Review: Came Close to Delivering a Great Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 6, 2013
Lauren Phelps moved away from the city after her fiancé broke up with her to go back to his old girlfriend. Her family wants her to give Blake, her childhood friend who's now a pastor, a chance, but she quickly knows there's no connection, and Blake will never understand her. When Benjamin Tripp comes to live in his mother's beach house where Lauren maintains the gardens, she's drawn to how well he understands her, but when she discovers he has no belief in God, she knows he can never be the one for her. Her faith is too important to her.This is an intriguing story, but it was sometimes hard to follow. For one thing, there were often either two speakers in the same paragraph, or else thoughts or actions would be given from a person other than the speaker, and it was confusing. On top of this, there should have been more interaction between the characters, instead of so much being recounted or told about. "Host" was used for "hostess," and pronouns for God weren't capitalized, even though this was a Christian novel. There were also a dozen curse words, all from non-Christian people.*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*Benjamin has been restless and unsatisfied. The one night stands he once thought was all he'd ever want makes him feel like he's in a rut and going nowhere. The more he gets to know Lauren the more disgusted he becomes with his life, but he can't understand why she won't be with him. How could she choose this God who doesn't want her to have any fun over him and his growing love? When Lauren finds another woman in his bed, he knows he's lost her for good. He can't believe he'd sunk that low. Might Lauren's God forgive and help a wretched man like him?I couldn't believe that Blake never did tell Lauren that Benjamin was seeking God. The ending was also pretty weak and insipid. There had been this great build-up and the stage was set, but it ended much too quickly. How about showing some emotions, some feeling, some joy here! A strong ending would have redeemed many of the other weaknesses. I did like the book, but it could have been so much better than what was delivered. It did come close, however, so I gave it a four.