The Last Woman Standing is the newest novel by inspirational speaker and author of Christian novels, Tia McCollors.
In this Christian romance, we are presented with Ace, Sheila, and Lynette. Lynette and Ace are divorced and have been on friendly terms. Ace has apparently moved on into a celibate relationship with Sheila, who is some years younger than he is. But, for some strange reason, he just doesn’t want to commit to marrying her. Why? Now, suddenly, both he and his former wife find themselves once again attracted to each other. But would their relationship last if they were to marry again, and what about Sheila — who is intent on keeping her man from his ex-wife?
The book falls in line with the statistics that four out of every ten divorced couples re-marry their old spouses. Like Lynette and Ace, these folks were married when they were “too young” and divorced but still continued to love each other. So the scenario is possible.
Anyway, the war is on. The people are all Christians, but none of them are perfect. Lynette is typical of many women with good jobs — she has a materialist streak and spends a lot of money on “herself.” But she has a good heart. Ace is not led about by his sexual desires, nor is he an absentee father. He belongs to a class of good African-American men one doesn’t generally see in urban movies. He’s still prone to thinking more about the kids and business than he does about the woman in his life, but he’s learning. And Sheila is a woman who’s hearing her biological clock ticking away but stuck with a man who has already had children and doesn’t want any more.
Now, the book is written to Bible-believing Christians, so there are certain things the reader takes for granted. For instance, generally, Christians do talk about praying and reading their Bible in regular conversation. It’s not preachy; it’s normal life. But those not familiar with the genre might think it’s all a bit pious. I suspect a Christian from any race would be able to read this book and not feel excluded. Although the characters are primarily African-American, the Bible-believing Christians live by the same moral codes as their white counterparts. This is not urban fiction where the reader is pulled into the seamy side of the Black ‘hood.
The typical Christian reader probably wants Lynette and Ace together from the get-go. Perhaps it’s our Christian culture and our definition of family, but our hearts long to have the family healed and restored. But what to do with Sheila? And what will Sheila do to keep her man…even though she senses he doesn’t love her as much as he should? I have never understood the need in certain romances to have women compete over a man. But that’s the way it apparently is (at least from what I’ve seen in these books). And Sheila can be slick.
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