TW: Steriod use, stalking, alcoholism

Kari receives a call that shatters her world. It reveals that her husband, Tim, has been unfaithful. When she bravely confronts him, Tim drops a bombshell - he wants a divorce. But Kari is not one to give up easily. She attempts to persuade Tim to go to counseling, hoping to salvage their marriage. Just then, an old flame of Kari's unexpectedly shows up in town. Now, Kari is faced with a difficult decision. Does she choose to fight for her marriage and work things out with Tim, or does she take a chance and explore what could have been with her old flame?

I was initially intimidated to start reading this due to its potentially heavy content. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I ended up loving this book far more than I ever anticipated. I can't even begin to put into words how much I adored it. I'm eagerly waiting to get my hands on the second book. I truly hope that my library has the complete series. By the end of this book, I was in tears. I'm on the edge of my seat, excited to see what the future holds for the Baxter family.

Excuse me, but I'm currently a blubbering mess. Rtc.

It was truly a remarkable book that held my attention captive from start to finish. It provided me with great entertainment and kept me engaged throughout. I am now extremely excited to explore the other books in this series. I long to learn more about their fascinating family and the unique dynamics that exist within it.

One aspect that I particularly enjoyed was reading about how deeply devoted their family is to God. Their unwavering faith and the way they live their lives in accordance with their beliefs is truly inspiring. It makes me reflect on my own spiritual journey and strive to be more committed.

However, while the actual story plot was good, it wasn't necessarily fantastic. It had its moments of excitement and intrigue, but it didn't quite reach the level of being truly outstanding. Nevertheless, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to delving into the rest of the series to see what more it has to offer.

This was a book about Tim, a man who was deeply unhappy in his marriage. As a result, he began having an affair. Eventually, he made the decision to move out of his home with his wife, Kari, and instead live with his girlfriend.

Tim's life took a downward spiral as he started drinking excessively and making very bad choices. Meanwhile, Kari came to the realization that she had some responsibility for Tim's unhappiness in the marriage. It was a tough pill to swallow, both for her and for the readers.

Kari was determined not to grant Tim a divorce and said she would fight for their marriage. She moved in with her parents and soon discovered that she was pregnant with Tim's baby, the very child they had been trying to have for years.

Kari also had an old flame named Ryan. She had loved him since high school, and he started to come around again. However, Ryan eventually had to learn that his love for Kari was selfish and not the kind of love she deserved. So, he took a job out of state and tried to move on with his life.

Tim, having a change of heart, went back to Kari and they began going to counseling together. Things seemed to be looking up for them. But then, the girlfriend called and told Tim that she was pregnant with his baby. Tim was now in a difficult position, not knowing how to tell Kari since they were working hard on their marriage.

Tragically, one night Tim made a bad decision that cost him his life. In the end, the girlfriend admitted to Kari that she had lied about the baby, and Tim's last words were that he loved Kari and that he was sorry.

**Title: Redemption**

**Author: Karen Kingsbury**

**Series: Redemption, 1; Baxters, 1**

**Format: ebook**

**Length: 661 pages (iPhone)**

**Rating: 1.5 stars**

**Synopsis**: When Kari Baxter Jacobs discovers her husband's adulterous relationship and his desire for a divorce, she resolves to love him and坚守 her marriage at any cost. This book demonstrates how God can redeem seemingly hopeless relationships and illustrates one of Gary Smalley's key messages: Love is a decision.

