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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 Stars if you love Inspy Category Romances; 2.5 if you don't, February 27, 2006
This will be a dual personality sort of review. I will review it first from the point of view of The Old Mir, who once read tons of category contemporary romances. Then I will review it as The New Mir, who has moved away from such reads.
This way, whether you are part of one camp (the fan of inspirational contemporary category romances) or the other (the non-lover of ICC romances), you can still get something out of this post to help you decide if this novel is one you would enjoy.
A FAMILY FOREVER is an inspirational category romance (that means it's Christian in perspective and has no graphic elements, sexual or otherwise.)It's the story of a godly, attractive man, Tucker, and a conflicted Christian woman with a tragic past, Shelby, who also happens to be the fiance of Tucker's late stepbrother, David. David died in a motorcycle crash. Tucker, a talented cycling enthusiast who makes his living selling sporting stuff, feels responsible. Shelby, who is pregnant from a premarital bit of whoopie with David, feels shame and finds herself in a tight spot, what with being alone, pregnant, pretty badly off financially, and uncomforted by a not-very-sympathetic mother with emotional issues of her own.
So, this being a romance novel (and those of you who have read more than a couple dozen category romances know what's coming), a Marriage of Convenience is suggested by Tucker, who feels oodles of guilt and a sense of responsibility, being the honorable man he is. His suggestion is accepted by Shelby, who feels she has no other options and is riddled with guilt at taking advantage of Tucker. But hey, she does anyway. He's insistent.
The novel is basically the two of them working out their guilt issues and their romance. Shelby has to deal with that past that keeps her from being able to fully invest in a relationship. Tucker feels he must prove he's a sensitive male and that they can make the marriage work. Shelby wants not to be a burden; Tucker reassures her she's not. You get it. That kind of general romantic angst abounds.
If you are in Camp Inspirational Category Romance Lover:
You will definitely enjoy this novel. It has the internal conflict and hallmarks that will fill your romantic reading needs: the tortured heroine, the rescuing hero, one of the more popular stock premises, the comfy-home-sanctuary, the adorable pooch.
Tucker is a delicious hero. Frankly, he steals the novel right out from under Shelby, who as the one who has to make the largest change, is the real protagonist. Only she didn't grab me. He did. I'd marry him, and that's the biggest compliment you can give a romance hero, right?
There are some truly sweet and moving moments, especially in the latter third of the novel. The kisses carry the requisite impact, and you'll find a very satisfying epilogue. (I remember loving those kinds of epilogues when I was a category buying fiend.)
Shelby, however, annoyed me a lot. I wanted to feel sympathy for her plight, but she was so immature, so non-deep, so "insensitive jerk"-y. I mean, that's the accusation she hurls at Tucker (later repenting of it), but the truth is, he's not at all insensitive, he's not at all a jerk, and she's the one who I want to slap down and say, "Grow fricken up!" And, on top of that, she remains kinda amorphous through most of the novel, not really starting to fill out as a "real" character until the latter chapters.
Fortunately, after an annoying bout of Shelby, you are bound to fall into a scene with Tucker. He's a more clearly presented character, and wonderful enough as a he-man-with-heart to make up for Shelby being a brat-twit.
For Christian readers, your spiritual sense ought to be nicely satisfied by the repentance, prayers, forgivings, and conversions that come along in the last third.
I'd give this 3.5 to 4 stars from a Camp One perspective, mostly for the good scenes in the last part of the novel and for the truly wonderful Tucker. Loved him! And the ending scenes gave me the warm fuzzies. That's always good.
Now, if you are in Camp Inspirational Category Romances Make Me Yawn:
You will probably yawn a lot during the first third of the novel when not much happens. It really needed some good conflict to propel things, but it wasn't there. A clear hint of real trauma finally shows up one-third in.
The secondary characters are flimsy, flatter than two-dimensional. (Which is not unusual in shorter category novels, so is hardly a huge demerit. It just didn't realy add to the story, especially the gal-buddy.) Some devices are introduced that are never used fully (Tucker's second job, for instance), so I wondered why they were even there.
I wondered the same thing about the scenes with the best friend. One didn't serve any purpose at all that I could figure. The friend was...well...space filler.
Overwriting is also a problem. We're hammered over the head over and over and over about "She's suffered. She's pregnant. Her fiance's dead. Of course she..." It gets old after the fith or fifteenth time I, the reader, am told of her being pregnant/grieving. Yeah, yeah, I know!
Some of the metaphors struck me oddly. One in particular made me stop reading and go, "huh?" It's about Tucker and he "reversed direction like a ping-pong ball bouncing off a paddle." (p. 128) I actually had this image of Tucker whooshing into the kitchen like a ball. Heh.
And one of my personal pet peeves of romance made an appearance: Overuse of heart descriptors. I actually had to stop and retrace when I found conflicting heart metaphors on one page, then another page with two heart metaphors. Hey, it's me, I hate that. I'm sure there's some metaphoric thing I misuse, but this is my peeve. I once stopped reading a Steeple Hill novel mid-chapter one when I encountered 4 heart metaphors in the span of two pages. FOUR. I thought the heroine was going to need a cardiologist and a very tricky operation to cure her racing, jumping, constricting, thundering problems. This may not bother YOU, though.
