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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
This book is definitely my favorite of Kellyn’s so far!
Hey, y'all! This is a bit of an unconventional review but I'm super excited to write it because not only did I meet the author in person, but I got an e-ARC copy, so that's why this review came so soon after the book came out (September 5th)! While I was obligated to write a review as a result of this e-ARC being sent to me, I was not roped into writing a positive review. This book earned it all on its own, trust me.
My Preconceptions: Blown Out of the Water
When I first got this book, I wasn't sure what to think of it. I figured, "The cover's beautiful and it addresses suicidality, so why not give it a shot?" All of my preconceptions were shoved aside, whether because they were wrong or simply because the degree to which they'd been conceived wasn't... fitting of what occurred. I thought it'd be historical fiction, for example, and it was, but it felt more contemporary than what I'd thought, rendering my preconception obsolete.
The Beginning
By the end of chapter one, I was fairly interested. Not riveted, perhaps, but interested all the same. The characters made me wonder how they were going to fit together, the setting was beautiful, and all the dynamics fit together like a puzzle waiting for me to piece it together. I found a lot of push-pull dynamics that made it hard to predict what was going to happen next. As with many romance books, you could guess from the beginning who was going to end up together (for the most part), but you couldn't tell how it was going to happen, even at the end.
From chapter seven onward, the true action begins, and it's where I began to be truly pulled through the story. From there until the end, I did not stop reading unless I had other responsibilities that pulled me aside and even then I griped and groaned and longed to be back reading this book.
My Favorite Parts
I'll admit, I'm a bit obsessed.
My favorite part of this book—and I mean this (mostly) as a joke—was the mention of Winnie Hilton's pet dog, Potato, who happens to be *ahem* not the most well-behaved dog out there. He entered only in Chapter 6, but he made me so happy with only a few sentences dedicated to him and I felt the need to mention him in this review.
My favorite character overall is Patrick Hilton, one of our MCs. His character arc is so drastic and it's amazing to see his transformation as the story goes on. At first, I was slightly curious, then I detested him, and by the end, he was making me swoon. Like girls, this kind of transformation is what we should all want in a guy.
Overall Thoughts and Summary
This story is poignant, vivid, and full of twists that I honestly didn't expect (maybe you can beat me in that aspect?), but I loved it primarily for its Christian-oriented approach. Almost every hard decision that the characters had to face they brought to God, and though I did find it hard to imagine at the end that none of the characters were outright atheists or denied the faith entirely (there were some doubters, but none that vehemently denied the faith, which shocked me), I did appreciate the rock-solid faith of the main character, Cassie. Patrick grew in his faith a ton, and by the end, he was as solid in it as Cassie was, which I admired.
Mental Health Rep
Finally, we have what a lot of you might've been waiting for: the mental health rep. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten, but there's something to say about leaving the best for last. Unfortunately, I didn't find the mental health aspect of this book to be as important as the impression I got by talking to the author. By no means am I upset that I read it, but just throwing that in as a disclaimer here.
The character who struggled with suicidal ideation (and attempted), did this due to grief. This was not the development of a person who had been depressed for a while, but instead a sudden event that she was unable to handle and therefore, she tried to "escape." She did fail, and it wasn't talked about in detail, but everyone was very careful about her after that. To the point where we remain close to her for the duration of the story, not just because she's the friend of one of the main characters, but also as if a reassurance that "no, she's not going to die."
Ultimately, while I appreciated the postpartum depression/child-loss grief rep, I would've appreciated a little bit more of a description going into this. It's one thing to warn a person that there's suicidality mentioned, but usually, when that happens one turns to "ok, there's depression," not "a woman lost her child in childbirth, nearly lost her life, and ultimately decides to throw it all away is the way to go."
Honestly, though, the pitching is all I have to complain about here. And I'm not faulting Kellyn at all because being put on the spot when it comes to asking what the mental health rep is about can be terrifying, but that's just something that made it hard to appreciate that part of the story.
Conclusion
It's with that, though, that I leave you all. I hope you enjoyed this book review, I hope that you read this book (Kellyn is an amazing person and her writing is also awesome, so I'm going to want you to support her in like... every way possible *sheepish grin*), and ultimately, I just hope that you aren't upset that you read this (and that it was so long. Sorry about that). Thank you so much for reading and have a blessed day!
