A Kingsbury Collection: Where Yesterday Lives / When Joy Came to Stay / On Every Side

I had the opportunity to review this remarkable book by Karen Kingsbury through blogging for books. It is truly a treasure trove as it contains a collection of 3 full-sized Christian fiction novels all in one volume.

While this makes the book quite large, it offers great value as you get to enjoy the essence of 3 wonderful books in a single place.

The stories are all contemporary fiction, which isn't my typical go-to genre as I usually prefer Victorian or books set in the past. However, I decided to give these a chance.

The first story, titled "Where Yesterday Lives," follows a journalist who faces turmoil in her life when her father suddenly passes away from a heart attack. This forces her to return home to deal with the loss and her dysfunctional family. It takes great faith and strength not only to come to terms with the loss but also to heal the personal family issues.

The second book, "When Joy Came to Stay," tells the story of Maggie, who has some problems that lead her to check herself into a clinic. Her husband must rely on all the faith he can muster as he tries to figure out what has gone wrong with his wife and caused her to fall into such despair.

The third book, "On Every Side," focuses on Faith and Jordan, two people who are engaged in a battle over a statue of Jesus in a park. Faith, an anchor woman for a news program, risks her career by taking the fight public. This story primarily delves into the issue of the separation of church and state, but the backgrounds of the characters add an interesting layer.

The beauty of all these stories is that Karen Kingsbury brings the characters to life, making them relatable with their human problems. She weaves engaging tales that are filled with the issues of today and demonstrates how faith can help us navigate through them.

I was fortunate enough to receive a free copy of this book from blogging for books. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. :)

Where Yesterday Lives:

I had no idea what to anticipate from reading the back cover as it was rather ambiguous. However, it turned out to be a remarkable story.

The book commences with a man suffering a fatal heart attack and details the thoughts that cross his mind during his final breaths. Later, we discover that his poor health was mainly attributed to his diet, smoking, and lack of exercise. His family suspected that he was shortening his lifespan, but they were still shocked when he passed away, as most people are.

Ellen and her siblings, for the most part, endured numerous tense arguments in this book. If your life is already filled with such turmoil and you don't want to add to it by reading a fictional novel, you might want to avoid this one. For me, it was intense, and I longed for it to end for everyone. I particularly disliked Jane's snappy comments. Later, we learn the reason behind her rudeness, not to excuse it but to understand her actions. Aaron seemed like a rather indistinct character for most of the book until the end. However, when he did "speak" in the book, I often wanted to cry because of the pain he was in. He ultimately became one of my favorite characters.

The last few chapters of the book were truly excellent. They made me cry, but in a good way! I also liked the ending, which tied up the loose ends nicely, although not entirely. There were no major cliffhangers at the end.

There were approximately half a dozen kisses in this book, none of which were overly detailed. There is a scene where a character is raped, but it wasn't extremely graphic. If you are typically triggered by such content, you might want to skip that part. There is no cursing in the book, although it is mentioned that someone curses a few times, but nothing is explicitly written. One aspect of this book that I wasn't sure I agreed with was that the main character thought she would always love her first love. I couldn't determine if it was in a platonic sense or if he would always be a temptation for her.

I would rate this book 3.5 stars.

When Joy Came To Stay:

I was initially uncertain about this book as it began in a rather strange manner. The main character, Maggie, experiences a significant amount of hallucinations, which isn't the kind of thing I usually enjoy reading for entertainment. I found it a bit difficult to relate to Maggie and her husband, Ben. Ben seemed overly naïve to me, considering he is an attorney dealing with homicide cases.

Also, before I forget, I must issue a warning: this book contains a graphic child abuse scene in chapter 13. The graphic part is mainly presented from a police officer's point of view, and it is not pleasant. The abuse involves a foster child and is detailed. Honestly, I wish I hadn't read it because such things usually disturb me for a long time afterwards. However, it serves as a reminder for me to pray for those in the foster care system. It was truly intense and heart-wrenching. Fair warning!

I'm currently at chapter 26, and I've decided to stop reading. I don't think I can bear to read about one more bad thing happening. It feels as though the story keeps spiraling downhill. I know it will probably change towards the end, but I'm afraid that if I read any further, I will continue to be frustrated with the situations in the book and angry at the injustice that occurs in the foster system. I know several people who were in foster care, and their stories were both terrible. I'm not trying to ignore the reality, but I simply don't want to read about it during my downtime. My heart can only take so much. :/

For me, I would rate this book 2 stars. It's not poorly written, and there is no cussing. There were a few kisses, but none that I remember being detailed. There is a lot of violence. I just don't want to read it anymore.

On Every Side:

This book was not my favorite. It was okay - I wasn't bored while reading it, but I didn't care for some of the actions of certain characters.

This book was a rather blatant retelling of the biblical story of Jericho, featuring a Joshua, a Bob Moses, and a Jordan (similar to the Jordan River). This seemed a bit cheesy to me. I might have preferred a more subtle modern adaptation of the story without it being so obvious. It did contribute to the story in some areas (where some walls do come down), but it felt a bit overdone. Maybe it just wasn't the right book for me. :/

Also, I didn't like the multiple, sometimes detailed, makeout sessions that certain characters had in the book. That was rather off-putting.

The ending was great, and the characters developed throughout the story. I really liked Rosa Lee. The backstory of Jordan's mother and his separation from his sister was sad and made me cry a few times. The scenes involving Jordan's mother touched my heart deeply.

I would rate this book 2.5 stars.

Sweet Story

A sweet story was presented, yet it had a flaw. There was an excessive amount of repeating the same stories in flashbacks, which made it rather mundane. However, despite this drawback, the overall narrative was interesting enough to keep the reader engaged and eager to see the end. The elements within the story held a certain charm that managed to draw one in, even with the repetitive nature. It made one wonder if a bit of refinement in the structure and a reduction in the unnecessary flashbacks could have elevated this sweet story to an even greater level of excellence.