About the Book
Book: Love’s True Measure
Author: Lori DeJong
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 10, 2025
Shannon Trent has dedicated her life to ministering to teens, even as she hides secrets that haunt her past. Born into privilege, she’s built a simpler life away from the expectations of her influential family. She’s content on her own, believing that to open her heart would mean unearthing her deepest shame. But when her charming neighbor stirs feelings she’s never allowed herself to entertain, his lack of faith provides the perfect excuse to keep her distance.
Hunter Kavanaugh has spent years chasing his dream career. But when his mother’s sudden death leaves him the sole guardian of his teenage sister, his carefully curated world begins to crumble. Struggling with grief, anger at God, and the demands of his job, Hunter is surprised when Shannon’s unwavering faith begins to resonate with him—and her ability to connect with his sister draws him closer.
As Hunter and Shannon navigate their growing bond, unexpected challenges force them to confront their fears and priorities. Both must either choose to trust God’s plan is far greater than their own, or risk losing the love of a lifetime.
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About the Author
Lori DeJong (pronounced DeeYung) is an award-winning contemporary Christian romance author who enjoys penning stories full of grace and the redemptive power of God’s love that inspire others to hope regardless of circumstance, find joy in the moment, and grow in their faith.
Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Lori arrived in Texas in 2005 and dug those roots right in. She currently resides in beautiful Georgetown, north of Austin, with her husband of thirty-plus years. Other than their two fur-babies, their nest is empty, as their daughter graduated from college and settled in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area with her husband, and the sweetest grand-dog ever.
Lori loves to write about love and romance and all that fun stuff, with a firm foundation of faith. Clean but sassy, sparkly, and even goose-bumpy romance, with God in the middle and characters seeking and learning and changing, couldn’t be more heartwarming or spine-tingly.
Lori’s debut novel, “Love’s True Calling”, Book One of her True Calling Series, was the 2020 winner of the Scrivenings Press Novel Starts Contest, winner of the 2022 ACFW Genesis Award for Romance, 2023 Scrivenings Press Contemporary Book of the Year, and a doubl-finalist in the 2024 Selah Awards. “Love’s True Home” was released in 2024 and is a 2025 Selah Awards finalist.
More from Lori
As soon as Shannon Trent showed up in chapter one of my debut novel, Love’s True Calling, I knew she had a story. That there was something underneath all that joy and spunk that haunted her. That she felt she had to hide.
Although born to a life of privilege, she doesn’t want her name to be the measure of her worth. Determined to live a simpler life, she dials in to her faith, only wanting to be and do whatever God says she should be and do.
Hunter Kavanaugh, on the other hand, has overcome the instability of his teenage years to forge his own path. He’s made something of himself by his own grit and determination, and he measures his worth in terms of his success and the things it provides him.
When these two literally run into each other outside their building, his grumpy disposition, and obvious high-powered job, leave Shannon unimpressed. No matter how handsome he might be, she has no intention of getting to know this neighbor any better.
But God …
When these two meet up again, a friendship blossoms. Her heart threatens to take her somewhere she’s never been before, but his unbelief gives her the perfect reason to keep her emotional distance.
When God gave me this story concept, I was a little intimidated. Would I be able to convey the heart of a good man who didn’t have faith? Would I be able to flesh out a woman who had an abundance of faith yet still harbored shame from her past?
But as I started writing this story, I fell in love with these two and their journey to discover the true measure of their worth … and the true measure of love.
My Thoughts:
Loves True Measure, Book 3 of Lori DeJong’s True Calling series, weaves a beautiful spiritual message within the romance between main characters Shannon Trent and Hunter Kavanaugh. This story touches on several themes: grief, forgiveness, insecurity, living in community, and addiction issues, such as Hunter’s tendency to be a workaholic.
The author packed a lot into this one novel, including several subplots that played out to the end. The characters are likable, including Hunter’s sister Brylie. However, since I didn’t read the first two books, I felt like it was character overload. The players in this story gather often, and keeping track of who was married to whom and how they were related to Shannon took me out of the story. For this reason, I suggest the reader start with Book One and get acquainted with the cast a little at a time.
The subplots were unique, and I was excited to see how they would unfold, but I was disappointed. Rather than let the reader get immersed in the action in real time, the author chose to have the characters narrate the outcome after the issues were resolved. It left me feeling as if these important plots were anticlimactic and the resolutions rushed. This was true of other parts of the story, as well.
Even so, if you like clean, contemporary Christian romance, you will enjoy this story.
Blog Stops
Stories By Gina, August 2 (Author Interview)
Simple Harvest Reads, August 3 (Author Interview)
Holly’s Book Corner, August 4
Artistic Nobody, August 5 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 6
Guild Master, August 7 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 8
Fiction Book Lover, August 9 (Author Interview)
Pause for Tales, August 10
Vicky Sluiter, August 11 (Author Interview)
Where Crisis & Christ Collide, August 11
Texas Book-aholic, August 12
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 12
For the Love of Literature, August 13 (Author Interview)
Tell Tale Book Reviews, August 14 (Author Interview)
Blossoms and Blessings, August 15 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Lori is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.







Comments 6
Sounds terrific
This should be a fantastic novel. Thanks for sharing.
The book sounds so good.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review Love’s True Measure! I’m glad you enjoyed, and I totally get where you’re coming from about showing everything in real time. I don’t disagree. Oh, if only my publisher would let me write a 500 page book! Haha! It’s hard sometimes to pick and choose which chapters to leave in during editing and what to take out. But I really appreciate your valuable feedback. It’s a great help in honing my writing. Thank you again!!
I enjoyed the first book of the series and would still like to read Love’s True Measure.
Which pathway will they choose to take? Sounds like a great read.