Christian college dean Drew McKinley mourns his dead wife and still wears his wedding ring.
He stumbles on a desperate journey to understand God’s motives for her tragic death. Crossing his perilous path is Allison, a graduate student and new employee in the dean’s office. Even as she deals with financial hardships, she recognizes Drew’s unresolved grief from her own loss. Putting up a roadblock is Chris Whitney, the handsome but egotistical student senate president. He carries the secret burden of a dysfunctional family and a below-the-surface temper. The road Drew must navigate is fraught with career upheaval, a reawakening heart, substance and domestic abuse, a violent assault, and the struggle for forgiveness and restoration. Will Drew finish his journey to embrace the hope God offers, the love Allison shares, and the guidance Chris needs, or will he turn his back on all three with catastrophic consequences?
My Review
Five Stars
Top notch writing brings depth and reality to this fictional tale, making it feel authentic and true to life. It touches upon many real-life and tough subjects not often found in Christian fiction nowadays, and I so appreciated that. It also gives a fascinating look at life on a Christian University campus.
I loved the way scripture was used in dealing with many of the challenges/hardships/obstacles the characters faced. There's so many great quotes and insights; I highlighted a ton of stuff and filled a couple of pages in my notebook! Here's a couple of my favorite quotes: “Just think what He can do through you when you trust God to lead the way.” and “Some things you have to let God deal with. Maybe He'll use you as part of the solution, but the solution is His to determine, not yours.”
Allison is a super relatable character. She's warm and kind, a bit serious, but with spunk and a great sense of humor. She deals with a lot, but keeps on persevering. Drew's struggling with grief after losing his wife. He's having a crisis of faith and is feeling as if there is no hope left. Everyone handles grief differently, certain things can trigger it when you think you've got it under control. It can creep up on a person at the most unexpected and inconvenient of times. There were a couple of characters in different stages of grief and this novel, I thought, gave a realistic look at what that looks and feels like.
This featured the best kind of slow-building romance, but it's so much more than just a typical romance. It's about life, the good, the bad, the messy. But in essence, just as the title suggests, it's about hope... embracing hope. And words are failing me at how to accurately describe how much I loved it. I wanted to read it as fast as I could, but at the same time, I wanted to take my time and savor it, make it last as long as possible... such a dilemma! When life interfered and I'd have to set it aside, I couldn't wait to get back to it. This book and these characters will stay with me for a very long time. At times it was painful to watch the characters struggling and hurting, but what it led to was a spiritual and emotional journey that I greatly enjoyed reading. Embracing Hope has found a place on my favorites shelf and is one of the best books I've read this year. I seriously can't recommend it highly enough!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my own honest opinion.
To learn more about Janell Butler Wojtowicz, visit her website here.
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