Book Review: My Stubborn Heart

Another day, another installment of Sarah’s semi-embarrassing reading habits. Sigh. At least I’m honest about it. 🙂 Like I mentioned before, I recently signed up to review books for Bethany House Publishers, a well-respected publisher of Christian fiction and other Christian titles, through their blogger review program. The most recent title I received was Becky Wade’s My Stubborn Heart.

Here is the description of the book from the publisher:

Kate Donovan, burned out and in need of an adventure, is only too happy to help her grandmother restore her old childhood home. But when she encounters the man hired to renovate the house–a former hockey star who’s wounded and hiding from everything and everyone–Kate discovers bringing him back to life might be the best and most daring job of all.

 

And what did I think about this book? Well, in five points… here you have it.

• This is a book I can hardly find fault with! I just want to live in its pages and experience Kate and Matt’s love story for myself [even though my own is pretty great too :)]. Matt is the former hockey star turned historic home renovator referenced above, by the way. As I kept reading, I just didn’t want this story to end! Sequel, sequel, sequel. 🙂
• That being said… the major fault with this book was that I didn’t necessarily agree with how the author dealt with faith and Christianity. Yes, Kate prayed and went to church but I felt like overall the faith part of the book took a backseat to the romance, which is fine, but it’s just something to be aware of. One other theologically questionable part was that Kate practiced yoga frequently. I know that’s an iffy subject in some Christian circles, but my personal convictions lead me to wary about yoga even as a form of exercise due to its origins. If you are a Christian, this topic is between you and God and I urge you to research this subject and make an informed decision.
• I loved learning about how Kate’s character grew as a result of her blossoming friendship and romance with Matt, as well as her grandmother and her grandmother’s friends. Even though the book treats faith on a surface level, it was pretty obvious that Kate was growing and was letting God shape her path in life, even through the hard times. Definitely an encouragement to me!
• I won’t give away any spoilers, but this book and the outcome is NOT as predictable as 95% of the Christian fiction out there. And I absolutely love that!
• Lastly, I love Becky Wade’s well written yet relaxed, casual writing style. Her style fits so well with the quirky, spunky characters of her story… this is the perfect summer Christian chicklit/beach read. I don’t usually reread Christian fiction because some of it’s pretty lame, but this book is one I’m definitely keeping on my bookshelf. I hope you’ll check it out too!

What are you reading lately?

Thanks to Bethany House for the chance to read this great book for free!