I truly believe that love is a decision. I decided to love Tim Jacobs in happiness or in sadness.

And in infidelity, right, my daughter? I laughed but with respect kkk. Well, people, it doesn't work. I wouldn't forgive a betrayal even by a divine decree.

Love is often seen as an emotion that just happens, but in reality, it requires a conscious choice. We have to decide to love someone through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad.

However, when it comes to infidelity, that's a whole different story. Forgiveness can be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to grant. It shatters trust and can cause deep emotional pain.

While some may argue that love should be unconditional and that forgiveness is the key to moving forward, I believe that there are certain lines that cannot be crossed.

In my case, I would not be able to forgive a betrayal, no matter how hard I tried. It would be a deal-breaker for me.

But everyone has their own boundaries and thresholds when it comes to love and forgiveness. What one person may be able to overlook, another may not.

The important thing is to be true to ourselves and to make decisions that are in our best interests and those of our loved ones.

What have I just read?

At first glance, it might seem like the typical sexist trope where the unfaithful and irresponsible husband manages to get his submissive wife back without any effort.

However, it was much more than that.

I was aware of what the book was about as I had read (and enjoyed) numerous reviews from my friends, which made me laugh and piqued my curiosity.

Beware, it's a Christian romance, so God is the third main character in the book, or rather, He's THE main character.

The couple had been married for several years, and the book begins with the husband cheating on his wife with his student.

He's a university professor. We quickly realize he's a despicable and slimy character, the kind who dates his student for a year, falls deeply in love with her, has sex with her, and repeatedly lies to his wife. He feels only a slight twinge of guilt for deceiving his beautiful, virtuous, Christian, and faithful wife who waits for him at home, believing he's at a conference while he's having an affair with his new lover at her place.

He thinks she's not only smarter but also more attractive than his quiet wife, and his feelings for her are much more intense than those he ever had for his wife.

But. There's a but. The lover has a stalker ex who's not very sane and is actually angry at the professor for stealing his girlfriend.

So he calls the cheating husband's wife and tells her exactly what and where her husband is doing. And with whom.

The poor heroine is devastated and goes to see if it's true. And yes, she sees the dirty scumbag at the other woman's house. The asshole doesn't even follow her and goes back to his weekend of passionate sex with the slutty student, then returns home where he declares he's in love with the other woman and wants a divorce.

He's cold and impervious to the poor heroine's tears and leaves her to go live with the other woman.

Even though the heroine may not have been as present lately, she's always been an affectionate and loyal wife, and his behavior is callous and cruel and unjustified.

That's where all of us readers want him to die a slow and painful death.

Mark my words.

The heroine, being the good Christian she is, refuses to divorce and tells him he has to come back home because they made a vow and they have to uphold it.

She's adamant about it, and even days and weeks after he's gone, she doesn't want to give him a divorce - not ever.

That's where I started to wonder what was wrong with her.

I mean, even though the husband has been cheating on her for months, told her he doesn't love her anymore, and lied to her, she wants the marriage to continue because God wants it.

Really? Are you serious? How can she be so certain about God's will?

Whatever.

The story becomes interesting as we learn more about them.

We find out that when she met him, she was on the rebound because she had just broken up with the true love of her life, a man who left her to play football professionally, and she used the hero to forget about him.

So there was no great love on the heroine's part, while the husband was in love with her from the moment he saw her.

Aaaaaand now, years later, her true love is back in town, just when she's been dumped by her husband.

So as she tries to win back her uncooperative husband and discovers she's pregnant, she starts seeing the other man again and realizes she's still in love with him, and of course, he's always been in love with her.

They talk about what separated them years ago, but now, alas, it's too late: the heroine wants to be the martyr of the year and go back to her husband, whom she of course doesn't love.

The husband eventually realizes his mistake and goes back to his wife, whom he has always loved, while the other woman was just a midlife crisis.

They go to counseling and are happy for a while until the other woman calls the husband and tells him she's pregnant too. Of course, it's not true, and as soon as he goes to her apartment to tell her he loves his wife and wants to be with her, the stalker ex shoots him dead.

