Michelle Larks

Department. They are members of a tight-knit church community and serve God daily in all that they do. They own their home and have wonderful relationships with family and friends. The only regret this happy couple has is that for reasons unknown, in twenty years of marriage, they have been unable to conceive a child.

Throughout the years, the strain of being unable to bring a child into their happy relationship threatens to test their marriage and their faith. However, Monet and Marcus hold on to their relationship with Jesus when times get overwhelming. With God's help, this couple has sustained their love in the midst of disappointments that have destroyed weaker marriages.

Suddenly their happy life, and marriage, takes a turn for the worst after Monet is brutally raped and beaten one night after a shift at her hospital. If that isn't enough, she discovers that she is finally pregnant. Monet, who has waited for so long to have a baby is thrilled, convinced that the child is her husband's. Her husband is devastated because he believes the child is her attacker's, in spite of Monet's unwavering faith. He orders her to terminate the pregnancy, in spite of their Christian values. Monet refuses. Suddenly, the couple is facing the biggest test of faith of their lives because their happy marriage is on the verge of collapsing.

I enjoyed this novel immensely. I appreciated the way the author managed to depict a topic that is a struggle for many Christians: maintaining faith during trials. Marcus becomes angry, prideful, resentful, among other things during the challenging times he is forced to face. The story reminds readers that so many of us are ready to throw in the towel when God allows something to go wrong, even though God never promised to keep us from pain or trials--just to help us through them. Monet's character sends out a message that is essential to many believer's continued walk in the faith: that we must continue to hold on to Christ when we face trials because He will never leave us or forsake us. The wonderful dialogue sent out this essential Christian truth without being "preachy" and the scenes were fast-paced. The author did a great job creating characters that were at different levels of Christian faith and using the event to showcase how different people would react to a tragedy.

I enjoyed this novel. However, I must say--and forgive me for doing so--that there was one negative aspect. The plot did remind me a lot of a novel named Joy by Victoria C. Murray. I am not saying that Michelle Larks copied the novel by Ms. Murray but there was a similarity in the way that both main female characters experience a rape and get pregnant only to have to face their husbands' issues with the pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, once the reader gets past the similarity in the plot between the two novels, it will be easy to see that the characters in this novel are quite different and the theme is presented in a very unique way… (altro)