If you haven't read Kristen Hannah's IF YOU BELIEVE you are missing out on one of the best character driven, emotionally wrenching stories the genre has to offer.

Mad Dog Stone is a fighter who works odd jobs in between matches. He never stays in one place long enough to form any kind of emotional attachment and has broken many a heart along the way. His life is about to change when he answers an add for free room and board in exchange for a little work at the Throckmorton apple orchard. How hard can picking apples be after all?

The last thing Mariah Throckmorton wants is change in her life, especially in the form of a big, shiftless male. She is living in a self imposed exile while hiding from a scandalous past and a tragedy she has never allowed herself to recover from. She does her darnedest to get this lazy critter off of her farm, which tends to make him all the more determined to hang around and take whatever new torture disguised as work she dishes out. She intrigues him as no other woman has and her obliviousness to his charms makes her all the more alluring.

The author writes with such emotional intensity I found myself either smiling or crying on nearly every page. She skillfully blends raucous wit with tender and heartbreakingly painful moments of emotion making If You Believe a powerful, not soon to be forgotten read. You won't find any fancy locales or wacky adventures in this book. What you will find is an honest down to earth book about two lonely people overcoming their fear of emotional intimacy and learning about the healing powers of love. What more could a reader ask for?

A full box of Kleenex read and a definite keeper!