“Marriage isn’t a math problem where fifty-fifty makes a hundred. It’s like those races you love. You lay it all down, never knowing how it’s going to turn out. Some days you win, and it’s awesome. Sometimes you crash, and it’s ugly. Either way, you’re putting it all out there, everything you’ve got.”

What an incredible book. This is the first contemporary romance I’ve read written by Jennifer Rodewald and I am hooked. I know this is the third book in the series and I didn’t read the first two books; this can definitely be read as a stand-alone. I will surely visit the other two books soon though. Anyone who enjoys a well-written and heart-jolting contemporary romance will LOVE this book.

Jennifer Rodewald once again delivers a beautifully written and complex novel that exposes raw, authentic, and heart-wrenching emotions. She speaks to the heart about what true love is and how a marriage can be selfish in its infancy but how it can be turned around for God’s glory. She brings together two very broken, hurting people to show us the sin and ugliness of our hearts without God and grace. I love this quote from Brandi, one of the main characters: “I know some things now that I didn’t know before. Grace is mine if I’m willing to kneel under it. I can give it if I live and love in it. This is my new battle cry, to live and love in grace. And in that battle, I’m fighting for you.” So powerful.

The main characters Brandi and Ethan are polar opposites and newlyweds. They both have much emotional baggage that they have not unpacked and start their marriage with a foster daughter who has been through too much for an eleven year old. As their world falls apart, they move through anger, selfish accusations, and blame until they both individually reach rock bottom and allow God to work in them. Their journey twisted my heart, reached deep down into my soul, and made me cry every chapter. Their struggles in marriage reminded me of my struggles at the beginning of ours....and made me also realize how powerful God’s grace and mercy indeed are to have morphed my marriage into something sustainable, stable, and solid from the mess I was and still am.

“Love was hard. Fierce. Sometimes a battle. And yet beautiful. It was evergreen.”

I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a favorable review. All comments and opinions are solely my own. ( )