**Favourite character: N/A**

**Least favourite character: Everyone**

**Mini-Review**: Realistically, I should award this book only one star. However, since I didn't complain during the last twenty percent, I'll be lenient. But I'm here to tell you that this book is not good. Throughout the entire book, Kari insists on staying with her husband, yet it truly appears to be the worst decision. Yes, she's pregnant, but her husband was having a sexual affair with his student (he's a college professor, so it's not pedophilia). Seriously, I would have called a lawyer and obtained divorce papers immediately because I wouldn't tolerate such nonsense. We're plunged into the original love story, which was essentially just a huge misunderstanding, and Kari almost cheats on Tim with Ryan (they nearly kiss). Oops. Also, Kari seems to live in her own world. I understand the shock of what she's going through, but she genuinely seems not entirely sane. Mainly because I can't fathom why anyone would think that God would want them to remain with someone who betrays their trust in such a manner. Dirk was confusing but probably the best character in the book, and he's kind of a psycho, which should say something. I hope the next book is better; otherwise, I'm going to abandon this series, both the reread and where I stopped.

**Fan Cast**:
- Kari Baxter Jacobs - Kate Mara
- Tim Jacobs - Chad Michael Murray
- Ryan Taylor - Matt Lanter
- Angela Manning - Emma Dumont
- Dirk Bennett - Cayden Boyd
- Ashley Baxter - Brittany Snow
- John Baxter - Jeff Goldblum
- Elizabeth Baxter - Lea Thompson
- Luke Baxter - Joe Mazzello
- Brooke Baxter West - Bryce Dallas Howard
- Peter West - John Krasinski
- Erin Baxter - Stef Dawson
- Sam - Douglas Smith
- Landon Blake - Scott Eastwood
- Reagan - Elizabeth Olsen

The best TV shows are those that leave you on the edge of your seat, eager to know what will happen next. They are the ones you season pass on your TiVo, ensuring you don't miss a single moment of the captivating storyline. Each episode seamlessly leads into the next, connected to all the previous ones, creating a cohesive and engaging narrative. These are the shows that I absolutely adore.

Unsurprisingly, I have the same affinity for books that are part of a series. By the end of a great series, the characters are so well-developed that I feel a personal connection to them. It's always bittersweet to say goodbye.

Two years ago, I held a giveaway on my blog and asked readers for book recommendations. One of the top suggestions was "Redemption" by Karen Kingsbury. Little did I know when I purchased it that it was the first book in a five-book series. I have just finished reading the fifth and final book, and I couldn't wait to share these wonderful books with everyone. I even included "Redemption" in one of Fluent Brittish's book swaps, and everyone who read it fell in love with the story.

So here I am, passing on this recommendation to you. Karen Kingsbury's Redemption series is about ordinary people like you and me. It follows a family as they face trials, struggles, and hardships. It's about individuals who sometimes lose their faith but always find their way back. It explores the relationships between friends, family, lovers, neighbors, and strangers. It's about life in all its complexity and beauty. I highly recommend this series to anyone who needs a reminder that no matter what challenges come their way, everything will be okay in the end.

If you're in search of a good read, look no further. I have five amazing books for you: "Redemption," "Remember," "Return," "Rejoice," and "Reunion."

Karen Kingsbury's books are truly a delight to read. They are not only fun but also incredibly easy to get through.

It's almost impossible not to be completely drawn into the lives of the Baxter family. You become so invested in all that is happening with them that you can't wait to pick up each successive book in the series to uncover what lies ahead.

One of the most inspiring aspects of her stories is the way we can learn from how the characters do or don't put their faith into action when facing difficult times in their lives.

Take Kari Baxter Jacobs, for instance. She discovers that her husband, Tim, a college professor, is cheating on her. He moves in with one of his students and tells Kari he wants a divorce. Kari is completely devastated, but she firmly believes that love is a decision and that she should honor the marriage vows she made before God. She spends countless hours in prayer and moves in with her parents.

Soon after, she discovers she is pregnant. Things then take an even more complicated turn when Ryan Taylor, the guy she was in love with in high school, reenters her life while she is separated from Tim. Her feelings for him still linger.

However, Kari gathers her strength and perseveres. Eventually, Tim has a change of heart and decides he wants to work things out with Kari and be there for the baby.

It's stories like these that make Karen Kingsbury's books so engaging and thought-provoking.

