Finally & Forever by Robin Jones Gunn

For those of you who don't know this about me, I've been a huge Robin Jones Gunn fan since Christy Miller.  If you're a fan too, you know what I mean.  So, of course, I've been trying for years to follow the journeys of all my dear friends.  They have been such a part of my life now for nearly 2 decades.  How could I not continue on their journey with them?
I finally picked up Finally & Forever the other day and proceeded to read it in less than 48 hours.  I can honestly say that I never guessed that Katie would end up in Africa.  She has always been an important character in Robin's line up.  A great supporting role for her best friend Christy, but I never pictured her falling for an unknown like Eli and ending up in Kenya.  All of this being said, I am glad that Katie ended up where she was truly supposed to be.  I found myself turning page after page wanting to know where the story would go next.  Katie flew to Africa with Eli to see what was there for them.  She arrived in a new culture and soon fell in love with her surroundings.  Along the journey in Africa, Katie and Eli have bumps in their relationship.  Are they truly supposed to be together?  Do their desires for ministry mesh?  What is God's plan?  Heart searching happens and soul searching and the answer comes.  The realization comes that they can mesh their ministry desires and become one in marriage.  The end of the book is grand - what a creative way to do it!
Go get your copy of Finally & Forever, and see the amazing sights of Kenya.  There may even be a miracle in their somewhere too and a chance to see what God's plan for your own life might be.  Thank you, Robin Jones Gunn, for a great book!  Could you write about the wedding now and bring the whole gang back together one last time??

A Journey to New Books - From November 6, 2009

I really enjoyed Leaving Carolina! It’s a quirky southern-fiction book with unique characters. I believe every family contains some people just like those in Tamara Leigh’s story. The book was funny, heart-warming, and dramatic. I thought it was just the right mix of all the elements of a good story.
Piper Wick is a woman with a past full of people who did her wrong and now the family misdeeds are about to hit the fan. Being someone who wants to keep the past under cover, Piper decides action most be taken and so she heads “home” to Pickwick. What ensues is an experience of family and redemption and renewal that Piper never knew she needed or wanted.
Axel the gardener is more than he first appears to be. Uncle Obadiah is a man with a past and a heart for doing what God would have him do. Plus, you’ll meet Maggie, Bart, Bridget, Devyn, Aunt Adele, Aunt Belinda, and Trinity Templeton. Fun, interesting, and quirky characters you will enjoy uncovering one tale at a time.

From back cover:
Piper Wick left her hometown of Pickwick, North Carolina, twelve years ago, shook the dust off her feet, ditched her drawl and her family name, and made a new life for herself as a high-powered public relations consultant in LA. She’s even “engaged to be engaged” to the picture-perfect U.S. Congressman Grant Spangler.
Now all of Piper’s hard-won happiness is threatened by a reclusive uncle’s bout of conscience. In the wake of a health scare, Uncle Obadiah Pickwick has decided to change his will, leaving money to make amends for four generations’ worth of family misdeeds. But that will reveal all the Pickwicks’ secrets, including Piper’s.
Though Piper arrives in Pickwick primed for battle, she is unprepared for Uncle Obe’s rugged, blue-eyed gardener. So just who is Axel Smith? Why does he think making amends is more than just making restitution? And why, oh why, can’t she stay on task? With the Lord’s help, Piper is about to discover that although good PR might smooth things over, only the truth will set her free.


Two other books I’d like to tell you about are listed below. I haven’t had a chance to read either title yet, but I wanted to tell you about them.

Book Summary:
Claudette Fioré used to turn heads and break hearts. She relished the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle because she had what it takes: money, youth, fame, and above all, beauty. But age has withered that beauty, and a crooked accountant has taken her wealth, leaving the proud widow penniless and alone.
Armed with stubbornness and sarcasm, Claudette returns to her shabby little hometown and her estranged sister. Slowly, she makes friends. She begins to see her old life in a new light. For the first time, Claudette Fioré questions her own values and finds herself wondering if it’s too late to change.

Book Summary:
Maya’s Green Tip for the Day: Recycled fashion is one of the most fun ways to go green. A pair of jeans could be transformed into a denim skirt. A sweater into a vest. A bunch of old ties into a dress. A blanket into a poncho. Accessorize it in new way–with beads, buttons, appliqués, buckles, stencils, or ribbons…your imagination is only the limit. (65 words)
Sixteen-year-old Maya Stark has a lot to sort through. She could graduate from high school early if she wants to. She’s considering it, especially when popular cheerleader Vanessa Hartman decides to make her life miserable–and Maya’s ex-boyfriend Dominic gets the wrong idea about everything.
To complicate matters even more, Maya’s mother will be released from prison soon, and she’ll want Maya to live with her again. That’s a disaster waiting to happen. And when Maya plays her dad’s old acoustic guitar in front of an audience, she discovers talents and opportunities she never expected. Faced with new options, Maya must choose between a “normal” life and a glamorous one. Ultimately, she has to figure out what matters most.

Disclaimer: These books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

A Journey to New Books – Coming Attractions - From September 4, 2009

I have been hooked on the whole Christy and friends gang for many years now. So when Robin Jones Gunn started the Katie Weldon Series, I was one of the first to get in line for a copy of the first book. I have certainly enjoyed being able to revisit my friends over the recent past. I enjoyed Coming Attractions very much. It keeps in step with Robin’s other stories in this “set,” yet I am not sure how I truly feel about the way the story turned out in the end. I hope that there is at least one more book to come so that I can really gauge how I feel about the whole thing. None of this is to say that I’m completely disappointed with the book. I’m NOT! I really did enjoy this new installment in Katie’s story. She is a woman with a strong desire to do her Father’s will. She is an adventurer, with a good heart, and a love for those around her. She has a flair for finding herself in slightly embarrassing situations, but she never lets that get her down. She is a girl that many females can relate to in some way or another. I certainly would recommend this fun, soul-searching book to my dear friends. If you haven’t read any of Robin Jones Gunn’s book, then I say start at the beginning – find the first book in the Christy Miller Series. If you’re 16, 30, 45, 60, it doesn’t matter – they are great books!

Katie was thinking a lot about her future in Coming Attractions, and I think that that is something we all need to stop and do on a regular basis. I’ve been married now for almost 4 1/2 years and have a daughter in Heaven and a daughter who’s 10 months old, so if I were to stop and think about the next 5 to 10 years, children would certainly be involved. I believe that God will continue to bless my husband and I with other children over that time and His plan for us – our marriage, our family, everything. God has the ultimate plan in His hands. Isn’t that part of what Katie discovered on a new level in this story? You can’t plan everything out; God has the blueprints, not me. I believe though, truly, that He has something special planned for my husband, myself, and our children over the next few years. He is truly amazing!