Jennifer: An O'Malley Love Story

Oh my word. Can I give this a thousand stars?

Y'all. THIS is how you write romance!

**Prepare yourselves for a minor rant on romances **

A good romantic relationship is not built on the "feels", the physical aspect - a tingling feeling when he touches your arm, constantly wanting to kiss, swooning over his blue eyes, getting lightheaded when you smell his aftershave . . . (*rolls eyes*) It's built on a solid friendship and a deep mutual respect and reverence for the other person - for their heart, their soul, their personality, not how cute they are.

Henderson nails that perfectly in "Jennifer". Tom and Jennifer's relationship is so pure, so sweet, and so beautiful. I fell in love with these amazing characters from the very start. I loved show more Jennifer's sweet servant's heart for others, and Tom's respect and support of her. Jennifer's salvation was incredibly realistic and beautiful, and actually had me tearing up. Henderson brings up some tough issues on God's sovereignty, and handles them with great tact, making things clear for the unbeliever, and strengthening the faith of the believer.

While very short, the pacing of this story was slow, peaceful, meandering. But not too slow that I lost interest. Just perfect. This could have been a full-blown novel and I would have loved it even more.

All in all, I very much enjoyed this short novella, and greatly look forward to reading more by this talented author! Highly recommended! show less

Dee Henderson is back up to form with "Jennifer: An O'Malley Love Story". It is the long-awaited prequel to the O'Malley series which has made Henderson so popular. In a few short pages she has managed to add a depth and understanding to Jennifer's story as she finds herself, her love, and her faith. The reader finally gets to see what happened in the months leading up to "The Negotiator" that started the chain of events for so many characters throughout the series. It's a bit heavy on the romance and very light on action which is not my usual taste. It seems to work for this story though. My only wish is that it was a bit longer. A novella just doesn't give you enough time to spend with characters you have grown to love over the years. show more It is well worth the read and will keep you turning pages without any desire to put it down. show less

I am a longtime fan of Dee Henderson’s suspenseful O’Malley series, so when I learned she would be writing Jennifer’s story in a new novella, I couldn’t wait to read it. I wasn’t disappointed in Jennifer: An O’Malley Love Story.

Jennifer, the youngest O’Malley sibling, is a dedicated pediatrician focused on keeping “her” kids healthy for as long as possible. Then Tom, a successful surgeon, enters her life with a casual, but ever sweet friendship. Most importantly, Tom introduces her to the God who loves her–gently helping her explore and ask her questions. Before long, Jennifer comes to realize that she is not only falling for Tom, but also her Lord.

While I wasn’t terribly impressed by Henderson’s latest novel, show more Full Disclosure, I felt like the voice I know and love from her early work returned to tell Jennifer’s story.

Over the course of six books, readers were given open doors into the lives of the other O’Malleys, but only glimpses into Jennifer. As a youngest sibling myself, I always found her fascinating but never felt I really got to know her. This book allowed readers a real opening into Jennifer’s character and life beyond just her role in the larger family.

There were a few disappointments with Jennifer’s book, though. A noticeable omission was her back story. While I realize that much of the O’Malley story has already been told in the series, I would have appreciated learning more about Jennifer’s childhood and how it affected her as an adult from her own perspective. The novella also doesn’t have the breadth and depth of most of Henderson’s books so Jennifer and Tom are not fully developed and, of course, the story lacks the suspense of the rest of the series. Just remember, it is a novella.

That said, Jennifer’s story is a sweet love story as she falls for both Tom and her Lord. And I am so glad Henderson chose to write and publish the story for those of us who love the O’Malleys.

I received a complimentary copy of Jennifer: An O’Malley Love Story from Bethany House Publishers, but I was not otherwise compensated for this review. All writing, thoughts, and opinions are solely mine. show less

Jennifer O'Malley is a busy physician who pours her heart and soul into her pediatric patient's. They are more like her kids. While trying to help a hurting child, she runs into Dr. Tom Peterson who gives her some assistance. Her strength and dedication attracts Tom while Jennifer finds herself drawn to Tom's gentle personality and strong faith. Tom introduces Jennifer to the Lord and she is excited about her future and new found faith. She wants to introduce Tom to her family at their Fourth of July gathering. But what will happen when Jennifer's faith is push to the ultimate limit?

I have read the entire O'Malley Series so I was very excited to about reading 'Jennifer'. It's not a long story but it was very endearing and loaded with show more emotion. I found myself reaching for the Kleenex at one point. Jennifer's life is a secondary story within the O'Malley Series and you get to know her while reading through the stories. That's what made this story so touching, because you get to see how Jennifer and Tom met and got to know each other. If you haven't read the O'Malley Series, you could start with this story but understand, to find the conclusion to Jennifer's story, you have to read the entire series. (which you'll want to do because it's a GREAT series). If you've read the O'Malley Series, you will definitely want get this book. I think it's a great addition you won't want to miss.

*This complimentary copy was provided by Bethany House Publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (May 1, 2013)
ISBN-10: 0764211129
ISBN-13: 978-0764211126 show less

The O’Malley family consists of seven young women and men who meet in an orphanage and make their own family, eventually adopting each other as siblings and taking on the name O’Malley. This is a very unique series (a prequel and six other books), each book focuses on one family member. The books are full of suspense, mystery, and romance. And Jennifer is the one family member that doesn’t have a book “all to herself”. She’s basically the backbone of the family in the way that she was the first to have a relationship with Jesus and she’s the love of the family.

Finally, Dee has written a beautiful novella about Jennifer and how she met and fell in love with Tom and how she came to know Jesus personally. At first I thought show more the book was too short and I wanted more, but thinking about it, her story does continue throughout the series, so this book is kind of like the first few chapters in the series. I’ll be content with this beautiful novella telling the beginning story of Jennifer.

It’s been several years since I read the O’Malley series and now I want to read them again, they are that good. So this book does deserve a 5 star rating because it makes you want more and I’m so glad that the books are available to read and we don’t have to wait.

If you haven’t read this series, I highly recommend it. The books are full of suspense, mystery, love, romance, devotion and falling in love with Jesus. show less

It was great to finally hear Jennifer's side of the story! After reading the O'Mally series, it was interesting to hear about how she and Tom got together, and what her life was like before she was diagnosed with cancer.The character development was great..... I felt I knew them, and I felt their pain.
One thing I was a bit disappointed with was the size of the book. I realize that her story picks up in the first book of the series, but I still wish I could have gotten to know Jennifer a little bit better. I like thick books!!! All in all, it was great to see how her story started and it gives it more depth to her character and to the story as it unfolds through the rest of the series.
I'm glad Dee Henderson decided to write this book.

The O'Malley books have long been a favorite series of mine and when Jennifer was released and offered for review I jumped right up on the bandwagon! Jennifer is the first of her family to become a Christian, get married and is the catalyst for all the other stories that are part of the O'Malley series. Her story is the backbone for everything that happens to each member and the one that brings the message of Christ to her family.

I found the writing in Jennifer to be much easier to read and loved that we didn't have the "explanation" offered in all the other O'Malley books to explain how this family became a family. It's much smoother. Jennifer is someone I would of loved to have known in "real life" and her relationship with Tom is show more another bond that you see bits n pieces of in the other books. It's strong and secure - exactly what all the other members of the family want. Tom's faith is beautifully written and the salvation message is presented in a way that would make a nonbeliever want to know more.

I would of loved a longer book, the last couple of chapters are a bit rushed and I would of loved to know more about what happens after a major event that occurs at the end of the book. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger but it's a wonderful introduction to the whole series - it would make a nice book to give to a friend or just to add to complete your series. show less