"PIERCED BY LOVE," by Laura L. Walker, Cedar Fort, $14.99, 224 pages (f)
Getting dumped a week before your wedding is bad enough, but just as Noelle thinks she has another shot at her happy ending, her boyfriend of one year proposes to someone else instead — her sister.
With another rejection to recover from on top of a betrayal from two people she cares about most, Noelle turns to Pierce Logan, a guy who rarely dates a girl more than once. Perfect.
But, of course, there's more to Pierce than his player reputation. Still struggling with his parents' divorce from years earlier and his dad's unexpected remarriage, he turns out to be just the friend Noelle needs to get through the roughest time of her life while trying to keep her family relationships intact. Noelle, in turn, may be exactly what Pierce needs to find peace with his past and move forward.
When Pierce invites Noelle to San Diego for spring break to help get her mind off things, they both start to question their mutual assertion that they're "just friends."
Set at Northern Arizona University with a strong Mormon backdrop, Noelle and Pierce are both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and are active in the local Institute of Religion and LDS ward.
Laura Walker's "Pierced by Love" is a clean romance, and there is no profanity or violence. But the story isn't all about romance; forgiveness is a resonating theme, as well as the importance of families.
"Pierced by Love" is Walker's first published novel.
Angela Carter is a writer and editor. When she's not absorbed in words, she enjoys going on walks and playing the piano. She blogs at palydudeman.blogspot.com.