If He Only Knew
by Michelynn Christy, Brandi Gabriel

Published by Blessed Publishing
Publication Date June 16, 2017
Genres: Christian Fiction
Setting: California Vietnam Era - US - 1961 - 1975
Main Character Ages: 18-25
Written for: Adults
Pages: 161

Synopsis:

It's 1968 and love is in the air in the small coastal town of Cambridge, California.

Donna Peterson, the preacher's daughter, has her entire life ahead of her and the future looks promising. But things aren’t as they seem in Cambridge. A tangled web of secrets threaten to destroy the lives of each person involved – Donna, her boyfriend Bobby, and Rick, Bobby’s best friend. Will the truth make them free, or will they lose their friendship forever?

I would like to thank Celebrate Lit for giving me this copy of the book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.

I really appreciate when an author is willing to write about difficult topics and present them in a Biblical perspective. The characters in this book had hard lessons to learn about forgiveness and forgiving, and the authors were very clear about the forgiveness that comes only from Jesus. This makes it very hard for me to write this review, because I know it was a labor of love. And my opinion is apparently in the minority because I have read other reviews and they are mostly glowing. Overall, the rating on Goodreads (out of 17 reviews, not including mine) is 4.22 stars.

This was a very difficult book for me.  I’ll be candid with you, if I hadn’t committed to reading and reviewing it, I would have stopped reading it close to the beginning.  The dialog and the story seemed superficial and lacking depth up until the big reveal and then things got emotional. The portion that dealt with forgiveness felt very preachy and contrived.

One of the characters, Rick, went to war and managed to forget he was reporting for boot camp the next day.  That just didn’t seem realistic based on my experience (and my friend was going during peacetime).  And then there was Rick’s return after he went MIA that was made very little of.

The hardest part to read was the subject matter. Without going into details, I’ll just say that it was a topic that is very sensitive and it was painful to read about, especially with the details that were given. I won’t give away any spoilers, especially because the authors are very clear about not revealing what the issues are, so if you want to know so you can make a decision about reading this book, feel free to send a note on my contact page and I can give you more details privately.

Guest Post from Michelynn Christy & Brandi Gabriel

Take a step back in time…

If He Only Knew is a novel set in the late 1960s. The book deals with family relationships, loyalty, friendship, love, and loss. The main topic is somewhat controversial in nature, but we won’t mention what it is lest we spoil the story for readers. A similar book was written in a different genre under another name and the story really resonated with readers. We felt compelled to share this story with others who perhaps wouldn’t pick up that particular genre, and that is how this book came about. It may be set in the sixties, but the message is as relevant today as ever. Our prayer is that God will touch readers’ hearts and draw them closer to Him.

Blog Stops

Bibliophile Reviews, February 17

Reading is my Super Power, February 17

A Greater Yes, February 18

proud to be an autism mom, February 18

Texas Book-aholic, February 19

Inklings and notions, February 19

Radiant Light, February 20

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 20

Christian Author, J.E.Grace Blog, February 21

Janices book reviews, February 21

Jeanette’s Thoughts, February 22

A Baker’s Perspective, February 23

Karen Sue Hadley, February 23

Avid Reader Book Reviews, February 24

margaret kazmierczak, February 24 (Interview)

Bigreadersite, February 25

Among the Reads, February 25

Simple Harvest Reads, February 26 (Guest post from Mindy)

Pursuing Stacie, February 27

Red Headed Book Lady, February 27

Maureen’s Musings, February 28

Carpe Diem, February 28

The Fizzy Pop Collection, March 1

Josephines Thoughts, March 2

Have A Wonderful Day, March 2

Giveaway

To celebrate their tour, Michelynn and Brandi are giving away the following:

Grand Prize: ONE themed book box, (this will contain small items that relate to the story
1st Place Prize: ONE $25 Amazon gift card,
2nd Place Prize: ONE signed paperback copy of If He Only Knew
3rd Place Prize: ONE signed paperback copy of If He Only Knew!!

Ends March 3, 2018

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/c601

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