As I delved into the cheaters’ contrition tour, Amazon’s cross-selling carousel (“Customers who bought this item also bought”) introduced me to indie and fringe titles that I wouldn't have otherwise come across. This included two works of Christian/inspirational fiction. The tour aimed to explore a wide range of representations of cheating in romance (and quasi-romance) fiction, so I thought this was a valid and relevant perspective to explore.

Let's begin with a quick review of the first inspy cheating book I read (Devotion by Marianne Evans). Without the characters’ tendency to filter everything through scripture, Devotion would be an average straying husband story with the expected “it was just an infatuation” remorse, couples counseling, and recommitment to the marriage. The blameless wife shoulders some of the blame because she was too busy with charitable works to pay attention to her husband. The scripture didn't add much for me, but I'm not qualified to say how effective it would be for readers who do filter their life choices through Bible passages.

Then there's the irony of Redemption. The story starts with the husband in bed with the OW at her apartment. He's a journalism professor, and she's a grad student in his program. They met in class but didn't have sex until after the course ended to avoid unethical behavior. He's completely in love with this young woman, who is both his intellectual equal and attractive, and he's tired of his beautiful but unintellectual wife.

A jealous former boyfriend of the OW calls the wife to expose the affair and gives her the address of the OW's apartment. In doubt, the wife tries to reach the husband at the conference he's supposed to be attending, only to find out there's no such conference at the hotel he named. She then drives to the apartment complex and sees her husband's car. She triggers the car alarm, and he comes out to turn it off. When he sees his wife but doesn't approach her, she drives away.

The next morning, the husband tells his wife he doesn't want to be married anymore. She refuses to give him a divorce and suggests counseling with their pastor. At this point, I actually feel sorry for the husband because his feelings aren't being heard. He moves in with the OW, and I search online to see if one spouse can block a divorce. (Delay, yes. Prevent, no.)

The impact of Christianity on this situation is that the wife feels called by God to save their marriage, while the husband deliberately turns his back on God to pursue a relationship with the OW.

The wife temporarily moves in with her parents for support and meets an old boyfriend who supposedly betrayed her when they were young. The cheating husband descends into alcoholism. The wife discovers she's pregnant and tells the husband on the phone. He returns to their apartment and finds a letter from his wife mentioning the pregnancy. When the wife returns, she finds him drunk on the bathroom floor. They go through counseling, and he breaks up with the OW with the same self-involved thinking he had when he considered leaving his wife. The consistent weaselliness is really off-putting. They try to repair their marriage, and we're told they're making progress when the OW contacts the husband to say she's pregnant (she's lying).

I have no idea what the husband planned to do about the OW's fake pregnancy, but he decides to visit her to end their relationship. Her stalker boyfriend (who told the wife about the affair) shoots the husband three times in the chest. With his dying words, the husband begs the OW to tell his wife he loved her.

After the appropriate time, the widow gives birth, and the baby gives her a new reason to live. Also, her former boyfriend shows up at the hospital to hold the baby and offer help.

Even though the stalker boyfriend and his gun were recurring characters from the first chapter, I'm still shocked that the solution to the cheating husband problem in this book is to kill him to make way for the former boyfriend. In secular romance/women's fiction, the cheater doesn't usually get killed. Kudos to the ironically titled Redemption.

I first read this book somewhere around a decade ago, when I was just a teenager.

Since then, my life has undergone numerous transformations, and my taste in literature has also evolved. However, upon rereading this book, I still found it incredibly difficult to put down.

Although there were moments when the story seemed a little too far-fetched, it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment.

In fact, I loved every single moment of this reread. The characters came to life on the pages, and I was once again drawn into their world.

I can't wait to continue revisiting this series and seeing how it holds up with each subsequent reading.

This book has truly stood the test of time for me, and I'm excited to see what new discoveries and emotions it will bring in the future.

