Celia's Puppies by Claudia Hall Christian

Celia's Puppies is the second installment in the Denver Cereal series. This book was great. If you go the book reading route and don't check weekly for new material at the website The Denver Cereal, beware that there are a lot of characters to keep track of. Since I do the book reading and don't go to the website to check for new material i found the nifty character guide extremely helpful.

There is a lot of life to the characters in this book and they are what makes it interesting. There is some action and some psychic phenomenon but mostly there are various love stories. These love stories are not limited to potential mates they truly encompass love in all its various forms.There are great stories of friendship and family as well as the traditional love stories.

So much is revealed in this book it is hard for me to write a summary that both does the book justice and not give away the many surprises.

Celia Marlow has been a dead but central character in these books. It was her love, care and psychic ability that have drawn the people in this book together. Even after her death she has a great impact on those she loved. She guides those who share her abilities even after her death.

There are several developing story lines in this book and it is hard to say which ones are most important. I would say Jacob and Jill are still the main characters as things all seem to travel on a winding road that always comes back to their story. Jacob is having trouble with his company's board of directors so he becomes distracted and Jill feels torn between her old life and the new life she could have. Jill's ex-husband threatens to take her daughter away and his new wife nearly kills her own sister. Even with all his distractions Jacob never gives up on Jill even when she thinks it could be over.

As you take the journey that Jill and Jacob lead you on you will find many other interesting characters like Mike (Jill's brother) and Val (Jacob's sister) who are also in love and have surpassed many obstacles to get to a place where they can be together. Val is a famous actress and they end up on Oprah when the news comes out they are married. You also find out that Mike is a great hero to the nation and a member of the Fey special forces team.

Many more characters are developed in this volume including friends and family of both Jill and Jacob. I have to say Claudia Hall Christian is very talented when it comes to character development and I will be following her as long as she is writing. I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.