There isn't much conflict. There isn't any real external conflict at all. It's all internal. If you need to have a story with a strong external conflict and plot, this ain't it. This is an internal read, an emotional read.
However, if you want to give this novel a try, Camp Two-er, consider that there are some lovely scenes of genuinely sweet affection, of "falling in love", of moving humane consideration for another human being, of a man being what we women want a man to be. Remember how millions of women the world over just about fell out of their beds in a swoon when Mark Darcy says, "I like you just the way you are," to Bridget Jones in the movie? Well, I got something of that sort of feeling when the following happens:
{Shelby} turned on him. "Are you suggesting that I have some kind of problem?"
"Honey, I'm suggesting you have all sorts of problems. But I am absolutely on your side."
Or much later in the story, this:
"Talk to me," he urged in a melting-chocolate voice she had no power to resist. "Tell me the stuff nobody understands."
Sigh.
If that sort of hero and those sort of story moments do it for you, then get A FAMILY FOREVER.
My rating for the Camp Two-ers is 2.5 stars.
So, gentle readers, decide which camp you fall into. If you fall into Camp One, definitely get this novel. If you're in Camp Two, you now know what to expect, so don't say I wasn't fair.
And if you want a taste of A FAMILY FOREVER, you'll find most of the first chapter available for preview at BrendaCoulter.Com.
This review is excerpted from a longer post at MIRATHON
http://mirathon.blogspot.com
Mir
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I loved the prickly heroine, March 23, 2006
Book description:
Devastated by the accidental death of her fiancee just three weeks before their wedding, violinist Shelby Franklin has just learned she carries his child. She can't give up the baby, but the only way she can keep it is by accepting a shocking proposal of marriage from a man who doesn't seem to like her very much.
Bike shop owner and semi-pro cyclist Tucker Sharpe owes Shelby more than she will ever understand. Determined to protect her and his brother's child, he presses Shelby to marry him. He insists that if they make an honest effort, God will bless their marriage and teach them to care for each other. But can it really be that simple? Can two people will themselves to fall in love?
Camy here:
I liked Brenda's debut novel FINDING HOPE (which won a billion awards or something like that, but you know, Brenda's modest about those) so I was eagerly anticipating this, her sophomore release. She also has a hecka funny blog ("No Rules. Just Write." Isn't that a terrific title?) where she expounds on whatever strikes her fancy.
Before I read the book, several people mentioned they didn't care much for the heroine but absolutely adored the hero. They said it sounded more like the hero's story than the heroine's. So I admit I had some preconceived notions before I cracked the spine.
I disagree with all those people (I must be a rebel at heart). I loved the heroine Shelby. She's very real and not sweet. She's prickly and hormonal and irrational and emotional. Just like me! How can I not like someone just like me? Yeah, she did a few rather stupid things, and there are places she went where I don't know that I'd go, but I was totally feeling her personality and her character.
I think in that sense, Shelby stands out as a unique inspirational romance heroine. She's a character that not everyone will love. But I think that the readers who relate to her will really connect to her.
Tucker...yeah, he's dreamy. He's also a bit too perfect at times. Like when he gives an expensive bike helmet to the kid who stole a bike from his shop. Cute, but...I was waiting for Tucker to whoop the kid's butt halfway across the state. His actions in the novel are definitely in-character, and he's very consistent throughout the story, which is nice to see. I just would have liked to see more grit and grime in his personality.
I don't think this was Tucker's story. He wasn't annoyingly perfect, but he was a little too with-it for this to be his story. It was definitely Shelby's emotional and romantic journey.
There are some scenes and some lines that made me tear up. Really. It's true, I cry pretty easily when I watch movies and read books, but Brenda has some fabulously poignant lines that are worth the cover price right there.
Aside from the crying, I did a lot of laughing while reading this, too. The snark and sarcasm from Brenda's blog saturates this book, moreso than in FINDING HOPE. The humor kept the story snappy, refreshing, and fast-moving.
As for audience, I don't think a younger crowd would necessarily get into the particular types of child-rearing and marriage issues in this story. In my opinion, it seems targeted more for the late 20's and 30-something crowd. I'm sure a teen or college-aged student would enjoy it, but I think an older reader would more appreciate the conflicts, the emotional swings, the plot twists. A younger reader would definitely appreciate the snark.
Get this book before it goes out of print! Love Inspireds don't have as long a shelf life as other books, so get this while you can. The is easily one of the best inspirational romances I've read in a long time.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Touching!, August 8, 2007
Shelby is engaged, but when her fiance is killed and she discovers she's pregnant, she doesn't know what to do. Tucker, her fiance's brother, steps in and they marry. What starts out as a marriagefor all the wrong reasons, may end up being more...
Coulter tells a touching story of love and redemption.
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by Brenda Coulter
by Brenda Coulter