This is truly a remarkable story. The 5-star rating I'm awarding it stems mainly from the profound way the author managed to evoke intense emotions within me. Every single emotion I experienced, I felt it with great intensity.

Years ago, I first read Redemption, and I devoured it. In the past decade or so, I've thought about it countless times, yet I had forgotten most of the plot and nearly all the details. Sometimes, when I read a book too quickly, I retain very little. However, what I did remember was being completely shocked by the ending, to the extent that I couldn't continue with the series. Lately, I've been eager to read more by this author, so I retrieved the book from my library and decided to reread it.

I desired to recall why I had such a powerful reaction to the story all those years ago.

Near the end, while listening to the audiobook and making breakfast in my kitchen, I gasped out loud. I had to halt my movements, rewind a few seconds, and listen again to that crucial event. I had read it before and gasped then too, but I still wasn't prepared for it. The difference this time was that it made me angry the last time I read it, whereas now I had a very different reaction. This time, I think I could perceive what the author was attempting to achieve with this family, by making these characters endure such dreadful experiences.

This is undoubtedly the most angst-ridden Christian fiction book I've ever read. It commences with a great deal of drama and never relents. Drama from beginning to end! I adored it completely.

Through reading this book twice, I fell in love with the Baxter family. On the very same day I completed my reread, I went and purchased the entire series to have on my shelves, and I've since convinced my dearest friend to read them as well.

I highly recommend buddy-reading this one as the entire story is highly discussable. In fact, I get chills whenever I think about this story.

I guess this book really rubbed me the wrong way, and I'm not entirely sure why.

The heroine in this story is such a doormat. She seems to hide behind her religion as a guise, but in reality, it just makes her appear even weaker.

When her husband continuously hurts her heart and shatters her trust, she simply stands there, suffering in silence with a broken heart. She doesn't have the courage to get up and save herself.

I firmly believe that a heroine should be strong and independent, not someone who is so easily pushed around. This kind of weakness in the character really disappoints me.

As a result, I'm not sure if I even want to read the next installment of this series. It's a real pity because the premise of the story had some potential, but the portrayal of the heroine has really turned me off.

Maybe the author will make some changes in the next book and give the heroine the strength and agency she so desperately needs. Only time will tell.

I have rather complex emotions regarding this book, thus I'm awarding it 3 stars.

Primarily centered around Kari Baxter Jacobs upon learning of her husband's affair, this book also begins to offer glimpses of what lies ahead in the future installments of this series. Each book focuses on one sibling while incorporating the stories of others, making it somewhat like a family drama with elements of romance interwoven in some of the narratives.

I do have a couple of concerns regarding the way Kingsbury and Smalley had Kari decide to fight for her marriage. However, if that was indeed her desire, then无疑 she was justified in pursuing it. One aspect I appreciate is that her feelings for her husband and the man she loved before were not simply black and white. I also respect the fact that this isn't a理想化的 family where all five children have blindly followed in the footsteps of their parents' faith. While that may occur, it's not uncommon to have a more diverse range of outcomes.

This book is highly Christian in nature, with no sex scenes whatsoever. Nevertheless, we do witness scenes between her husband and the woman he's been having an affair with in her apartment, including in bed. The book doesn't conclude with everything neatly resolved for anyone, which is quite realistic. However, this doesn't imply that there is no hope within it.

I think I've found a new author that I love ❤️. This discovery has been like a bright star shining in the literary sky for me. The moment I picked up their book, I was immediately drawn into a world of captivating stories and vivid characters.

Their writing style is unique and engaging. It flows smoothly, making it a pleasure to read. Each sentence seems to be carefully crafted to convey the exact emotions and ideas. The plots are full of twists and turns, keeping me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

I can't wait to explore more of their works. I'm sure there are many more wonderful stories waiting for me to discover. This new author has truly become one of my favorites, and I know that their books will continue to bring me joy and inspiration for a long time to come.