And the heroine has her daughter while the other man is there, telling her he will always be there for her.

And of course, there's a bit of a cliffhanger because the book is the first installment of a series.

What can I say?

There's a hidden meaning in everything in this book. Nothing is as it seems.

- The hero: is not the husband, of course. He's the other man.

- The husband is a lowlife loser that nobody would want to meet in their life. He's a coward because he doesn't even have the courage to tell the truth first to his wife and then to his girlfriend. He simply leaves and refuses to give explanations. It's amazing that two women, two beautiful and intelligent women, are attracted to a half-man like that. He's also losing his hair. He's not even rich. The heroine, who's a model, is richer than him. Really? He's selfish and unstable. He thinks he loves his girlfriend more than he ever loved his wife, then has a crisis and becomes an alcoholic, and then suddenly he knows he has always loved his wife while the other woman was just a fling. What a real man. So, of course, the reader can't love this character, and all women reading this book want him to get what he deserves. And that's exactly what he gets in the end.

- The hero. He's too good to be true. A good Christian man who has always been faithful to the heroine but lost her due to a misunderstanding. Really? No. Not exactly. The hero, who has known the heroine since she was 12 and has always wanted to marry her, was also selfish because he unilaterally decided that he would go away to play professional football and then come back eventually to marry her. When he was ready, when he was free. He thought she would wait forever, without even making a real commitment to her. In another book, the heroine would have waited forever and remained virtuous. Here, she meets a nice professor and decides it's time to move on.

So he loses her, and he's the one who pines for her while she's pregnant with her husband's child.

- The heroine. Oh, the heroine is the most hypocritical person in all of Christianity. She's a saint, she wants her marriage to be perfect and to continue even though neither she nor her husband is in love with each other. Because she's the one who has never loved her husband. She's the one who, as soon as she sees the hero, her true love, realizes she will love him forever. And she decides she will stay with her cheating husband. Her refusal to divorce is never because she loves her husband but because she wants to keep her vows. Even when those vows are empty and no longer valid. The impression is that this marriage is based on pride and duty. Not an environment you would wish for your children. But the clever author makes us believe that she's the mistreated wife of a cheating asshole who thinks she's a bimbo and so falls in love with a smarter model. But the heroine is just as guilty. Her husband was always second best. Not even second.

- The other characters are the voice of truth. Her sisters think she's crazy and pathetic, and her husband will always cheat on her. And that's exactly what we readers think. We don't want their marriage to continue. We want him punished. Severely. And we want her to marry her true love.

Oh, this author. She's so smart and clever.

She makes us think that the heroine has to suffer and that her choice to stay married to the cheater is the right one, but what does she do?

She does exactly the opposite.

Because in the end, the heroine is the real winner, and all her men are punished for their sins against her (not against God).

- The hero dies because of his affair with the other woman, knowing he will never know his daughter, and she will very likely grow up with the other man. And it's all his fault because his actions led him exactly there.

- The other man realizes that because of his selfish choices in the past, he will have to wait until the heroine recovers from her husband's death and then he will have to raise her late husband's daughter. His penance. He should have married the heroine as soon as she was of age.

- The other woman. She loved the cheating husband more than the heroine, that's for sure. She lost the love of her life because she was a slut and a homewrecker. She deserved it.

- God. He lets us know that sinners must pay. Always. With interest. And good heroines get it all. Even if they make wrong choices, He's there to correct them and make things right again.

- If you read the other books in the series, you'll know that the heroine and the hero eventually marry and live happily ever after.

- I've enjoyed this book so much. It's so subtle yet hidden in plain sight. It's not as bigoted as you might think. And the heroine gets it all.

- I don't feel any angst because the heroine's choice is sensible, and she's not in love with her husband at all. At all. No matter what the author says. If you read carefully, you can see that she loved the other man all along. Her hurt is because she failed to have a perfect marriage, not because she lost the man she loved. He was just a placeholder.

This is a story within a story.

But I liked it because it's very original.

