Even Now, by Karen Kingsbury (BOOK REVIEW)

 

“They both began to giggle and then they fell into a side splitting round of laughter, the cleansing, complete sort of laughter only a mother and daughter can share.”

Shane Galanter is ready to put down roots after years of searching for happiness. But it’s hard to forget the woman that he truly loved. He questions whether he’ll ever truly let go of the past. 

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Lauren Gibbs is an international war correspondent who tries to forget that she ever loved a man. She’s given up on love and doesn’t intend to get heart-broken again. But she can’t get rid of the one question that haunts her: why is life so empty?

— —

Emily Anderson is a college freshman, raised by her grandparents and about to take her first shot at being a journalist. But before she can move on, she discovers a tragic love story that resulted in her birth. Emily decides she has to get to the bottom of the story and find her parents. 

“No God, no peace. Know God, know peace.”

Let’s face it. When you decide to read a Christian romance, you gotta’ expect the cheese. I went into this book knowing what I was getting into. My expectations were met. This is a corny, Christian romance that is completely unrealistic. I just had to laugh when they confessed their “love” to each other and all that. The fluff was fluffing. This was one of those books where I’m never going to remember anything about it because it just didn’t stand out to me. This books deals with teenage pregnancy and all that drama. I guess reading about that isn’t really my forte. Thought I did like how it dealt with topic of abortion. But the finding Christ part didn’t really seem genuine. The whole Christian aspect of this book just felt stereotypical and shallow. Usually when I read something that’s Christian, I want to gain something from it; learn something. But this whole book was just built around drama. Yes, life is full of trials, but I feel like a bunch of bad things just kept happing and to make it Christian, the author just added a prayer or two.

The writing in this book was very bland and shallow to me. It was right to the point and didn’t give any details. There are so many “rich” books out there with compelling writing. But this book wasn’t solid food for a reader (sorry for the odd analogy lol). When I fall in love with a book it’s usually because of the characters. I did not connect or even really get to understand any of the characters in this book. Everything was lacking depth and passion.

Maybe I’m being a bit over the top, but book reviews are meant for either ranting or criticizing. Aren’t they? Most likely, the main reason I didn’t enjoy this book is probably because I can’t relate to the circumstances the characters go through. I could definitely see how a new Christian or someone who has gone through a lot could find this book amazing. I’m sure this story has touched a lot of people in different ways. All I’m saying is that this book didn’t hit me in a personal way. 

I give this book a 5 out of 10 and recommend it for ages 14+

PRESS HERE to purchase the book.

Happy Reading!

-Ariana :)