Love Is a Battlefield (A Walk in the Park) [Paperback]

Annalisa Daughety (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Walk in the Park | Publication Date: October 1, 2009

Kristy O'Neal gave up her dream job as a park ranger at Shiloh National Military Park to get married and move away. When she's left at the altar, she returns to the park to find her old position has already been filled. She accepts a seasonal position even though it is a step back, career-wise. Working alongside Ace Kennedy (the man who has her old job) is almost more than Kristy can handle. Throw in a matchmaking mother and friends who think she should put herself back in the dating game, and Kristy is nearly at her wits' end. She sees the past as a battlefield of failed relationships and isn't sure she's ready to risk her heart again.

For Ace Kennedy, history offers proof that true love exists. With stories from the park's rich history in his arsenal, he begins the battle to win Kristy's heart. But when Kristy learns he's keeping secrets from her, her skepticism of love seems justified. Can she risk her heart on the battlefield of love one more time or will Ace lose Kristy forever?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When park ranger Kristy O'Neal returns to her job at Shiloh National Military Park after being left at the altar, she can hardly stand the thought of facing her colleagues as a jilted woman. Still, Kristy realizes her heart will mend fastest where her real love lies: the natural surroundings of a famed national park. Just when Kristy summons up her strength to re-enter her workplace, she discovers that a new ranger—a handsome and eligible man—has replaced her. Ace Kennedy immediately feels the heat, but definitely not the type of heat he hopes for after meeting Kristy. As the two attempt to work amicably with one another, outside pressures in the form of vandalism, interfering matchmakers, old wounds and fresh emotions draw Kristy and Ace closer while also setting them against each other. New fiction voice Daughety has come up with a clever plot setting for her novel, but the story line is far too formulaic and implausible for fiction fans wanting more than formula. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

The characters are well written and reading about life as a park ranger is fresh and interesting... it's an enjoyable read worth checking out.
--Romantic Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Barbour Books; 1 edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602604770
• ISBN-13: 978-1602604773
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #898,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Annalisa Daughety won first place in the Contemporary Romance category at the 2008 ACFW Genesis Awards. After graduating from Freed-Hardeman University, she spent time working as a park ranger for the National Park Service. This experience led her to write the Walk in the Park series--each book in the series is set in a different national park. Originally from McCrory, Arkansas, Annalisa now resides in Memphis, Tennessee. Read more at www.annalisadaughety.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I liked it, January 3, 2010

By 

Isupply Great Deals - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love Is a Battlefield (A Walk in the Park) (Paperback)

I loved the themes in this book: forgiveness, trust, and true love. This book really shows that God can take our mistakes and bad choices and turn them into something wonderful. But only if we let Him. If we choose not to forgive and keep that bitterness in our heart, then we are keeping God from using turning it around. I loved Ace and Kristy and all the other characters. I'm really looking forward to the next books in this series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 - 4 stars. Positive Christian messages with a sweet romance, November 21, 2009

By 

Laura B (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love Is a Battlefield (A Walk in the Park) (Paperback)

I received this book from LibraryThing's First Reads program.
Kristy O'Neal loves being a park ranger. She especially loves being a park ranger at Shiloh National Park in Tennessee. She's been there for years and when she quit two weeks ago because she was getting married, she was sad, but looking forward to getting married. Now, two weeks later, she's still single and jobless and her position has been filled, so she doesn't even have hope of getting her job back.
Ace Kennedy may be handsome, funny, and smart, but he's the one who took her job, so Kristy is determined not to like him.
She is struggling in her life and doesn't have faith in love or much in people at all. She is a half-empty kinda girl.

This book was a sweet and simple read. It centers around faith and our reliance on God and His plan. Secondly, it deals with forgiveness. Sometimes we need to forgive not just for the other person, but to move on in our own lives.
I enjoyed the messages in the book and it didn't seem overly preachy. It actually was a bit of a slow transition into the Christian message of the book.
Kristy was a very real character that seemed to react to thing in a genuine way. As for the other characters, I felt they were on the edge of flat--no growth for anyone but Kristy.
This is the first in a series called "A Walk In the Park." I could see a bit of a setup for more books, but nothing that left me feeling empty at the end of the book like some books in a series. It can be read as a standalone book and never pick up another in the series, but I intend to read more in the series when they are available.
This is a good, sweet romance and perfect for a Sunday afternoon read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ, July 19, 2011

By 

L. Klobucher (Fond du Lac, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love Is a Battlefield (A Walk in the Park) (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book I enjoy a book that has bible passages in the story line. Annalisa is a very talented writer and I am so happy she shares her writing with us readers I would recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a good Christian book. It just shows you how the Lord works and has a definite plan for all of us