RITA Award-winning author Tammy L. Gray delivers an unforgettable new series following five struggling friends in search of the true meaning of family through secrets, betrayal and the unexpected influence of an outsider… Tyler Mitchell grew up an orphan, taken in by his best friend’s family when he was only sixteen. Even though ten years have passed, and he’s been given everything he should ever … should ever want—a loving home, an adoring girlfriend, a successful career, and lifelong friendships—Tyler has always felt a foreigner in his own life.
When a surprising phone call reveals the death of his biological grandfather, Tyler’s seemingly perfect life starts to unravel. The people he loves most in world have kept from him the greatest secret of all—knowledge of his father’s family.
Now hunting for more information about his past, Tyler discovers nothing is quite as it seems. And the definition of family is far more complicated than choosing between blood and loyalty.
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“Sometimes I think we’re two irreparably broken souls.”
Wow. What a heart-stirring and gripping novel. My heart was in my throat and my eyes were burning from holding back the tears throughout the entire book. This is the first book by Tammy L Gray that I’ve read and I’ll be sure to read her previous novels while I breathlessly await the sequel to this book. It is a well-written novel that is emotionally charged, full of surprising twists and turns to the plot, packed with incredible characters, and brimming with such nostalgic and bittersweet childhood/adolescence memories amongst the five friends. Anyone who enjoys a good contemporary romance will love this one.
This book focuses on Journey, who is an art teacher and artist, and Tyler, a orphan who is the top salesman at an insurance company owned by his “adoptive father.” Journey is sweet, loving, tender-hearted, and so faithful in her love for Tyler. Tyler is strong, talented, and capable but haunted and trapped by his past and his need to find who he is by uncovering his lineage and blood family.
Then there is Beck, Tyler’s best friend and “brother”. And April, who is Journey’s best friend. And Sean, who completes the circle of the five longtime friends but he disappears from the book after the prologue and doesn’t re-enter until much later.
The story of these five friends (Journey and Tyler in particular) speaks about unconditional love, forgiveness and grace, letting go of the past but learning from it, not being defined by the past or what people think of you, and discovering who you are through trials and difficulties. These themes are so real and relevant, no matter the age of the reader. I felt a little old reading about these young kids in their mid to late twenties, but was immediately drawn into their brokenness, fears, tears, heartbreaks, and triumphs.
I cannot wait till the next book about April and Sean is released. That one promises to be an even more emotionally charged tale!
I received a copy of the book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a favorable review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
When I started this book I felt like I just jumped in the deep end of the angst-filled drama of fractured relationships. The author did a great job of making it easy to quickly get to know the various personalities in the once tight-knit group of friends, but it took me longer to feel connected to them and invested in their high-strung emotions. It did come, surprisingly with the inclusion of Caroline, a newcomer to the town and family business. She was my favorite character by far, probably because of the peace and rest her presence and friendship gives Tyler from the chaos of his thoughts. It also changed the dynamic of the tone of the book which was becoming a bit dark for me, and the upswing re-energized my interest and her new perspective was refreshing.
The connection between Tyler and Journey is palpable and even though they spend the majority of the book on rocky ground, I loved the concern they continually felt for each other and interest in each other’s welfare. They each had growing to do that happened independently, and painful as it was, they come together stronger than ever because of it. There is a strong message of the importance of friendship and family loyalty, especially for the families we build ourselves. By the end I couldn’t put the book down and I can’t wait to see where the stories of the friends will lead in the rest of the series.
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)
“What did the preacher say?” . . . “He Said, ‘If we are sons and daughters of a mighty God, why do we live our life as orphans?'”
Cue the tears. As with every book by this author that I have read, she never fails to move me emotionally by the nuggets of spiritual wisdom she inserts into her writing. I loved this book!
Until I Knew Myself is a standalone story that is part of an ongoing series and classified as contemporary romance. Yet, I find that it leans more towards women’s fiction with romantic elements. While there is a central story line that revolves around a romantic couple, there are also peripheral story lines that will be extended and expanded upon in subsequent books as each of those characters get their own story (or so I presume.) With that said, there are multiple POV’s in this book, that with another author could be disastrous, but Gray handles it with a deft hand. Multiple POV’s are becoming obsolete in romantic fiction and I truly miss it. It was refreshing to dig into the minds of this group and all the elements to their long friendships. Within the main story of this book, there is mystery and a bit of suspense along with friendship and family dynamics. Although the faith thread is fairly light within this particular book in the series, I can see where the author might also expand that as the series progresses. The character arcs of the main H/h were moving and transformational journeys to their HEA. By the end, I was fully on board and rooting for it. Even though this is a standalone story, there are some loose ends between some of the secondary characters that have me excited to continue on.
