**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.
Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for the Mended Hearts series by Patricia Lee, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
Title: An Anchor on Her Heart
Series: Mended Hearts #1
Author: Patricia Lee
Publisher: Mountain Brook Ink
Release Date: August 1, 2017
Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
McKenna Nichols, a young wife abandoned by her husband in favor of his work, is left alone to raise their autistic child. She promised to love him until death parted them. But when circumstances drive a wedge into their marriage and Dane chooses to escape what life has dealt them, how long can she be strong? Can she remain faithful to her marriage vows when tempted by the friendship of an unlikely stranger?
Rudy Taylor, who senses McKenna's loneliness and understands the difficulty of raising her daughter, struggles to keep his concern for the young woman biblical. Will McKenna’s faith in God and Rudy’s commitment to his Lord be enough to keep their relationship simple until McKenna's husband one day returns?
Patricia Lee is a published author, having written since she first learned what words could do at the age of six. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Oregon. Articles to her credit have appeared in Moody Monthly, Power for Living, Expecting and Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse as well as in two anthologies— Cup of Comfort Bible Promises and In the Company of Angels. She is part of a team of bloggers who submit short devotionals for FaithHappenings.com. Patricia is a member of the Oregon Christian Writers and of American Christian Fiction Writers. She and her husband have two adult children and live in the Pacific Northwest with two sleepy cats.
CONNECT WITH PATRICIA: Website | Facebook | Twitter
If I were to be 100% honest, in the first few chapters of this book, I wasn't convinced that this would be a good read. While the writing was fantastic, there were two issues that had me questioning it in the beginning. First of all, it started out seeming very much like a romance--- when one character was still married. Needless to say, that didn't sit well with me. The second thing was a little closer to home. As the mother to an autistic child, I am very mindful to how autistic people are portrayed in the media. The idea that a father would leave because their child was 'difficult' had me thinking that this could lean towards that 'autism is a burden' mindset that I fight so hard against.
Despite my initial concerns, I read on and I am so glad that I did. Without giving any spoilers, I was pleased to discover that marriage and the vows taken were very much respected and truly played a big part in the overall story. I think this is so important in a Christian novel, and the way Patricia Lee handled it all was done beautifully. Likewise, I found that my initial fears on the attitude towards autism the story would take was completely off base and while it acknowledged some of the hardships associated with raising an autistic child, it was quite respectful in it's approach. It felt very genuine to the reactions that some might have, not sugar coating but not making it the end of the world either.
The reality is, this isn't a story about perfect people. It is the story of broken people. Some characters make decisions that will make us angry... but then isn't that real life? Overall, it was a heartwarming read and one that I am happy to have read. This is a great start to the Mended Hearts series and I cannot wait to read more.
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My family loves reading so hearing about another great book I appreciate. Thanks for sharing and also for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteThe cover is pretty.
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