My Preconceptions: Blown Out of the Water
When I first got this book, I wasn't sure what to think of it. I figured, "The cover's beautiful and it addresses suicidality, so why not give it a shot?" All of my preconceptions were shoved aside, whether because they were wrong or simply because the degree to which they'd been conceived wasn't... fitting of what occurred. I thought it'd be historical fiction, for example, and it was, but it felt more contemporary than what I'd thought, rendering my preconception obsolete.
The Beginning
By the end of chapter one, I was fairly interested. Not riveted, perhaps, but interested all the same. The characters made me wonder how they were going to fit together, the setting was beautiful, and all the dynamics fit together like a puzzle waiting for me to piece it together. I found a lot of push-pull dynamics that made it hard to predict what was going to happen next. As with many romance books, you could guess from the beginning who was going to end up together (for the most part), but you couldn't tell how it was going to happen, even at the end.
From chapter seven onward, the true action begins, and it's where I began to be truly pulled through the story. From there until the end, I did not stop reading unless I had other responsibilities that pulled me aside and even then I griped and groaned and longed to be back reading this book.
My Favorite Parts
I'll admit, I'm a bit obsessed.
My favorite part of this book—and I mean this (mostly) as a joke—was the mention of Winnie Hilton's pet dog, Potato, who happens to be *ahem* not the most well-behaved dog out there. He entered only in Chapter 6, but he made me so happy with only a few sentences dedicated to him and I felt the need to mention him in this review.
My favorite character overall is Patrick Hilton, one of our MCs. His character arc is so drastic and it's amazing to see his transformation as the story goes on. At first, I was slightly curious, then I detested him, and by the end, he was making me swoon. Like girls, this kind of transformation is what we should all want in a guy.
Overall Thoughts and Summary
This story is poignant, vivid, and full of twists that I honestly didn't expect (maybe you can beat me in that aspect?), but I loved it primarily for its Christian-oriented approach. Almost every hard decision that the characters had to face they brought to God, and though I did find it hard to imagine at the end that none of the characters were outright atheists or denied the faith entirely (there were some doubters, but none that vehemently denied the faith, which shocked me), I did appreciate the rock-solid faith of the main character, Cassie. Patrick grew in his faith a ton, and by the end, he was as solid in it as Cassie was, which I admired.
Mental Health Rep
Finally, we have what a lot of you might've been waiting for: the mental health rep. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten, but there's something to say about leaving the best for last. Unfortunately, I didn't find the mental health aspect of this book to be as important as the impression I got by talking to the author. By no means am I upset that I read it, but just throwing that in as a disclaimer here.
The character who struggled with suicidal ideation (and attempted), did this due to grief. This was not the development of a person who had been depressed for a while, but instead a sudden event that she was unable to handle and therefore, she tried to "escape." She did fail, and it wasn't talked about in detail, but everyone was very careful about her after that. To the point where we remain close to her for the duration of the story, not just because she's the friend of one of the main characters, but also as if a reassurance that "no, she's not going to die."
Ultimately, while I appreciated the postpartum depression/child-loss grief rep, I would've appreciated a little bit more of a description going into this. It's one thing to warn a person that there's suicidality mentioned, but usually, when that happens one turns to "ok, there's depression," not "a woman lost her child in childbirth, nearly lost her life, and ultimately decides to throw it all away is the way to go."
Honestly, though, the pitching is all I have to complain about here. And I'm not faulting Kellyn at all because being put on the spot when it comes to asking what the mental health rep is about can be terrifying, but that's just something that made it hard to appreciate that part of the story.
Conclusion
It's with that, though, that I leave you all. I hope you enjoyed this book review, I hope that you read this book (Kellyn is an amazing person and her writing is also awesome, so I'm going to want you to support her in like... every way possible *sheepish grin*), and ultimately, I just hope that you aren't upset that you read this (and that it was so long. Sorry about that). Thank you so much for reading and have a blessed day!
I really liked the focus in this book, how while there was a relationship, it went through the relationship building process without desperation. It had the historical elements with controlling parents, protecting family members that is seen often, but the characters addressed that this could be a problem.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I was not expecting to read this entire novel today, but after receiving my ARC from Kellyn this morning I thought I'd read a little bit right away...and one sitting and several hours later, here we are. No spoilers ahead, don't worry!
This is the first book of Kellyn's that I've read, as romance is a step outside my usual genres. However, between the Irish influences and all the good things I was hearing about it, I couldn't resist giving it a try. I'm so glad I did - I loved it!