I’m not sure how Tammy Gray does it every time, but she knocked it out of the park….again! This book had me spitting nails, swooning, back to spitting nails, fighting tears, and back to swooning. Often times I think the “orphan spirit” is over used in the church, but Tammy did such a good job of creating a realistic orphan spirit story. It showed the true meaning of family, and that family does not have to be blood. Our identity must be rooted in more than our last name, and those who share it. I highly recommend this book!
Until I Knew Myself is my first read by author Tammy L. Gray and a wonderful contemporary story! More than a simple romance, this story had several twists and character arcs that kept me involved. The plot is full of drama, but not the bad kind! I felt a lot of strong emotions while I read, and sometimes I wanted to shake a little sense into some of the characters. For the most part, their emotions and reactions feel genuine and realistic.
I appreciated that the shared past between this group of somewhat estranged friends is made clear in a natural way as the story progresses. It was obvious that at one point they were extremely close, so it made their rift all the more heart-tugging. Tyler’s story is especially poignant as he struggles to find a sense of family and peace with his past, unable to see the family that is already right in front of him. Gray deftly places in hints about future character’s stories while still creating a complete and satisfying story in this novel. I’m eager to read more about these characters and hope that there are at least two more Bentwood books to come!
Happily, I have a couple of Tammy L. Gray’s previous books already on my Kindle to look forward to until the next Bentwood novel.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the author, which I chose to review. This review is my honest opinion.
Until I Knew Myself and The Bentwood Series it starts is the kind that is worth investing your time in. This first book introduces a group of friends with the focus being on one couple in particular, Ty and Journey. Their story is an absolutely beautiful one of two broken people being made whole so they can finally come together in a far richer relationship than they had before. Each one of them have hurts that they have to face and lies that they have to overcome.
Ty is so desperate for a sense of belonging that he can’t see that he already does belong. There are lies acting as a wall standing between him and the gifts God has for him. Lies that keep him from realizing how loved and wanted he really is, not only by an earthly family, but also by a heavenly Father. In the course of this book, the blinders finally lift and Ty can begin to see what gifts he’s been given and what love is already being poured out over him, helping him to really begin to see things as they really are.
Lies we believe so often taint so many areas of our lives and the perceptions we have of situations we deal with. But God is good, so good to weave our stories together and bring us to places of truth and healing. God knows the hurts we have, the lies we’ve believed even when we ourselves don’t see it, and He works tirelessly to bring them out into the open, to bring His children to places of light and hope and truth and healing.
God’s fingerprints are all over this story, bringing these people to where they are ready to hear the truth and can begin to heal, bringing good from bad—redeeming the bad and repurposing it for their good.
This is a wonderfully written story of coming home, of finding out you belonged all along, of coming out of darkness and bondage to lies and into His marvelous light. I believe this novel has the ability to speak to so many people and remind them of who they are because of God and His love for them and maybe open doors for them to see that He’s been there all along and that even now He is working their story out for good.
There’s so much to love about this book in addition to the beautiful picture it paints of an orphan who’s found his home. I love the tenderness of Ty’s and Journey’s relationship. I love seeing the changes in both both of them as they navigate the paths they are on. I loved watching Journey grow stronger and Ty find out he truly does belong. I also loved the love this group of friends has for each other, that even when they are struggling with life and with each other, there’s an underlying bond that holds them together and causes them to look out for each other. I am looking forward to the rest of the books in this series.
Tyler Mitchell is an orphan. His dad abandoned him when he was just three-years-old, and his mother passed away from cancer when he was sixteen. Taken in by his best friend’s family, Tyler no longer needed to struggle for anything. However, questions about his past and his biological family have been plaguing him for years.
Then one day, Tyler’s life is thrown into disarray after receiving a phone call from a lawyer saying that his biological grandfather had just passed away, leaving him with all his belongings. What’s worse, Tyler also finds out that the people closest him knew about his grandfather but kept them from meeting. Will something in his grandfather’s belongings help answer the questions he’s been longing to be answered? And can Tyler find it in his heart to forgive the people who love him for lying to him?
One thing is for sure, everything we might think is true really isn’t. Family isn’t just about shared blood; it’s about who remains by your side when life throws you the hugest curveball of your life! For Tyler, this means coming to terms with who he and his real family are.
Until I Knew Myself was my first encounter with the author, Tammy L. Gray. I was really impressed with the way the narrative carried itself and the twist and turns in-between; when I thought one thing was going to happen, something else occurred. I loved reading a clean romance that wasn’t overly Christian but also not filled with swearing and sex like most secular romance novels.
The characters felt so realist that I almost forgot that I was reading a work of fiction! I could honestly connect with the characters and by the last page, was left wanting more. Tammy L. Gray is definitely my new guilty pleasure!
Tammy Gray is one of my favorite authors. Every book she releases I automatically buy. And I’m never disappointed. I got an early release of her new book Until I Knew Myself. And once again I was very pleased. The way she weaves her stories of real life situations, the depth of her characters and the way she makes you feel part of the book, that you want to be friends with her characters and walk along side of them is amazing. I highly recommend it! You won’t be disappointed.