I have never read a book with so much human anguish and so much hope. Author Karen Wiesner created a story that is so real it is scary. I have lived this story through a close relative. Thank you Ms Wiesner for bringing this illness to the attention of the public through this wonderful thought-provoking story; it is a horrendous illness of the mind.
STORY LINE:
Gregg Stevens former famous music star has spent his life making bad decisions, running scared, sex, women, drugs, and freedom to have whatever he desired. Then he found God, left his old life of abuse and self-indulgence; he has a new center for his life in Wayward Angels, a resource and haven for troubled and abused teens, and his love of Jesus Christ. God is now his anchor.
Stormie Knight, new Christian, troubled, secretive, and mysterious, applies as a part-time handyman for Wayward Angels. Her life is a disaster, yet, there is something about this new Christian that calls to Gregg. Her behavior is puzzling and hard to understand. What follows is the making of a great love story or a formula for disaster.
CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, DEVELOPMENT:
Author Karen Wiesner did not pull any punches in this book. Her portrayal of Stormie’s mental issues are brutal, honest, and real. She skillfully showed the minute by minute and day by day struggle involved in this disorder.
Ms. Wiesner also depicted the hope we have through God as Gregg and Stormie struggle with their issues and problems journeying to the end God has in store for their life.
Ms. Wiesner’s characters were skillfully developed throughout the story and the pacing was on target and intriguing. I found myself reading this book straight through; it is an emotional roller coaster ride. Ms. Wiesner drew me into the story-line and opened my eyes to the life my relative endures everyday and the support we need to give people with this illness. These characters could be your neighbors, the teenage across the street, your brother, your uncle.
This is a love story between man and woman and between God and human. Ms. Wiesner skillfully shows that His Grace is sufficient to carry us through life and His love for us is never-ending. She shows Christians, as we are, with all our faults, struggles, and failures, yet secure in the knowledge we are loved and forgiven by our heavenly Father.
Ms. Wiesner sets the hook deep in the prologue and holds your attention from the prologue to the last word. Ms. Wiesner talent is obvious in this skillfully crafted story-line. This is not a love story with a miraculous cure at the end of the story with everyone walking off into the sunset to live care-free and happy ever after. Rather, this is a raw gritty story of mental illness (a thorn of the flesh as stated in the Bible), love, and faith; in other words, this is a story of life not fairy-tales.
RECOMMENDATION: 5 STARS
I highly recommend this book. Thank you Ms. Wiesner for revealing the day-to-day struggle with this illness and the hope we have for our loved ones. This book is well-developed, paced and plotted.
I received this book from The Romance Reviews in return for an honest book review.
Book reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion; all book reviews on line under my name and on my blog are my opinion.
MY INNER THOUGHTS:
I have a very close relative with mental illness, I recognized the many of the characteristics of Stormie’s illness and her life. I see it everyday and I could relate to this story so well. This story empowered me to go the extra mile for this person. I hope this story will inspire you to compassion and understanding of the mentally ill in our society that are often times, disregarded, made fun of, or completely ignored. They are God’s creation and deserve our compassion and understanding.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: BIO AND PHOTO PROVIDED BY AUTHOR
Creating realistic, unforgettable characters one story at a time…
Karen Wiesner is an accomplished author with 113 titles published in the past 18 years, which have been nominated/won 134 awards, and has 40 more releases contracted for spanning many genres and formats. Karen’s books cover such genres as women’s fiction, romance, mystery/police procedural/cozy, suspense, paranormal, futuristic, fantasy, gothic, inspirational, thriller, horror, chick-lit, and action/adventure. She also writes children’s books, poetry, and writing reference titles such as her bestseller, First Draft in 30 Days and From First Draft to Finished Novel {A Writer’s Guide to Cohesive Story Building} (out of print; reissue available now in paperback and electronic formats under the title Cohesive Story Building). Her third offering from Writer’s Digest Books was Writing the Fiction Series: The Complete Guide for Novels and Novellas, available now. Look for Writing Three-Dimensional Fiction from WDB, release date TBA. Her previous writing reference titles focused on non-subsidy, royalty-paying electronic publishing, author promotion, and setting up a promotional group like her own, the award-winning Jewels of the Quill, which she founded in 2003 and disbanded in 2014. For more information about Karen’s fiction and series, consult her official companion guide The World of Author Karen Wiesner: A Compendium of Fiction. Visit her website at https://www.karenwiesner.com. Check out Karen’s author page at Facebook, where you can like, friend and follow her: https://www.facebook.com/KarenWiesnerAuthor. If you would like to receive Karen’s free e-mail newsletter, Karen’s Quill, and become eligible to win her monthly book giveaways, send a blank e-mail to KarensQuill-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.