**Forewarning... there will be spoilers below.**
You've been warned... LOL :)
My rating:
My thoughts - with spoilers:
Let me say, I thought I was going to hate this book or just not like it... that wasn't the case. I ended up really liking the story, but there were some things that annoyed/bothered me.
One thing I've never really liked in Karen Kingsbury's novels is that sometimes it almost seems like God is "talking" to the characters. It's like putting words in God's mouth. In most of her previous books, I overlooked it because I just loved the stories too much to give it anything less than five stars, but this one is really disappointing in many ways.
Originally, I had liked Bailey and thought she and Cody would be perfect for each other, but in Loving (and maybe even Longing) I sometimes found Bailey to be annoying...
I'm glad I read some spoiler reviews before I read Loving, because at least I knew where things were headed. I've always been Team Cody, and still am... but I am really happy that he didn't end up with Bailey.
I loved Cody and Andi's story, although I wish there would have been more of it in Loving. It ended without there being a definite answer, but I am really glad that he and Andi are together. :)
Oh, and I'm super glad that the series is finally over and it's known who Bailey marries - no more of the back-and-forth between Cody and Brandon! I think I cared more about who Cody ended up with than who Bailey did...
I am disappointed in the series, though, because of how things went. It seems like Karen Kingsbury just changed her mind towards the end of the series about who she wanted Bailey to marry - and diminished Cody and Bailey's old feeling for each other in the process.
Suffice it to say, disappointing, but good - if that makes sense. :|
I got this book from the library and decided to share my thoughts about it. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
I had many of the same thoughts that you did. So glad the series is finally over. :)
ReplyDeleteMe too!! :) I'll probably read the next Baxter book, Coming Home, but I'm hoping it will be better than this series...
DeleteOh, I'm so sad you didn't love it more! It ended up being one of my favorite books -- I adored it. I was originally Team Cody, but switched to Team Brandon by the end. He was pretty awful, though, in the Above the Line series!
ReplyDeleteI like Brandon... it's just Bailey that got annoying to me... :|
DeleteGreat review! love some if Karen kingsbury's books, but others, like this one, I feel is somewhat lacking in substance.. I haven't read this one yet but by the end of book 3 was so sick of the back and forth between the 2 guys an all the wasted romances of bailey:/
ReplyDeleteThanks! Totally agree - it got very annoying! :(
DeleteEnter me!!
ReplyDeleteIn Loving, I was absolutely crushed, and moved to mountains of tears when the book intimated that Brandon considered, and almost carried out suicide by overdose. BUT, somehow Bailey had a foretelling, "a feeling" that she needed to pray like never before for her future husband (she hadn't met Brandon yet). Later in the book, Brandon says that Bailey saved his life during a very dark time. I was wrecked by that thought. Did I not pray hard enough, or did I not convey God's Love well enough when I tried to help my husband? I am a survivor of suicide. Devastating the what ifs, or the what more could I have done or said? Often, we do NOT get specifically what we prayed for. God has a plan we could never understand. This is a very very serious topic, and survivors everywhere need to know that while they prayed, and prayed again. Tried to bring hope & love. Sometimes these things are not enough to save our loved ones. These are just my raw feelings.
ReplyDelete