Sometimes the thing that keeps us from making the wrong choice is the one thing we can't control
As an investigative reporter and the host of her own TV talk show, Faith Marin works to expose the truth for her viewers. But in her personal life, she's anchored her world with firm boundaries in order to hide a family history she'd like to forget. By contrast, her husband Geary's life is an open book. An easygoing pro bass fisherman, Geary is the ultimate family man--and his overbearing relatives don't know the meaning of boundaries.
Faith and Geary haven't been married long when their differences start to derail their tender relationship. Surely love shouldn't be this hard. While Faith considers whether divorce is the only answer to their issues, tragedy strikes. With her life in the balance, she finds that the one she has been shutting out may be the very one she cannot bear to lose.
Kellie Coates Gilbert takes you on an emotional roller coaster as she weaves together unexpected trial, self-discovery, and forgiveness in this profoundly honest portrait of the tensions that can break a marriage--and the ultimate healing power of love.
Reporter Faith and competitive fisherman Geary have a whirlwind courtship, but once they're married, their differing goals quickly cause problems in their marriage. Just when Faith is ready to pull the plug on their relationship, tragedy strikes, and with it comes a second chance at healing.
While A Reason to Stay is largely Faith's story, Geary is far and away my favorite character. His love for Faith through the good times and bad powerfully illustrates the meaning of "'til death do us part." I was not such a fan of Faith, especially pre-injury. This is probably because I couldn't identify with her extreme career ambition, so every time she chose work over family, I sided with Geary.
The story is very compelling, especially as it's told with flashbacks interspersed throughout. So as Faith's recovery story is being told, so is her rise to prominence at the station and her marriage's descent into trouble. Both stories slowly unfold—until the end. When I turned the final page before the epilogue, I was surprised, as the ending came very quickly. It was almost like the author hit the appropriate number of pages and needed to wrap up, even if the story wasn't quite to that point.
Overall, though, I did enjoy A Reason to Stay ... I just wish I'd been more prepared for it to end. 3-1/2 stars.
Buy the book.
Kellie Coates Gilbert is a former legal investigator and trial paralegal and the author of A Woman of Fortune and Where Rivers Part. Gilbert crafts her emotionally charged stories about women in life-changing circumstances in Dallas, Texas, where she lives with her husband. Learn more at www.kelliecoatesgilbert.com.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell through the Revell Reads program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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