It was a match made in heaven. Or so everyone thought. Sadie Mae Cummings is all set to marry her childhood sweetheart, Kyle, when she is assigned to tutor Lincoln, the new college football running back. This sophomore phenomenon has all the girls on campus knocking on his door. But Sadie isn’t interested in his advances.Lincoln’s overblown ego doesn’t take well to being shunned, and he resolves … resolves to make Sadie his own. He pursues her relentlessly, until finally Kyle finds himself shut out of Sadie’s life, with their shared future crumbling around him.
After two years, Sadie’s relationship with Lincoln ends, and she is left having to put the pieces of her life back together. She desires nothing more than to recapture her relationship with Kyle. He has stayed true to the dreams they had planned together, living the vision even without Sadie by his side.
When she moves back to her hometown, she labors to rekindle their love. But things have changed, and Kyle has moved on. Sadie quickly discovers how hard it is to rebuild burned bridges.
Follow Sadie’s story as she fights for a chance to restore broken dreams. Will love endure?
This inspirational romance by E. C. Jackson is book two of the Hope series and is a standalone book.
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Living Hope was an emotional read about forgiving oneself and second chances. Sadie and Kyle had their lives figured out. They were in love and they couldn’t wait to get married and begin their lives. Then Lincoln stepped in. And one fateful day Sadie chose him. Two years later Sadie is living alone and still being controlled by Lincoln, until she finally opens her eyes and leaves him.
There was a lot to be dug out in this story, as it is not so straightforward as it seems. I had much compassion for Sadie as she made a horrible mistake (maybe, maybe not) and tried to subject herself to this new direction in her life. When she finally wakes up and starts reconnecting with her friends and family, she realizes that maybe just maybe she and Kyle might have another chance. Especially since he has come back home too.
Kyle was hurt deeply by what happened to Sadie. Even by how he reacted. He has tried to move on with Leeanne, but he is still in love with his first love. When Sadie comes back to try and win him back, he discovers that all was not as it first seemed. Everything was muddled and now he and Sadie have their chance back. Who would be the best Mrs. for him?
Isolation due to your sin helps no one. No one should shut family out, and yes Sadie was very stubborn. But the awful two years with Lincoln taught her some valuable lessons. I enjoyed this second chance romance and we should never give up on our loved ones.
I received a copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.
Thank you in advance to the author, E.C Jackson, for providing a complimentary copy for review. A positive review was not required, all words and thoughts are my own.
Jackson’s second novel, A Living Hope, was a complete departure from the first one. This one has a few “trigger” warnings, some are essential to the plot. These include a slight reference to domestic abuse, pre-story police shooting of an unarmed man, and a sexual assault (prior to the story).
Right off I despised Lincoln and his treatment of Sadie. And, it made me question why him over Kyle, her former boyfriend who is now a youth pastor. After getting into it the book, it was easy to see why Sadie made the choices she did, though still gut-wrenching and heartbreaking.
And, even when Sadie moves back home and wants to be with Kyle, he had reservations. It was easy to see his point as to why he had reservations about Sadie. And, it isn’t just Kyle – her friends also didn’t seem to want to rekindle friendships either.
But, it is on her welcome home that the truth comes out. And, Sadie finally tells what happened with Lincoln. She is encouraged to file a report, though as we all realistically know – there is hardly any chance of justice there. Jackson keeps that heartbreakingly realistic.
Kyle hires Sadie to work with him – like they had originally planned to do while in college. She also has an idea for a book that comes under scrutiny from Kyle – and for good reason. Though he does give her an alternative way to make it work. This is to tie-in with the author’s “Pajama Party” book/play.
Sadie realistically suffers through growth and doubts, and Kyle does slightly flirt with her. But, Sadie’s desperation is sad to see as Kyle should’ve understood the psychological trauma she went through as well as traumatic stress since he is a pastor.
Complicating Sadie’s wish to pick things up with Kyle is someone he once dated – Leanne who shows up about half (½) of the way into the story. She is there to marry Kyle, who has no interest in her.
At one point, there is a sermon that is so realistic; it felt as if I were right there in that church with the characters.
Sadie soon sees that trading one “captor” for another is not helping her and she learns she needs to stand on her own. I really wanted to root for Sadie and Kyle, but I definitely felt as some points that she deserved far better.
The timeline isn’t rushed as the book takes place over five (5) to six (6) months. It was a delight watching Sadie grow and flourish. But, it was clear, because of her actions; that Sadie needed counseling and I wanted to see the family encourage more of that.
Jackson neatly wrapped up the Lincoln storyline with a dramatic punch. However, she didn’t alter the character due to his “accident” – he remained the same despite his new and rather unfortunate circumstances. But, she also has a tense moment with a briefly reuniting of Sadie and Lincoln.
The end is as expected, and definitely shows how much we grow and care for those in our lives.
Jackson’s writing was vivid, realistic, emotional, dramatic, yet still engaging. She was definitely fearless in tackling the untold trauma and reach that a sexual assault has on not just the victim – but their friends and family, whether or not those people know.
