MY REVIEW:
Faith Marin is an up-and-coming TV news personality whose ambition drives her life. Her husband is a professional bass fisherman whose lifestyle couldn’t be any more different from Faith’s if he tried. Somehow, the very traits that attracted Faith to Geary in the first place are the ones that seem to be driving a wedge between them. Faith loves her husband but has nearly thrown in the towel on her marriage when a tragic event leaves her fighting for her life.
“A Reason to Stay” is an emotional story that will grab the attention of anyone who has ever struggled in their marriage (and haven’t we all at one time or another?). The narrative moves between the present and the past as Faith seems to reflect on the development of the relationship between Geary and herself. Faith and Geary are both strong characters and Geary in particular was endearing. Maybe Faith isn’t the only one who likes rednecks!
Although often poignant and tense, the story is lightened by several quite humorous scenes that will leave most readers laughing. The story is a brutally honest look at marriage but ends on a high note that should leave its readers with hope. I thoroughly enjoyed “A Reason to Stay” and recommend it and all other books by Kellie Coates Gilbert.
This book was provided for review by
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Sometimes the thing that keeps us from making the wrong choice is the one thing we can’t control
As an investigative reporter and the host of her own TV talk show, Faith Marin works to expose the truth for her viewers. But in her personal life, she’s anchored her world with firm boundaries in order to hide a family history she’d like to forget. By contrast, her husband Geary’s life is an open book. An easygoing pro bass fisherman, Geary is the ultimate family man–and his overbearing relatives don’t know the meaning of boundaries.
Faith and Geary haven’t been married long when their differences start to derail their tender relationship. Surely love shouldn’t be this hard. While Faith considers whether divorce is the only answer to their issues, tragedy strikes. With her life in the balance, she finds that the one she has been shutting out may be the very one she cannot bear to lose.
Kellie Coates Gilbert takes you on an emotional roller coaster as she weaves together unexpected trial, self-discovery, and forgiveness in this profoundly honest portrait of the tensions that can break a marriage–and the ultimate healing power of love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kellie Coates Gilbert is a former legal investigator and trial paralegal and the author of A Woman of Fortune and Where Rivers Part. Gilbert crafts her emotionally charged stories about women in life-changing circumstances in Dallas, Texas, where she lives with her husband. Learn more at www.kelliecoatesgilbert.com.
