First, let me apologize to Kimberly and Valor for being late in my review. I was at the LDStorymakers Writing Conference this past weekend and have been dealing with some physical challenges that have somehow made my brain turn to mush. But, better late than never, as they say, so here it is! My review of "I'll Know You by Heart" by Kimberly Job.
By way of disclaimer, I have known Kimberly for about 3 years and admired her writing from the very beginning, but that in no way influences my review of her book.
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I'm not usually a reader of romance. It's not my genre. I write fantasy, for goodness sake, but I'll Know You By Heart was more than just a romance. It was the story of a woman's battle with abuse and lose all confidence in herself. It was about her coming to terms with her fear and standing up for what was important in the end.
It was about life.
And might I say, Kimberly has done a fantastic job of making it real. I was right there with our main character as she battled with her husband to protect her son. I was there when she first had to face the fact that not all men are like her ex. I was there as she fought the feelings she had for the new man in her life. Kimberly made me walk in this woman's shoes in a way most books rarely do, and though it ripped my heart out and shredded it at times, it also made me glow with happiness and pride when she made progress.
I'll be honest here. This book was so fantastically good that when I got toward the end, in particular, I could not put it down. I slowed down as I drove to hit every light red, then asked my kids to tell me when the light turned green and prayed it would stay red forever. Yes, it was just that good.
It is an LDS novel, but it's not one that hits you over the head with it, so it makes it a read that anyone can enjoy, and it's CLEAN.
I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Seriously. And I don't do that often. So, congratulations, Kimberly, for a fantastic debut novel. I look forward to the many yet to come.
Quote of the Day: "The only reason for being a professional writer is that you just can't help it."
It was about life.
And might I say, Kimberly has done a fantastic job of making it real. I was right there with our main character as she battled with her husband to protect her son. I was there when she first had to face the fact that not all men are like her ex. I was there as she fought the feelings she had for the new man in her life. Kimberly made me walk in this woman's shoes in a way most books rarely do, and though it ripped my heart out and shredded it at times, it also made me glow with happiness and pride when she made progress.
I'll be honest here. This book was so fantastically good that when I got toward the end, in particular, I could not put it down. I slowed down as I drove to hit every light red, then asked my kids to tell me when the light turned green and prayed it would stay red forever. Yes, it was just that good.
It is an LDS novel, but it's not one that hits you over the head with it, so it makes it a read that anyone can enjoy, and it's CLEAN.
I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Seriously. And I don't do that often. So, congratulations, Kimberly, for a fantastic debut novel. I look forward to the many yet to come.
Quote of the Day: "The only reason for being a professional writer is that you just can't help it."
Leo Rosten
4 comments:
Thanks for the review, Karen. I'm glad the emotion I tried to portray came through.
And 5 stars from someone as amazing as you are, feels like 100. :)
That's a tough subject to tackle. I'm glad you got to give a friend such a great review.
Great review!
Are you ready for yours? It's on my blog right now: taffyscandy.blogspot.com
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