The Hearts We Mend

A smile bloomed in Evie’s eyes, and Jack felt that strange tug again. The one that occurred whenever he caught a glimpse of the current flowing underneath her tranquil surface. It drew him. Made him want to get to know her better.

But that meant Evie would get to know him better too.

Jack could only imagine what her reaction would be if she found out how closely the apartment resembled his life at the moment. Not really a work in progress though. More like a construction zone. A little loud, a little messy, and a whole lot of unpredictable.

It would be better – safer – if Evie stayed where she belonged.

And something told Jack it would be safer for him too.

“So you put your life on hold and moved here too>”

“I don’t look at it that way.” Jack smiled at the thought. “My life isn’t on hold – I’m just living it here. Moment by moment. But sometimes you have to decide what’s going to cost you more. The risk or the regret. I’ve read the pamphlets. I realize I can’t fight my brother’s battles for him. I just had to show him that he’s worth fighting for.”

Book: The Hearts We Mend by Kathryn Springer. Zondervan Publishers, 2016

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Romance

Target Audience: Adult Women

Subjects: Love, Sacrifice, Drugs, Alcohol, Loss

Summary: Have you ever dared to dream big? To imagine God would use you to accomplish something huge, to be a part of changing lives, to join in a grand adventure?

Evie didn’t. Her life was tame. Safe. She knew what to expect and when to expect it. Until the day her well-behaved, godly, mature teenage son announced he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant and was going to marry her and be a father to their child. Her calm life exploded into chaos at that moment. Just as she thought she had accepted it and gotten acclimated to the new normal, she walked into church to find the old reliable janitor gone and in his place a handsome man with a burden for an entire neighborhood on his shoulders. God keeps shoving her into Jack’s life and she finds she hasn’t been living at all. She put her life and her heart on pause the moment her husband died thirteen years ago. A drug addict, a high school drop out, a hopeless widow, a colicky baby, an abandoned child and the man who serves them all are used by God to start bringing her back to life again, slowly but surely. Before she knows it, Evie is dreaming big dreams of being a part of all of this. Jack isn’t sure he wants to let Evie in though. Her picture-perfect upbringing and marriage will never allow her to accept him and all the baggage he carries. But maybe God is big enough to join two hearts to share the same passion, bringing healing to both at the same time.

Notes: The Hearts We Mend is the second in the Banister Falls series. Last year, when #1 – The Dandelion Field released, I had to give it credit for being one of the absolute best books of the entire year. When I picked up #2, I feared I would be disappointed – how could any book live up to the expectations I had built up for it after reading #1? It did not disappoint! It was equally beautiful. When you see old Bert crying with glowing eyes telling Evie that God has given her more than she can hold – more good things, when you see Dan and Ryan and the others show up to help Jack with the apartment, when you hear that Jack has made an arrangement with the landlord to do more free repairs to the building in exchange for putting in more washing machines and dryers that will add convenience to the list of the young mom, when Jack sees a desire in Evie that no one else saw, when Evie tells him he is a hero… all those moments make you sigh in delight. Things are good, very good. The hero and heroine are letting God lead them and in following His direction, accomplishing beautiful things.

I highly recommend this book!

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I greatly enjoyed it!