Life has proven more complicated than she expected, juggling being a mother with her career and baseball travel. Add to that near-constant public scrutiny, and Camdyn Taylor finds herself overthinking her every move. But when her most outspoken critic becomes more brazen than ever, she’ll find herself questioning things she’s never second-guessed before.Meanwhile, struggles at the plate begin to … plate begin to plague Cole Parker, causing him to fight even harder to keep his position on the team. The search for a successful formula haunts him, and when he finally thinks he’s stumbled onto the answer, it’s one he can’t control. The drive to prove himself in the sport soon threatens to compromise every other area of his life.
Happy ever after is a long-distant fantasy, but are they wrapped too tightly in stress and secrets to find their way back to a happy right now? The beloved characters from The Camdyn Series return in a fight to save everything they’ve built together.
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You want a book that real and raw and relatable? Then this is the one for you. It is filled to the brim with things I think so many can relate to–from relationship struggles to personal, individual struggles. It’s everyday, real life and the battles that come with it, but also the hope.
I love that Ms. Coryell doesn’t shy away from the tough stuff. I love that she addresses things that we so often just try to sweep under the rug either because of shame or because what we’re dealing with just isn’t “talked” about.
And I love that this book is about a married couple, that it goes beyond the start of a relationship and the early romance and delves into the life after, the nitty gritty part of making a marriage work. And I love that she shows what it looks like to have a couple struggle, but then come together and begin to overcome in the battles they’ve been facing. Marriage is hard and it takes careful intentionality and choosing to work together to make it happen and that’s clear in this book.
I have no doubt that this book has the ability to resonate with many and in so many ways as well as give them hope as they read it.
Reading a whole series, then thinking you want to know more, happens quite often. You get to know the characters in the stories like they’re your personal friends and when the series ends you grieve but go on to another book. Somewhere in the back of your head, these fictional characters are still alive.
So when you hear that some of your favorite characters are in a new series and the author is releasing it, you jump up for joy knowing you get to read about their lives again.
This is what happened when I heard Christina Coryell decided to make a new series with Cole and Camdyn from The Camdyn Series.
I had grown very fond of these two and cherished the many things they went through. The author takes all their issues and the way they struggle and make them so relatable.
In this story, it isn’t any different.
We find Cole struggling with some pretty big issues.
In the author notes at the end of the book, I appreciated what she wrote. It was, “A gentle reminder that what we see on the surface is often not the entire story.”
So true!
Then for the difficulties, Camdyn was facing she wrote, “Why is it so easy to make the transition from pride in our work to flat-out pride?”
Both these characters had secrets they didn’t want to tell the other and that created problems in their marriage. The author does a beautiful job of bringing their struggles and issues to light and then presenting how in God’s strength and help they could overcome them and heal their marriage.
Now, I don’t want you to think this was the only thing in this story. I had lots of fun learning more about Charlie and Trina and also reading the fun banter between Camdyn and Trina. Another thing is, I had fun learning some facts about baseball. Somethings I’m not too familiar with.
All in all, this book is a wonderful start to this new series of The Parker Tales. I can’t wait to read more about Cole and Camdyn. Maybe we’ll learn more about Garrett. Hint Hint!
I received this book from the author for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
‘It was a strange thing, being alone in the middle of a shared life.’
I fell in love with Christina Coryell’s work with her very first book, ‘A Reason to Run’, the first in her Camdyn series. Powerfully emotions danced across nearly every page of the book, making me yearn to read the next in the series as quickly as I could get my hands on it. I was not disappointed in each successive contribution to the Camdyn series. I totally fell in love with Cole Parker and Camdyn Taylor. I was overjoyed to learn that Christina Coryell was adding to their lives with a new series, The Parker Tales.
This first book in that series, The Ways We Fell Apart, was as powerful emotionally as the four previous books featuring Cole and Camdyn Parker, now married with a toddler. Camdyn is still writing bestselling books, even has a movie made from one. Cole is playing baseball, which he loves. But something is not just right in their relationship. The book is told in first person POV from both Camdyn and Cole. It works incredibly well here because we get to see inside both their hearts. This couple loves each other so much. They have become my favorite fictional couple. I feel like I know them.
You can read the synopsis for yourself so I won’t repeat it here. This book is so full of emotion that it will just make your heart pound. We see love so strong, then hurt so deep and I confess to weeping during parts of the book. I truly loved this addition to the story of Camdyn and Cole and look forward to more. This one lets readers see the awesome grace and redemption of God, along with forgiveness that is incredibly hard to extend. You will be moved here. The book left me thinking about these characters and their lives long after I turned the last page. Highly recommended.
*My thanks to the author for a complimentary preview copy of this book. No review was expected and all opinions stated here are my own.
Truly touched by that review. So blessed to have you as a reader.
I consider myself blessed.
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