I've read multiple reviews of this book, many of which expressed disappointment and disapproval towards Karen Kingsbury for seemingly promoting the idea of women staying with cheating husbands. However, I don't think the author was suggesting that one has a Biblical obligation to do so. After all, adultery is a biblically justifiable reason for divorce.

The main character, Kari, firmly believed that God wanted her to stay with her husband and work through their issues. There's no shame in attempting to repair a broken marriage.

I had a tough time reading when Kari discovered that Ryan, her first love, hadn't actually betrayed her and that if she had been more patient, all her dreams might have come true. It makes me wonder how often my own impatience has cost me something I deeply desired. I did wish she could be with Ryan, but I knew it was wrong as she was still married to Tim.

Today, too many people seem to think it's okay to be with someone else while still separated but married to another. Just because the other person ended the emotional connection first doesn't mean one's actions are any better.

I also believe Kari's determination to follow what she thought God wanted her to do regarding Tim was extremely inspiring. I can only imagine the pain Kari felt when her husband betrayed her. The mere thought of my husband being like Tim makes my heart ache. What would I do if Matthew looked at me emotionlessly and said he wanted a divorce, and nothing I could say or do would change his mind? What if I knew he was spending every night in the arms of another woman? Could I endure it? I don't know. But I do know that the only way I could possibly get through such a situation would be to rely on God, just as Kari did. She didn't think she had the strength to fight for a marriage that she believed God wanted to heal but her husband didn't. It's so easy to give up when things are really difficult, but we must remember that we live for God first and need to follow His guidance, even when we don't understand the reason.

Redemption is the initial installment in the Baxter series.

Kari firmly believes she is wedded to a remarkable and loyal man. However, a single phone call shatters this perception. Kari discovers that her husband is having an affair and now desires a divorce. Despite her husband's wishes, Kari is resolute in her determination to honor God and remain committed to her marriage.

Then, Ryan Taylor reenters her life, resurrecting memories of a broken heart from years past. Kari endeavors to stay faithful to her husband, yet she grapples with the tumultuous emotions brought on by her husband's affair and abandonment.

To compound matters, Kari learns that she is three months pregnant and is unwavering in her resolve to make the marriage work with her husband, regardless of his feelings.

Tim, belatedly realizing the enormity of his mistake in leaving Kari, is now desperate to do everything within his power to set things right. Will Tim and Kari reconcile, or will Ryan insinuate himself between them? The first book in the Baxter series was undeniably a captivating read!! I am eagerly anticipating delving into Remember!!!

In 2012, it was truly wonderful to be getting back to the works of Karen Kingsbury. I was finally starting this particular book, "The Redemption".

I was completely loving how it was providing all the background information that had only been hinted at in the later series. It was an amazing book that really drew me in and made me eager to continue reading.

Fast forward to 2017, as I have grown older, I have developed a newfound appreciation for Kingsbury's books. Her characters are so real that they seem to jump off the page. Their struggles are also real and relatable, which makes the stories even more engaging.

I am enjoying this series greatly once again, finding myself lost in the world that Kingsbury has created. It's like coming home to a familiar place that always brings comfort and joy.

I can't wait to see what other wonderful stories she has in store for her readers.

Really good!

I’m already onto the second book!

It's been such an amazing reading experience. The story in the first book just hooked me right from the start, and I couldn't wait to dive into the second one.

And then, something interesting happened. I kinda started the show when I finished this book. I thought it would be a nice addition to enhance my understanding of the story. But you know what? I kinda accidentally finished the show

I first read this story in high school and I absolutely loved it.

At that time, it seemed to be a captivating and wonderful tale that held my attention from beginning to end.

However, as the years have passed and I have grown a bit more mature, I now find that some parts of it are a bit cringy.

Maybe it's because my perspective has changed or my tastes have evolved.

But despite that, I still think it is a nice story.

It has its charming moments and a certain naivete that can be endearing.

It reminds me of a simpler time in my life when I was more easily impressed by such stories.

Even though it may not be as perfect as I once thought, it still holds a special place in my heart and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to read it.

