daniel Dawson, has been an honorary member of the McKinley family for years. While his own home life was almost non-existent, Daniel fit right into the boisterous McKinley family. He’s loved Jade for years, but she always saw him as a big brother. Now that she’s back, his feelings are stronger than ever.

As Jade attempts to settle in, nothing feels right. God seems far away, she’s hiding secrets from her family, and she’s strangely attracted to the man who’s always called her “squirt." Finding her way home may prove more difficult than she imagined.

After reading Denise Hunter’s “A December Bride,” I couldn’t resist the opportunity to return to Chapel Springs in Dancing With Fireflies, hoping for just as much heartwarming romance. Page by page, I fell in love with the characters of Jade and Daniel, hopefully anxious for their happily-ever-after. But their journey is by no means as simple as “heartwarming.” In her novel, Hunter addresses several emotionally wrenching and challenging situations, and my heart broke again and again for these characters. I simply could not put this book down until I knew how it ended. Though it is the second novel in the Chapel Springs series and some of the characters’ backstory (I’m assuming) is found in Barefoot Summer, I found the plot of this novel understandable on its own – I would not have a problem recommending this novel to anyone with an interest in inspirational romance. And once again, I thank BookLook Bloggers for providing me with a free copy of this book and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. (I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)