Loving (Bailey Flanigan Series) [Kindle Edition]

Karen Kingsbury (Author)

Book Description

The answers Bailey Flanigan once longed and prayed for are finally becoming clear. In Loving, the fourth and final book in the Bailey Flanigan Series by New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury, Bailey is planning a wedding and making decisions that will shape her future. Bailey enjoys the beginning of her new career and time spent with Brandon while Cody faithfully coaches his team on and off the field. Will she spend her life with Brandon Paul in Los Angeles, or will her heart draw her back to Bloomington, Indiana and Cody Coleman, her first love? Bailey has learned much and grown over the years, but the greatest challenges, the richest joys, and the deepest heartaches are still to come. Featuring members from Karen Kingsbury's popular Baxter family, Loving completes Bailey and Cody's story --- the finale thousands of fans have been waiting for.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America's favorite inspirational novelist, with over 20 million books in print. Her Life-Changing Fiction has produced multiple bestsellers, including Unlocked, Leaving, Take One, Between Sundays, Even Now, One Tuesday Morning, Beyond Tuesday Morning, and Ever After, which was named the 2007 Christian Book of the Year. An award-winning author and newly published songwriter, Karen has several movies optioned for production, and her novel Like Dandelion Dust was made into a major motion picture and is now available on DVD. Karen is also a nationally known speaker with several women's groups including Women of Faith. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, Don, and their five sons, three of whom are adopted from Haiti. Their daughter Kelsey is married to Christian artist Kyle Kupecky. SPANISH BIO: Karen Kingsbury es autora de mas de treinta titulos, incluyendo algunos EXITOS de venta, uno de los cuales se uso para la pelicula de la semana de CBS. Es una de las atoras favoritas de novelas inspiradoras.Se han impreso mas de dos millones de ejemplares de sus libros. Kingsbury reside en el estado de Washington con Don, su esposo, y sus seis hijos, tres de los cuales los adotatron en Haiti.

Product Details

• File Size: 1985 KB
• Print Length: 353 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0310276381
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
• Publisher: Zondervan (April 8, 2012)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0058CWYHC
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,067 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #3 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Fiction
  • #12 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Religious Fiction > Romance
  • #12 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Inspirational > Christian

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

296 of 313 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Kelsey Kingsbury: A Biography March 28, 2012

By Jessica

Format:Paperback

(Sigh). Where do I begin? First, I would like to say that I think that Karen Kingsbury is a good author. God really has blessed her with a gift of writing. Why do you think so many people are upset? Her writing caused thousands of readers to cheer for Bailey and Cody. I think that the people who get on here and say "Karen is awful" or "Karen stinks" are out of line. That being said.... I gave this book (and the whole series, really) 1 star because:

1. As much as Karen denies it, obviously hundreds of fans don't buy it when she says that Bailey and Kelsey are two separate characters. Yes, they have SLIGHT differences here and there, but basically, Brandon and Bailey are Kelsey and Kyle.

2. Karen SAYS that Kelsey's relationship with Kyle didn't influence her decision of Bailey choosing Brandon, BUT, I wonder, if Sol Rexius (the guy who plays Cody and has recently been married <congrats Sol>) had started dating Kelsey before she met Kyle...would Karen still have Bailey end up with Brandon, or would it not even have been an issue? And if not, why did she feel the need to change guy who was on the original cover of "Longing" to Kyle? I mean didn't she long ago even have us help her pick the cover of "Longing"? I know someone asked her about it on Facebook once, and she said that she wasn't pleased with the results of the cover. Okay, so why not re-shoot it with the same guy until you like the results? Why change the Brandon character completely if the Bailey/Brandon thing had nothing to do with Kelsey and Kyle?

3. It's true - most of us don't get our "forever love" with the first guy we fall in love with, but if someone were to write a story of my life, I wouldn't build up my ex-boyfriend for 10 plus books only to introduce my husband in the last two. It's just wrong, and it cheapens both relationships.

4. I don't appreciate the build-up of the entitled, Hollywood lifestyle. I don't even think I need to say more since all you have to do is read one of the books in this series to know what I'm talking about.

5. Although I think Bailey is an amazing young lady, I found her completely unrelatable and not someone who I would ever realistically look up to. Fascinating? Yes, but relatable? No! It's easy to love God with all your heart when you never have hardships, live in a 5,000 square foot house, star in movies, date a Ken-like movie star who always says the right thing and pursues you to the point of obsession...

6. I agree with other reviewers that Cody, who was built up to be this amazing guy (war-hero, overcame addiction, loves his mom even though she's messed up, successful football coach, etc.) all of sudden seems like a run-away coward. Doesn't add up. I really felt like Karen was pushing us to LOVE Brandon, and it didn't work. She tried too hard. The push to be "Team Bailey" pushed me over the edge. I was Team Cody, I was willing to give Brandon a chance, but when she started doing that, I stopped caring and just wanted the series to be over.