The overall plot was stellar and I truly saw this as more of a Lifetime movie than a book. This was a bit rough around the edges as opposed to the first book. Yet, it was reflective, poignant, and thought-provoking. It truly showed how God can use bad situations for lessons.
Like the previous book – this book has strong Christian themes; which are definitely central to the plot of the story. Themes such as forgiveness (even in the worst of scenarios), second chances, and redemption are abundant. There are bible quotes, and even sermons (especially since Kyle is a pastor). There is no foul language or any intimate on-page scenes in any of the books. There are some references to pre-marital intimacy which is prior to the beginning of the book.
The cover depicts the couple featured in the book like the first book, A Gateway to Hope. This is an absolutely beautiful cover for a self-published series, and could easily be movie-of-the-week “poster” quality.
This book; as well as the previous one and the next two; are all written with short chapters in each book with vivid details in third person POV.
While these are a “series”, they are definitely standalone books and are not connected in any way by characters or cities. They are merely a themed series. It is not necessary to read the other books as the events in this book are not mentioned in the next two books: The Certain Hope and The Confident Hope. Characters from A Living Hope do not appear here, nor do these characters appear in that book.
Fans of the genre, diverse romance, and more serious romances will more than likely enjoy this book.
The characters are written realistically, with realistic drama and dialogue that could easily play out like a Lifetime movie.
Relationships are messy. Life is messy. In A Living Hope, author E C Jackson takes the reader on a journey through healing and restoration of a relationship believed to be damaged beyond repair. The story is shared through the perspective of both sides to get a fuller picture of the situation. When I first started reading I felt like I was missing a prior book in a series but since it’s a standalone there isn’t one. The further I got into the story though, the more backstory was revealed and I was able to feel more like I was getting the full picture. It’s a relationship struggle unfortunately many young adults deal with in today’s world. This was an easy story to sit down and read straight through. I’d easily recommend to contemporary romance fans.
*I received a copy of this book through CelebrateLit. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.
Ms. Jackson is fast becoming one of my go to authors to read. She writes stories that are emotional and filled with characters that are easy to relate to. Sadie is a character that touched my heart and I wanted her to find peace within herself. When she returns to town after being away for a couple of years, she runs into her high school sweetheart. Kyle is a little shook up to see Sadie back. There is a lot of history between them and a bit of uncertainty on Kyle’s part. Will he give her a second chance?
Kyle needs to concentrate on his new position of pastor. Taking over his father’s church will be a big challenge and he will need God’s guidance as he takes over as pastor. It would be so hard to step into your father’s shoes after he has been steadfast in the church for years.
What is good about this author is how she is able to write about difficult subjects in a way that readers can feel compassion for. She makes the characters come to life and you can’t help but like them. I loved how she took two people who shared a past and let them walk through trust and forgiveness. They each make choices that may be difficult but I loved following their journey.
It is a good story that lets us see how forgiving God is and how He has a plan for our lives. I will be looking for more books coming up from this author. Her writing is filled with faith and she has a gift of allowing readers to see what second chances can be like.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
Two years ago Sadie Cummings made a series of choices that led to her losing her High School Sweetheart, Kyle Franklin, the man she had planned on spending her life with. When things change in Sadie’s life she returns home the same month that Kyle returns home to pastor his father’s church. Sadie wants to pick up where they left off, but Kyle isn’t sure he want to have anything to do with Sadie, he has moved on with his life and wants to leave the hurt that Sadie caused in the past. Can Sadie mend relationships or will she keep herself stuck in the past.
E.C. Jackson, the author might just be one of my new favorite authors . A Living Hope is a wonderful and gripping story of love, hope and God’s redeeming grace. Sadie goes home not just looking for her past, but for love and acceptance. Kyle must decide just how far his forgiveness and love can go. Both characters are so easy to identify with and make it hard for me t Jackson tackles hard issues in this novel that face the truth of a trap that many young people could be caught in without strong affirming influence in their lives. This story also contains the story of redeeming love, and power of stepping beyond your past.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit, this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own.
A living hope
Sadie and Kyle, will they be able to resolve the issues of the past. She was gone for two years. Was in a relationship with someone else but wasn’t a good one. She finally got wise and went back home.
I enjoyed what Kyle was called to do. He worked with the church. He wanted to be there for everyone. I loved the friendships and all the family relationships in the book. Sadie was definitely determined to get Kyle to come back to her. Sometimes I got tired of her begging to him or seem like it. But after thinking about that is what really happens in real life.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write an positive review. This is my own opinion.
A book that seemed so real, a man that felt he is owed everything because he is a good football player, using his power to attempt to ruin others’ lives, and then throw them away.
While the story does revolve around the ego of this person it is not what the real book is about. Feeling ruined a young engaged college student feels her life is over and gives up her true love. Flash forward nine years and she is still in her rut, until, well I’m not giving the story away, but she does finally go home.
Circumstances have change for the former fiancé and he is now the pastor of his recently deceased father’s church.
I love how this church community and restaurants and homes are all near one another, and what Sadie has denied herself, all because!
I found myself page turning so that I could have answers, but in the end, I wanted to stay and be around these dear people!
I received this book through Celebrate Lit, and was not required to give a positive review.