Tammy L. Gray

OH MY, WORD, WHAT AN GOOD BOOK!! I loved that Katie went back home after she fled her small town in the middle of the night after she stayed away for four years, she was a hellcat then and did dope and drank beer. She thought that she was never shown any love. After she heard that her mom was ill, she returned home a changed woman, new to Christ, but the town did not believe her, and then her ex-boyfriend threatened to tell her best friend her dark secret unless they get back together, I loved that Asher always had a crush on Katie back in school although she was mean spirited to him, now that he had bought the house next door, he treated her like the preacher's kid that he was. He knew that her dad wanted her to makeup with her ex but he had a violent temper when he did not get what he wanted, but he did not know about her secret as Cooper did.… (mais)

This is the third book in the State of Grace trilogy. While I did not read the first two books, I think this final book is able to be understood on its own.
First, I must commend the author for writing a story with such vivid language. The author provides lively descriptions and details throughout the book. Furthermore, the characters are not by any means flat. They each demonstrate progress and development through difficult situations. The story shines a light on several relationships where restoration, forgiveness, and healing are experienced. Overall, however, this book was difficult for me to finish. Most of the characters were quite immature, and it was impossible to like them. The protagonists, Lexie and Cameron, as well as their friends, seem tortured by events of the past, yet their reactions seemed unbelievable and overexaggerated to me.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions in this review are my own.

… (mais)

This book was one I didn't know how to feel about going into it. There was a lot of baggage that Cameron was bringing into the story, but I cared about him from the previous books, and I was looking forward to him finally getting his own happily ever after. The moment I first read about Lexie I loved her. She was such a great character that was easy to relate to and was perfect for Cameron. I loved seeing their story play out. All the challenges they had to work through showed just how admirable these characters were. I truly loved how they fought both of their pasts to come together into who they truly are and want to be.

I really liked that this book jumped ahead a few years from the last few books, it worked so well to really make me feel the pain Cameron has gone through in that time. It was necessary for the story to develop the way it did. It also gave us some new insight into what has been going on in the lives of the other characters. It was great.

I don't think I can truly put into words how deeply this book made me feel. It was very emotional for me. The author had a way of writing that made me feel so connected to the characters. The story came alive to me and I couldn't help but feel everything the characters did.

The book was beautiful, in my opinion. One of the best I have read this year. I didn't want it to end. I enjoyed the other 2 in the series, but they were nothing compared to this one. While this one could technically be read as a standalone, I don't recommend doing that. I would read at least the second book first because it allows you to see Cameron's character and story develop. I have a stronger appreciation of everything he goes through because of it.

For the sake of not wanting to spoil it, I'm going to stop talking about this book because it is one I think everyone will experience differently. Some people might not connect on a deeper level to it, maybe they will only see the lighthearted side, or maybe they will experience the emotional connection I did, but that is for each person to find out on their own. However, I do think everyone who reads it will feel the emotion the author put into the story. This one, along with the other books in the series feel personal, like we are getting a glimpse into the life of someone very much like us, who experiences similar things we have all gone through. The pages are full of universal truth, things almost everyone has experienced at some point in their life, and it is told in real, raw way. While at the same time, the story never gets too heavy, there is almost a lightheartedness to it that is comforting.

I truly cannot thank the author enough for sharing such an amazing book. The romance was cute and sweet, but it wasn't the whole story. There was a struggle with faith that I wish there might have been just a smidge more of, I feel like that was a bigger part to the story that we didn't quite get to see. It was definitely there, it was just a little light.

I received an ARC of this book for free, and I voluntarily left this honest review.… (mais)