He thought he’d found the thrill of his life; she, the romance she’d hadn’t dared to hope for. Falling in love had been easy. Being married? Totally different story. Married within a year of meeting, Ethan and Brandi add a foster daughter to their newly established family. Their story is enchanting—inspiring. Except when the fairytale fails. The stresses of unmet expectations and wounds from … expectations and wounds from their pasts knife into their marriage, severing what they believed would be forever.
Hope for a broken marriage. Healing for their wounded spirits. It would take both to find evergreen. Are they brave enough to try?
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Realistic Christian fiction. Marriage isn’t always easy, and the author shows that well. Keep a hanky close.
What an emotional roller coaster this story took me on! Jennifer Rodewald isn’t afraid to tackle the messy, gritty, real-life subjects, and this book definitely fits in that category. Rodewald is talented at creating realistic, broken, but engaging characters and putting them in situations where they can grow and heal. However, she doesn’t let them off the hook easily—they have to work hard through seemingly hopeless circumstances in order to come out on top. Several times I wanted to slap the two main characters and tell them to shape up.
The author infused the story with an inspirational thread of forgiveness, healing, and God’s grace, and left me with an uplifting feeling of hope and optimism. Finding Evergreen is part of a series, but it can easily be a stand-alone book. Jennifer Rodewald is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I would recommend this to those who enjoy realistic, authentic, clean Christian fiction.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
“Marriage isn’t a math problem where fifty-fifty makes a hundred. It’s like those races you love. You lay it all down, never knowing how it’s going to turn out. Some days you win, and it’s awesome. Sometimes you crash, and it’s ugly. Either way, you’re putting it all out there, everything you’ve got.”
What an incredible book. This is the first contemporary romance I’ve read written by Jennifer Rodewald and I am hooked. I know this is the third book in the series and I didn’t read the first two books; this can definitely be read as a stand-alone. I will surely visit the other two books soon though. Anyone who enjoys a well-written and heart-jolting contemporary romance will LOVE this book.
Jennifer Rodewald once again delivers a beautifully written and complex novel that exposes raw, authentic, and heart-wrenching emotions. She speaks to the heart about what true love is and how a marriage can be selfish in its infancy but how it can be turned around for God’s glory. She brings together two very broken, hurting people to show us the sin and ugliness of our hearts without God and grace. I love this quote from Brandi, one of the main characters: “I know some things now that I didn’t know before. Grace is mine if I’m willing to kneel under it. I can give it if I live and love in it. This is my new battle cry, to live and love in grace. And in that battle, I’m fighting for you.” So powerful.
The main characters Brandi and Ethan are polar opposites and newlyweds. They both have much emotional baggage that they have not unpacked and start their marriage with a foster daughter who has been through too much for an eleven year old. As their world falls apart, they move through anger, selfish accusations, and blame until they both individually reach rock bottom and allow God to work in them. Their journey twisted my heart, reached deep down into my soul, and made me cry every chapter. Their struggles in marriage reminded me of my struggles at the beginning of ours….and made me also realize how powerful God’s grace and mercy indeed are to have morphed my marriage into something sustainable, stable, and solid from the mess I was and still am.
“Love was hard. Fierce. Sometimes a battle. And yet beautiful. It was evergreen.”
I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a favorable review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
This last book in the Grace Revealed series by Jennifer Rodewald has etched deeply into my heart. It touches on the subjects of foster care, self-esteem, perfectionism, marital struggles, and overcoming feelings of inadequacy.
It’s a story of God’s grace, forgiveness, and redemption. I really loved a quote in the book.
“In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” WOW!
While reading this book I realized I don’t need to have everything in control, God’s got this, and He will carry me through if I hand it all over to Him.
This whole book series will stay with me for a long time! I highly recommend you pick it up and read it. It could change you in ways you might not realize and make you see things so differently.
Ethan and Brandi started their marriage expecting the other person to fill a void in their heart, not considering that marriage isn’t so much about what you get, but what you give to the other person. Add on top of unrealistic expectations, they decided to foster an 11-year old girl with anger issues, & explosive tempers; and you have the making of a perfect (or not so perfect) storm.
This deeply poignant story is filled with raw emotion and characters so real you feel the story with them. These characters are sure to break your heart and have you reaching for the nearest kleenex box.
The author doesn’t shy away from the tough topics, nor from the raw emotion of the characters. Life in all its glorious messy bits is fully on display. Just like real life, the story is intense and there were times I had to put the story down, just to come up for air and clear my head. At the end of it all, I can honestly say my heart was full (and I’ll never look at evergreen trees the same again).
I haven’t yet read the first two stories in this series, but I have added them to my #TBR. This story could be easily read as a stand-alone. I give this story 4.5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who is searching for a story to read that faces head-on the difficult topics that we all deal with at one time or another.
(I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including Netgalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own.)