Jennifer - by Dee Henderson

Almost a decade ago I was introduced to Dee Henderson and the O'Malley series. Those six books are about orphaned kids who adopt each other into their own family and each book covers a different sibling. They all work in stressful jobs (firefighter, hostage negotiator, policeman, etc) so their stories are suspenseful romance mysteries. Woven throughout those six individual stories is the story of the youngest O'Malley, Jennifer. She's the only one who doesn't live in Chicago although she also faces stress on the job (pediatric MD). So, while reading the O'Malley series, I learned bits and pieces about Jennifer's life and how it all connected with her siblings (sorry for being vague but I don't want to give away Jennifer's story!!).
Now she has her own book, although to be fair, it's actually a novella. This is the prequel to the O'Malley series and doesn't intertwine with her siblings at all. Its subtitle is "An O'Malley Love Story" and that's what it is. It tells the story of Jennifer meeting Tom Peterson, their growing relationship, and him teaching her about Christ. It's basically setting the stage for everything that you will learn in the six O'Malley books.
I found it an enjoyable and easy read. The plot wasn't complicated and the character development took place fast but when you only have 160 pages, there isn't a whole lot of time to delve deep in the characters. If you read this for what it is - an introduction to a series - you'll probably enjoy it but don't come expecting the usual plot twists and slow but steady character growth that Henderson usually writes.
If you've never read the O'Malley books, I would highly recommend starting with "Jennifer," otherwise the climax won't be a surprise for you. All in all, a good book that makes me want to read the O'Malley series again.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher to review. However, the comments and opinions stated are my own and are not influenced in any way by the publisher.