"Message in a Bottle" by Beth Wiseman

It’s the countdown toward the final few months before their wedding, and Houston schoolteachers Kyle and Lexie are finalizing their plans. Kyle dearly loves his bride-to-be; she’s only the second girl he feels he ever loved. The first was his high school sweetheart, Morgan, who disappeared with her family literally overnight without a word when she and Kyle were 17. He never did learn what happened, and the loss was compounded by the closeness he had with her father and that his mother and her mother were best friends.

Then comes the knock at Kyle’s apartment door. Two men give him news that leaves him stunned. He has a daughter who’s almost six, and she’s in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. And Kyle may be her only hope. Just as stunning is that the wo men are from the Central Intelligence Agency, and they tell Kyle he has to leave immediately. An email message will be sent to Lexie telling her not to worry. 

Beth Wiseman

Kyle flies with the men to California, but that’s not the final destination. Soon, he will meet Morgan and their daughter Emma. And he’ll face a choice: Morgan and Emma, or Lexie. 

Message in a Bottle, a novella by Beth Wiseman, is the story of Kyle, Lexie, Morgan, and Emma. It’s a story of old love, new love, and a bit of mystery and intrigue thrown in. 

Wiseman has written numerous Christian romance novels, under four series: The Daughters of Promise, Land of Canaan, Amish Secrets, and Amish Journeys. Several of her books have been bestsellers, and she’s received several awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association and the Christian Book Association. She lives in Texas.

The story strains credulity a bit, but Message in a Bottle is a well-written and engaging tale, with likeable characters caught in a dilemma not of their own making. It has to end well (romance stories don’t end badly), but Wisemen keeps the tension throughout regarding what Kyle will do.