Who knows, maybe one day I'll pick it up again and see it in a whole new light.

I truly adored this book.

My heart was shattered approximately five times, and I wept just as many times, if not even more.

This is an outstanding read. It served as a reminder that there is an abundance of pain and suffering in the world. However, with God's love and grace, He will bestow upon us strength and courage during the lowest moments of our lives.

Moreover, everything in life occurs for a reason. God presents us with trials to help us learn. He will never subject us to trials that we are incapable of overcoming if He is at the core of our lives.

I especially cherished the lesson that love is not self-serving. And that God's love is distinct from worldly love, such as the love depicted in movies.

That lesson will remain etched in my memory forever. And to the authors, I am deeply grateful for that. Thank you very much. And all Praise and Glory be to God!

This was the very first book that I delved into by Karen Kingsbury. I have to admit that she did an outstanding job with this particular piece of work. It had such a captivating hold on me that I simply couldn't put it down until the very last page was turned.

I truly adored all of the characters within the story. They were developed with great depth and detail. I thoroughly enjoyed following Kari's arduous journey towards healing after her husband had been unfaithful to her. She had a genuine desire to do what God wanted her to do, which was to work on salvaging her marriage with her husband. She wasn't flawless and she did make some missteps along the way, but this was indeed a story that beautifully depicted what true love really entails.

I really took a liking to Ryan. As I have continued reading this series, my appreciation for him has only grown stronger. He is an extremely kind individual and truly respects Kari's decisions.

I am really looking forward to continuing my reading adventure with this series by this talented author!

Tim and Kari's marriage has had its share of difficulties. They are constantly striving to work through their issues without constantly pointing fingers at each other. However, Kari's pregnancy brings a new dynamic to their relationship. As her due date approaches, they find themselves growing closer, not only to each other but also to God and His forgiveness.

Unfortunately, just as things seem to be improving, Tim finds himself in another precarious situation from which he cannot escape. This event shatters Kari, and she struggles to come to terms with what has happened.

Despite her pain, Kari's family rallies around her, providing her with the support and comfort she needs to move forward. With their love and encouragement, Kari begins to pick up the pieces of her life and find a way to heal.

As time passes, Kari and Tim continue to face challenges, but they do so together, relying on their faith and the love of their family to guide them. Their journey is not easy, but they are determined to make their marriage work and build a better future for themselves and their child.

I find it extremely hard to believe that a man or woman can claim to love their spouse wholeheartedly and yet simultaneously experience romantic love for someone else. It seems almost impossible to me.

However, I do have to give credit to Kari for her unwavering commitment to her faith. Her belief that "love is a decision" is quite interesting. It implies that love is not just a fleeting emotion but something that one actively chooses to cultivate and maintain.

Perhaps this perspective can offer some insights into how people can work through the challenges and difficulties that inevitably arise in a relationship. By making a conscious decision to love, maybe we can overcome the temptations and distractions that might otherwise lead us astray.

Still, the idea of loving two people romantically at the same time remains a complex and controversial topic. It challenges our traditional notions of love and loyalty. But as with many things in life, there are no easy answers.

Maybe the key is to be honest with ourselves and our partners, and to work towards building relationships that are based on mutual respect, trust, and commitment.

This was truly beautiful.

It is important to note that this is not a book that glorifies or makes cheating and remaining with an unfaithful partner seem acceptable within a Christian marriage. In fact, Kari clearly states that adultery provides her with a Biblical reason to divorce her husband.

The writing style was simply lovely. I am filled with excitement to delve deeper into the lives of the Baxter family. Reading about their unwavering faith was extremely comforting, and I adored the diversity that existed within their family unit. Several of their children had strayed from the family's faith, and I am eagerly anticipating the unfolding of their individual stories.

From a story perspective, I'm not entirely convinced that the inclusion of Ryan was a brilliant idea. However, despite this, every single character still managed to feel incredibly real. I thoroughly enjoyed Redemption, and the ending was so poignant that it brought a tear or two to my eyes.

Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. It is quite good indeed.