Book Review: Sing in the Sunlight by Kathleen Denly

Sing in the Sunlight is the second book in Kathleen Denly’s Chaparral Hearts series.

Clarinda Humphrey is desperate for love. A childhood attack by a dog left her scarred on the inside and outside. She hides behind a veil, convinced it’s the only way people will not turn away from her as her family has done. But an adult mistake changes everything for Clarinda.

Richard Stevens has done well for himself in California despite a dubious past. Then a letter from home sends him on a journey. In the process, he meets a young woman covered by a veil—a woman he’s sure God has told him to marry. And it’s his past that helps him deal with what it means to love Clarinda.

The bulk of the story takes place in the late 1850s in and around San Diego, which made it an interesting and unique setting for me. I think it’s always fun to visit a real place in its beginnings, especially when it’s grown to become a big city over the years.

Richard is a sweet and faithful hero who hasn’t let his past make him bitter. Instead, his past and his faith help him to help Clarinda to heal. As Richard’s opposite, Clarinda was harder for me to like, yet it was impossible not to experience a certain amount of sympathy for her circumstances. At the same time, she grows a great deal in the story, as a woman of confidence and faith.

Overall, I recommend the book for those who enjoy that pre-civil war time period and stories of people discovering their worth. I give Sing in the Sunlight 4.4 stars.