Like I said, I've never read any of the other stories involving some of these characters, and I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to catch everything because of it. But that wasn't the case at all. I never felt like I was missing or couldn't understand anything, and the story introduced them all to me very well. The characters were my favorite part, overall. I love how Kellyn gave each of them real and relatable passions, struggles, desires, thoughts, and dreams. There weren't any that fell flat or didn't seem real. I could relate to almost all of them, and quickly became attached.
The settings were beautiful and precise, and I don't have a clue how Kellyn kept all of the spot-on historical details straight, but they all made perfect sense to me. Her descriptions were vivid, and I could picture each of the locations easily. I enjoyed the change of 'vibes' and aesthetic that I could feel as I read. Each place felt different and interesting.
As a rare romance reader, I can't comment on how it compares to typical romance genre books, but I enjoyed it. There were a couple of decisions that the protagonist made early on that I admittedly didn't agree with, but as the story continued on, I could see why that was actually the right choice, and admired her for it. I was more than ready when the true romance of the story came about, and found them extremely cute and well-made for each other.
Besides the characters and how real they were, my other favorite aspects of this book are the Christian themes. They were prominent from the very start of the story, but not obnoxiously so. I am a Christian and want to read more fiction that simply and unapologetically contains Christian themes and morals, without also trying to shove them onto the reader whether they fit the story or not. This story was wonderful about that, and I could respect and relate to the characters' faiths without cringing at how it was portrayed, like many Christian books, unfortunately.
I also appreciated the few deep and heavy topics that Kellyn covered in this story. They hit very close to home, personally, and I felt she portrayed them accurately and gracefully. Real life isn't neat and easily resolved, and she did a great job communicating that, while also interlacing hope that comes from Christ.
Overall, I'm very glad I received the opportunity to read an early copy of this story, and will stay tuned for the future installments! If you're a fan of historical, Christian, Irish, English, or romance fiction, I'd recommend checking this book out. You might just find a new favorite.
**I received an ARC copy of this book, but was not required to leave a positive review. My thoughts are my own.**
This is the first book of Kellyn's that I've read, as romance is a step outside my usual genres. However, between the Irish influences and all the good things I was hearing about it, I couldn't resist giving it a try. I'm so glad I did - I loved it!
Like I said, I've never read any of the other stories involving some of these characters, and I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to catch everything because of it. But that wasn't the case at all. I never felt like I was missing or couldn't understand anything, and the story introduced them all to me very well. The characters were my favorite part, overall. I love how Kellyn gave each of them real and relatable passions, struggles, desires, thoughts, and dreams. There weren't any that fell flat or didn't seem real. I could relate to almost all of them, and quickly became attached.
The settings were beautiful and precise, and I don't have a clue how Kellyn kept all of the spot-on historical details straight, but they all made perfect sense to me. Her descriptions were vivid, and I could picture each of the locations easily. I enjoyed the change of 'vibes' and aesthetic that I could feel as I read. Each place felt different and interesting.
As a rare romance reader, I can't comment on how it compares to typical romance genre books, but I enjoyed it. There were a couple of decisions that the protagonist made early on that I admittedly didn't agree with, but as the story continued on, I could see why that was actually the right choice, and admired her for it. I was more than ready when the true romance of the story came about, and found them extremely cute and well-made for each other.
Besides the characters and how real they were, my other favorite aspects of this book are the Christian themes. They were prominent from the very start of the story, but not obnoxiously so. I am a Christian and want to read more fiction that simply and unapologetically contains Christian themes and morals, without also trying to shove them onto the reader whether they fit the story or not. This story was wonderful about that, and I could respect and relate to the characters' faiths without cringing at how it was portrayed, like many Christian books, unfortunately.
I also appreciated the few deep and heavy topics that Kellyn covered in this story. They hit very close to home, personally, and I felt she portrayed them accurately and gracefully. Real life isn't neat and easily resolved, and she did a great job communicating that, while also interlacing hope that comes from Christ.
Overall, I'm very glad I received the opportunity to read an early copy of this story, and will stay tuned for the future installments! If you're a fan of historical, Christian, Irish, English, or romance fiction, I'd recommend checking this book out. You might just find a new favorite.
**I received an ARC copy of this book, but was not required to leave a positive review. My thoughts are my own.**