Warm, Comfortable Story

Reviewed by Phee Paradise

Third Time's a Charm
by Virginia Smith

The only thing I have in common with Tori Sanderson from Third Time’s a Charm is that I have sisters. Tori is young, single, moving up her career ladder and loves to shop. In spite of this, I liked her. Her confident demeanor is hiding a hurt little girl and the book is a story of healing.

Even though I liked Tori, and Ryan, who also likes Tori, it took about a third of the book for me to become invested in her life. As I read about her mean boss, her nosy sisters and her inner hurts, I kept wondering when the story would start. But I began to identify with Tori as I read about her struggles, fears and hopes. Smith’s narrative is natural and her characters grow through their everyday lives. This doesn’t mean there isn’t any drama in the story. It was strong enough to touch my emotions and it wasn’t predictable. There was even some humor, although I would have wrung my sisters’ necks if they had been that pushy with me.

Reading Third Time’s a Charm is like drinking a cup of hot cocoa. It’s warm and delicious. I know you’ll enjoy it.

Pros: Themes of love and forgiveness develop as the main characters grow. It has a happy ending in spite of some pain.

Cons: Slow start and some of the resolutions are a little too pat.

About the book:

There’s not too much in this world that a little retail therapy can’t fix—except maybe the empty hole in your heart from lost and undiscovered love. Tori Sanderson is no exception. Facing abandonment issues with her father, Tori sets out to find the real reason he left her. Along the way she discovers even deeper truths. Add in two matchmaking sisters plus a couple of attractive men vying for Tori’s attention, as well as a tempting job promotion possibility, and you’ve got one confused sister. Through it all, Tori searches for the love she’s been missing all these years.


About the author:

Virginia Smith recently contracted her twelfth book in four years. Previous books in the Sister-to-Sister series include: Stuck in the Middle and Age before Beauty. In 2008 she was named Writer-of-the-Year at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. Stuck in the Middle was a finalist for American Christian Fiction Writers’ 2009 Book of the Year Award. A Taste of Murder was a finalist for the 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. Ginny and husband, Ted, divide their time between Lexington, Kentucky, and Salt Lake City, Utah, escaping as often as possible for diving trips to the Caribbean. Admittedly, her adventurous outings are often as much fun as they are “book research.”

For a more indepth look into the life of Virginia Smith visit the KCWC blog.

The Grand Prize will be awarded to one fortunate person who leaves a comment at one of the blog tours participating in the KCWC Third Time's a Charm blog tour. It includes: The complete collection of Virginia Smith books, TEN in all (listed below), with a personal behind-the-scenes commentary written by the author.