7. I was disgusted with the push after the early reviews of Longing were mostly negative, that Karen bribed readers to leave a review on how God used Longing to touch their lives and gave away cruise fares. Very generous, but I as an honest reviewer felt betrayed that I would have to sugar-coat my review to be eligible (I'm sure I could have emailed my review in but we all know she wouldn't have picked it). I also know that anything even mildly critical of the ending of this book that has been posted on her Facebook has been deleted. If God honestly led her to change her mind on the ending (which, she IS the author and that is her right) then why is she so insecure that she can't handle a little criticism on Facebook, or negative reviews?

8 Basically, I am LOVING that this series is over. I know she revealed she is currently working on three more books not based on this series, but I have to admit, my brain is a little fried from this Bailey Flanigan debacle. I am not completely cutting her off, but I did decide to un-like her on Facebook and take a break from her books for a while. When she goes back to writing "life-changing fiction" which I believe she coined and branded the term, then I will go back to reading her books.

PS - Team Cody fans, especially the ones who feel like the characters are real, take heart. CODY LUCKED OUT. I don't think he could have made Bailey happy and vice versa. I feel that the Bailey Flanigan in this series was a completely different one than the girl that Cody (and all of us readers) fell in love with.

101 of 103 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars So confused! March 29, 2012

By Luv2read

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just finished the last line of loving and I must sy I am really confused at what just happened. I did not see this coming. I, too have read all the books in the Baxter series and was so excited to see the Bailey series forming. Bailey and Cody's story was one that needed to be told in their own series. It was just so beautiful. Somehow it all just got completely messed up. I felt like this was just a retelling of Katy/Dayne's story, which is very discouraging when you have spent your money and time on something like this. Although I didn't just hate brandon's characterI was just a little sick of the whole Hollywood, perfect guy story again. I found it a little hard to believe or relate to in Katy/Dayne's story but got through it but to have it all rehashed again through this series was a little much for me. I feel like Brandon was a little stalkerish and way to over the top for the down to earth Bailey I had come to love in the previous series. I also think you should have just killed off Cody because his character pretty much died in this book anyway. I, too found myself just wanting to skim through the whole wedding scene because I had just completely lost connection to the characters, only I read every word because I was still holding out hope that surely it wasn't going to end this way. I think it will be a very long time before I am tempted to pick up another KK book. I read a lot and this is honestly the first time I have ever been so disappointed in a series like this before. Wish I had my time and money back on this one.

194 of 209 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars I feel like I've been tricked... March 27, 2012

