"The Pastor's Wife" Book Review

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

The Pastor's Wife Abingdon Press (February 2010)by

Jennifer AlLee

MY REVIEW:
I wasn't sure what to expect from this new-to-me author, Jennifer AlLee. The Pastor's Wife seemed from appearances to be a woman's fiction and that isn't my first choice for reading material. Well, Jennifer blew away my expectations. This book is good. Period. I practically read it in one sitting and just loved the characters, setting and situation.
Here we have an estranged couple, a pastor and his wife, who have been separated for 6 years now. They haven't even spoken since the night she left. They are brought back together due to a matchmaking woman in the congregation that leaves the wife, Maura, a theater and leaves the husband, Nick, a sum of money for the church if they live together for 6 months first. They can't turn it down so now after 6 years of silence they are forced into life together.
A perfect example of how communication is vital to a healthy marriage. I loved seeing both sides of the marriage that fell apart. How expectations can be unrealistic and how we can put demands on our partner that they don't even realize are there. Jennifer does an excellent job showing that there are two sides to every story and no one is without fault. But God's grace can cover all.
One of the best woman's fiction books I've read.

******Thanks to Abingdon Press for a review copy of this book.******



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jennifer AlLee was born in Hollywood, California and for the first 10 years of her life lived over a mortuary one block from Hollywood and Vine. An avid reader and writer, she completed her first novel in high school. That manuscript is now safely tucked away, never again to see the light of day. Her first inspirational romance, The Love of His Brother, was released in November 2007 by Five Star Publisher.



Besides being a writer, she is a wife and mom. Living in Las Vegas, Nevada, her husband and teenage son have learned how to enjoy the fabulous buffets there without severely impacting their waistlines. God is good!





ABOUT THE BOOK

Maura Sullivan never intended to set foot in Granger, Ohio, again. But when circumstances force her to return, she must face all the disappointments she tried so hard to leave behind: a husband who ignored her, a congregation she couldn't please, and a God who took away everything she ever loved.



Nick Shepherd thought he had put the past behind him, until the day his estranged wife walked back into town. Intending only to help Maura through her crisis of faith, Nick finds his feelings for her never died. Now, he must admit the mistakes he made, how he hurt his wife, and find a way to give and receive forgiveness.



As God works in both of their lives, Nick and Maura start to believe they can repair their broken relationship and reunite as man and wife. But Maura has one more secret to tell Nick before they can move forward. It's what ultimately drove her to leave him three years earlier, and the one thing that can destroy the fragile trust they've built.



If you would like to read the first Chapter of The Pastor's Wife , go HERE