Very slow, and more tell than show. It started off really well and then it felt like I was reading the same chapter over and over.

This was a good book overall. I really enjoyed the beginning of this book where the reader got to see what happened to Joey that caused her downfall. I think that the move to England was such a great thing for her. Sam was a solid character and it was interesting to have a lesbian character be a woman of the cloth. I didn't feel a whole lot of chemistry between the two main characters though. They were friends hanging out and then Joey tells Sam she's falling in love with her. I just wasn't feeling the connection between them. I did enjoy the development of both characters fighting their relationship inner demons. I'm glad I was able to read this book!

4.5 stars

Josephine “Joey” Barry is an investigative journalist and war correspondent with a justifiable reputation for finding stories in dangerous places. When her team is attacked and killed near the Syrian border, she is forced to hide in terror for days until she can escape. The physical scars have healed, but she is unable to do the job she has done for twenty years.

Sent to the UK to work with an offshoot of the BBC, Joey is supposed to recover from her trauma. It is there that Joey comes across the charismatic and compassionate vicar Samantha “Sam” Savage, who has emotional scars of her own.

The two are attracted to one another, the country vicar and the hard-hitting journo, and yet they are worlds apart. Can they settle their demons and find peace with one another?

Joey and Sam are really well written characters. Both are strong and capable, and yet both have tender spots in their psyches. They are very likable characters, and the attraction between them grows into something more tangible the more they see each other. I really liked how this connection developed. It seemed very plausible for both the characters, and revealed the emotional challenges faced by both characters really well.

The other characters also played a part. I really liked how none of them overstayed their welcome, but Beecham managed to give them all enough space to be distinct and to hold their own within the story.

The other aspect that surprised me was how well Beecham managed Joey’s PTSD. There was enough background to give us an idea of why Joey was behaving the way she was, without ever pushing it so far that it became a challenge for me to just get through the story. This was handled with tact and appropriate information, and lovely characterisations that built to reveal the problem and growing realisations about it. This was really well done.

I also liked how the people in the church were seen as people, and that most were very modern in their views of homosexuality. It was lovely for this book to not be about coming out or homophobia, but for Beecham to let that go and move on to something else. It isn’t to say that this doesn’t happen or isn’t relevant, but it is lovely to be able to see the church, and some of the people in it, in a different light and to focus on something else for a change.

And I loved the humour. There were many laugh out loud moments in the book. Sam has been given a very dry sense of humour, which offers levity when things could be getting too heavy for what is principally a romance.

I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it.

Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

I. Beacham is one of my favorite authors. Her way of writing greatly matches with the kind of satisfaction I expect from a good story, more specifically, from a good romance novel. Flawed yet likable, vulnerable yet strong protagonists, a few good supporting characters, well written emotions, some good old angst and drama, a plausible conflict, and an interesting plot.
This is the fourth book in a row in which I. Beacham has covered all I prefer. With Soul Survivor she again managed to produce an emotionally charged story that reads in one breath. If you liked her previous books, you will like this one, too. If you have never read any of her books, this can be a good start.