By L

Format:Kindle Edition

*CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!*
I've read every single book leading up to the Bailey Flanigan series. I started with Leaving, but after realizing there were so many other books I went back read them all so I understood what was going on with each characters life. And I'm glad I did because I enjoyed those books tremendously. I read all of the Redemption, First Born, Sunrise, and Above the Line Series and now all of Bailey Flanigan. I waited very impatiently for the final book to release and I couldn't wait to get my hands on Loving. I was holding out fervent hope that Bailey would realize that Cody was her true love. I wanted so badly to believe that Karen would never disappoint her fans because more people on Facebook were Team Cody (I actually went back and counted). I reasoned with myself, connected all the lines that pointed to Cody and walked into that book confident that my desired ending for Bailey was 100% guarenteed.
And then I read the book. Never in my entire life have I ever been so disappointed in the ending of a book, and believe me, I love to read. I feel like I was tricked into loving Cody and Bailey together only to have the rug ripped out from underneath me. Sure, the book was well written and I love the amount of faith each character placed in God and the concept that God controls our steps, but all I really felt when I read the last sentence was anger. I felt like Karen wrote the story to make me fall in love with Cody and Bailey, only to have the rug ripped out from under my feet. I get that you don't always end up with your first love...but I don't read books for reality. I have enough reality in my own life, thank you very much! There were so many things about this book/series that upset me.
First, I hate how suddenly everything Cody and Bailey went through was suddenly minimized. Like none of it had mattered. In Longing, I don't believe for a second that Cody only loved the "idea" of Bailey. He would do anything for that girl, even walk away when he didn't feel she deserved him. I disagreed 100% with what Cheyenne had to say about Cody and Bailey's relationship and I hated that everyone in Loving seemed to say that because Cody wasn't with her, she must not be the one. I saw in someone else's review that said this completely goes against everything we knew about the realtionship with Ashley and Landon Blake. Ashley never felt worthy of Landon's love and she walked away multiple times. Landon moved away, did other things, but he still loved Ashley. Why isn't this the same with Cody?
Second, I'm so disappointed in Bailey. I feel like she sold herself out for some Hollywood dream guy who fly's halfway across the country to see her for a few hours, or takes her on extravagent dates. I'm sorry for everyone who is Team Brandon, but I think he's fake. Everytime Brandon called Bailey "Baby", I wanted to scream. It sounds insincere and honestly, a little condescending. I feel like Bailey went against everything she is just to marry Brandon. What happened to Bailey should marry someone like her dad that was mentioned greatly in the earlier books. That means Cody! Like a lot of other people, I do think Karen was influenced by her daughters engagement to Kyle. Hey, I'm all for Kyle and Kelsey! They are adorable. But Cody is a real person, with real heartaches and real flaws. Brandon is just some Hollywood hunk who got the girl with extravagant gifts and crazy professions of love...like I haven't heard that story before.
And third, this story is basically a reincarnation of Katy and Dayne's story. Small town girl, hollywood star. She comes for an audition but doesn't handle the paparazzi well and leaves. He is heartbroken but lets her go anyway until finally one day he wakes up and realizes he can just walk away from it all and comes back into her life with a proposal and a promise of forever...the only differnce is the names. They even bought the same house as Katy and Dayne! I was praying, with all my heart, that Bailey would give up the Hollywood love story and go back to where her truly lied with Cody, where she obviously belonged, despite it's lack of over the top romance, because that is the kind of person I had come to believe Bailey was. Instead, I sit here writing a review, giving the book one out of five stars because I honestly feel like I was tricked.
I know these are fictional characters and fictional people but I've invested so much of my time and money in these characters only to walk away frustrated and angry with how it all ended. I probably sound crazy with how upset the end of Bailey's story makes me but I can't help. I don't know if I even want to read another Karen Kingsbury book. Maybe sometime in the future when I can let go of the fact that for the first time ever, I hate the ending of a book series. Maybe if you haven't read all the books that lead up to the Bailey Flanigan series you see don't see it the way I do but I am extremely disappointed with how this turned out.

God bless!

More About the Author

No. 1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America's favorite inspirational novelist. There are nearly 20 million copies of her award-winning books in print, including several million copies sold in the past year. Karen has written more than 50 novels, ten of which have hit #1 on national lists.

Karen's newest novel, COMING HOME - The Baxter Family - releases June 26 and is the subject of much buzz on Karen's active Facebook page, where she had more than 250,000 friends. There is also great anticipation over THE BRIDGE, Karen's much-anticipated first hardback release with her new publisher - Simon & Schuster's Howard Books. THE BRIDGE is a love story set against the demise of the American bookstore.

In addition, Karen has ventured into the area of short pieces with her new non-fiction series - KAREN KINGSBURY, THE REST OF THE STORY. Her first piece, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE, has touched the hearts of tens of thousands of readers interested in knowing more about Karen's personal life and the motivation behind her Life-Changing Fiction (TM). I CAN ONLY IMAGINE shares the story of Karen's brother, his struggles, and his quest for redemption.

Karen's novel LIKE DANDELION DUST is the subject of a major motion picture currently in theaters. Like Dandelion Dust stars Academy Award winning Mira Sorvino and Barry Pepper, along with Cole Hauser and Maxwell Perry Cotton. The film has received more than 30 awards in the Film Festival Circuit including numerous Best Picture awards. Several of Karen's books are currently under theatrical development.

Karen's most recent series - the Bailey Flanigan Series, wrapped up in March. Coming Home - The Baxter Family - is a stand-alone novel about John Baxter's 70th Birthday and the tragedy that happens during June, 2010 with Take Four. The series is about two producers looking to change the world with the power of film. The Above the Line series also includes Karen's popular characters from the fictitious Baxter Family. The Baxters were first introduced to readers through the five-book Redemption series, and then the five-book Firstborn series, and finally the four-book Sunrise series.

Dubbed by Time Magazine as the Queen of Christian Fiction, Karen has also been a featured guest on the Today Show, Fox News, USA Today, and numerous other television programs and magazines. Her fiction has made her one of the country's favorite storytellers. Others of her emotionally gripping titles include the 9-11 Series, Even Now, Ever After, and Between Sundays.

Karen is also a public speaker, reaching more than 100,000 women annually through various national events. Karen and her husband, Don, live in Nashville, TN with their five sons, three of whom are adopted from Haiti. Their daughter Kelsey is an actress who has appeared in several Christian films. She is newly married to Christian recording artist Kyle Kupecky. The two also live in Nashville.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#53 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#1 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#8 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#31 in Books > Romance

#37 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance

#1 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#8 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#31 in Books > Romance

#37 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance