Kendra Broekhuis

Between You and Us by Kendra Broekhuis is an interesting story about grief, motherhood, and marriage. I thought it was a touching tale. It is told in alternating chapters between the past and present. The reverse timeline was confusing at times. We are immediately plunged into the alternate life at the beginning of Between You and Us. We join Leona to learn about the past and how she ended up in the alternate world. Leona will need to make a choice at the end of her self-discovery journey. Of course, Leona needs to learn how she ended in this unfamiliar life and, if she desires, how to get back to her own life. Leona faces difficult challenges in both worlds plus she learns some valuable lessons. We do not know what choice Leona will make until it is revealed. I do wish the pacing had been a little livelier. I liked Leona’s husband, David (in both worlds), but I was unable to connect with Leona. The chapters on grief are moving (have a box of tissues nearby). Between You and Us is a complex, thought provoking story.… (mais)

Between You and us by Kendra Broekhuis is an interesting story to read. When Leona and David married, they chose to live the life they wanted rather than the life his wealthy parents wanted. They are living a life of working hard for the little they have and save for a special evening out. When Leona gets to the restaurant, she finds herself meeting the David as he would have been if they had followed his families plans for them.
While this is not the typical type of story that I read, this is very interesting and kept my attention to the very end. I felt very sorry for the life Leona was now living as she was constantly doing what was expected of her. While in this life she has the young daughter she lost, but she is living with a constant schedule. It is easy to imagine the difficulty she had in deciding which life to live, one of living her own life or one of living a life others expected but having her daughter.
I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this enjoyable story. This is my honest review.… (mais)

What a stunning debut with a curious time altering aspect.
This was a unique blend of heartache, humanity, humor and the unexpected.
Leona is thrust into an alternative life after she tragically loses her 4 month old daughter, Vera. The author provides an authentic picture of the grief over the death of a child and the yearning for what might have been. It took me back to my own experiences of birthing my children and my miscarriages.
I loved the scenes with toddler Vera, they were endearing. My favorite character was husband David who gave so much love in a distressing time. In both time periods he clearly loved Leona and wanted the best for them. The scenes of their courtship and early marriage was fulll of fun and easy banter, providing a relief from the angst. But it was the struggle that Leona went through that was so arresting. She was forced to confront her relationships with her friends and family members.
This was an exceptional story that was part women’s fiction, part romance and part speculative fiction. It had a faint faith thread and was a clean read.
* A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Multinomah through NetGalley. All opinions are mine alone.*… (mais)

This book has what people in deep grief would want to do, is it possible? Well, I was page turning for answers on how this one was going to turn out. Yes, I have lost a child, and yes, I know how my mind would have loved different answers.
We are with Lenora and David when they first meet and start dating, and through the meeting of his family, and then through the desire to have a child.
We meet these characters up personal and get to know them and their families. They sure did come from different backgrounds, and now Lenora has been granted a choice, and we are there to see which path she journeys and we see the benefits to both, yes, you need to get to the answers!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Waterbrook, and was not required to give a positive review.… (mais)