Amy Inspired - a book review

Once again, Bethany House was kind enough to provide this book free of charge for my review.

Here's the back cover:

Amy Gallagher is an aspiring writer who, after countless rejections, has settled for a career as an English professor in small-town Ohio just to pay the bills. All her dreams suddenly start to unravel as rejections pile up--both from publishers and her boyfriend. But just as Amy fears her life is stuck in a holding pattern, she meets the mysterious, attractive, and unavailable Eli. She struggles to walk the fine line between friendship and something more with Eli, even as staying true to her faith becomes unexpectedly complicated. When secrets, tragedy, and poor decisions cause rifts in Amy's relationships, she must come to terms with who she's become, her unrealized aspirations for her life, and the state of her faith. Can she dare to hope that she will find love and fulfillment despite it all?

I enjoyed this book more than my previous Bethany House read (see post from yesterday) but only by a margin. I did finish it this time.

Let me say first of all that Bethany House is one of my favorite publishers in the Christian book industry and I don't feel let down by them at all, rather I realize that some of their more recent publications just simply aren't my personal style. I'm still a fan ;)

Amy Inspired was good in that it held my interest, and the characters were so real and relatable that you truly forget they don't actually exist. But the overall tone of the novel was heavy, angsty...not in a fabricated way, don't get me wrong - all of the issues and turmoil of the characters was accurate and well done, but it just left a heavy feeling in your bones when you read. If you like angst-driven novels, this is one you'd probably love. But I tend to enjoy reads that leave me feeling more hopeful than this one. I like when characters deal with real life issues but I also like the comic relief angle that helps lighten the load. For me personally this one wasn't quite as balanced as I tend to prefer.

The ending was satisfactory but not as much as I'd have hoped after investing my time in the book. Bethany Pierce, however, is a very talented writer and I would definitely try another one of her stories. =)