Last Chance Hero

Cathleen Armstrong is the author of Welcome to Last Chance winner of the ACFW Genesis Award for Women's Fiction in 2009 and the first volume in the series "A Place To Call Home". She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband, Ed, and their corgi, but her roots remain deep in New Mexico where she grew up and where much of her family still lives.

Ways to connect with Cathleen:
Reader Inquiries:  Cathleen@cathleenarmstrong.com
Social Media links:
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What happens when your heart is intercepted before you even know it's in play?

The folks in Last Chance, New Mexico, could not be more pleased. Dr. Jessica MacLeod has opened an office right on Main Street, and Andy Ryan, the best athlete the little town ever produced, has come home from the NFL to coach the high school football team. Unfortunately, Dr. Jess immediately gets off on the wrong foot with this football-obsessed town when she admits that she's never seen a football game, isn't really interested in doing so, and in fact doesn't know a first down from a goalpost.

Despite having little in common, Jess and Andy find themselves drawn to each other.  But when a disagreement over the future of an injured player puts them both on the defensive, it begins to look like this game is over...


My Thoughts:
Last Chance Hero is the fourth book in Armstrong's A Place to Call Home series.  The book is also my first to read from Armstrong.  The book can be read as a stand-alone but reading the series as a whole would be recommended as Armstrong builds on and includes previous characters in each book. The previous books in the series are Welcome to Last Chance, One More Last Chance and At Home In Last Chance.
Armstrong's characters come from complex backgrounds but find a place to belong in the small town of Last Chance.  Armstrong captures small town life with characters that drive a story full of faith and love.  I really appreciated the effort Armstrong made to infuse her story with a strong message of faith so fluently throughout the dialogue between the characters.  Consider this passage as an example:

"Do you think your results came back the way they did because God likes you better than he might like someone else, maybe because you go to church more or something?"

"No, of course not. I have no idea why I got the results I did.  It certainly wasn't because I deserved it.  It was just part of the plan God has for my life.  And if the results had come back the way I was afraid they might, well, that would have been part of God's plan for my life too.  Not as punishment, or judgment, but as a natural consequence of my actions.  And he would have had a olan for my life that included that too.  And you know what? It would have been a good plan." 

You will enjoy this easy read and might just find yourself in Last Chance along with Jess, Andy, Kaitlyn, Lainie, Juanita, Chris, Ray and my personal favorite, Elizabeth.

*I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.  A positive review was not expected and all opinions are my own.

Happy Reading Ya'll,
Jennifer