I will start by saying I am a die hard fan of Kingsbury. I truly LOVE her style and inspired writing. I've read many of her books, probably more that 30.
The subject matter at the beginning of this book was so horrible to me I had to quit at about page 60.
Not her normal writing, for sure.

This book is a modern-day story of Mary Magdalene. Kingsbury mentions this in the intro. This is about a brave woman (actually it follows the story of two women) who has lived through some horrific situations. The main character is retelling the story of her life.

Kingsbury does not shy away from the difficult issues in her books..This one is no exception. It really gives the reader insight into the hearts and minds of these two female characters who have truly been broken. Rape, prostitution, drugs, suicide, abuse, neglect, kidnapping.. all of these are in this book.

This story is, above all, about love. God's love for us. Love for one another. It is about broken relationships and about healing relationships. It's about redemption and finding one’s way to freedom.

This book was so hard to read because of the content.. make me physically sick. But it has a good lesson and it’s a good story. I can’t say I exactly enjoyed it.. but I’m glad I finished it to the end. It does show you the love of Jesus in this book though.

Life-giving

I would give this a 4.5 if I could just because of the unrealistic portions of the story, but this book was such an encouragement to me I'm leaning toward a 5 rather than a 4. The way the characters truly experience Christ and then are able to give that experience to others was awesome to be a part of. This renewed a sense of comfort in me as I work with vulnerable populations. It is definitely a book of hope, life, real love, and real life scenarios. I appreciated that.

The most amazing story of Gods redemption and grace.

Disturbing. This book should have a warning to my eyes to oh be careful what they read, and I wish I'd gotten some indication of that when I read the book synopsis. It's not like other Kingsbury books I've read, so I was not expecting this. I chose to skip some pages of suicidal quotes and finally stopped reading after the first few chapters. I saw no way to think about what's pure, noble, right, honorable, and praiseworthy (etc) while reading this book.

For the sake of others considering this title: I found parental abandonment; drugs; prostitution; suicidal thoughts/ideation that is clearly-communicated; kidnapping of a minor; false imprisonment of a minor; abuse/assault of a minor (some clear & some alluded).

And then I closed the book. Not worth soiling my mind.

Flat characters and a whole lot of crime. Other Kingsbury books are a lot better. ....I need to remember to check Goodreads reviews before I read stuff!

Wow another great read by Karen Kingsbury. The topic is abuse, the life of Mary Madison was a hard one, but through it all someone was out there praying for her. Her grandmother, who never gave up praying and trusting God for the safe return of her grand daughter Mary. Mary did survive the hardships of life and then used all the pain and sorrow to help other battered and abused women. She showed them Jesus the only one that can rescue and save them from the voices that tormented them. Jesus the true answer to lifes trials and heartbreaks. It wasn't only God's love that saw them through it was His power and who He is. Divine.

This book was sad to read. All the abuse Mary had to suffer throughout her life was intense. Sharing her story with Emma to help her realize she could get out of her abusive relationship was life changing for Emma. Mary taught Emma that all the love you need comes from God. If you put him first in your life, everything else will fall into place. Very moving story.

Definitely not a "feel good book" but one that should be read. We have no idea of the horrors that happen to women in our own country. It definitely is bringing awareness.

This is the reaction I had after I had finished reading it and had a few hours to think about it. I posted this to my facebook page:

Last night I started reading a book by Karen Kingsbury called Divine and I finished it today. It's all I've been able to think about. It is a story about a modern day Mary Magdalene. A woman who had her own demons and was rescued by Jesus. At one point in the story Peter is mentioned. "The problem was that once in a while Peter had a tendency to take his eyes off of Jesus. For Peter, that was when he'd start to sink." I realized as I read this I was recognizing myself. I am constantly seeking God. Searching, fumbling, and it came to me that I am like Peter. I'm going along just fine and suddenly, because of a choice I've made, I feel alone and lost and sometimes it takes me months and sometimes years to find my way back. Now that I've seen this aspect of my character all I want to do is fall down on my face and beg Jesus never to leave me. But he's not the one that keeps leaving, is he? He is the one who always has and always will welcome me back. Thank you Jesus, for your love, your grace, and your mercy. I love you.

I was not so horribly abused. Nothing to the degree that Karen describes, but I had my demons as all of us do. This book made me sob in fear, in sorrow, and again in joy. Because nothing is more joyous than finding Jesus and feeling His Divine Love.

WOW! What an amazing book. I did not want to put this book down.

This is a tough book to read, not due to the writing but due to the events in the book. Karen Kingsbury is one of my all time favorite authors and this book once again proved why. The writing and story drew me in from the start and you feel part of the book, as if you are Emma discussing Mary's story with her.

I delayed reading this book due to the events; prostitution, sexual abuse to children and physical abuse to woman. It is really difficult issues to deal with, but instead of running from this, Karen embraced this in her book, dealing with this heavy issues in an amazing way. This was fiction, but how many woman out there live with this daily?

I loved the redemption part, and the truth that only Jesus can only set you totally free, which is 100% true.

Reading other reviews, it seems that the redemption/conversion part felt not real to some readers. I have to disagree with this (in my opinion). It might have felt like overnight/sudden, but God was working with these woman ever since they were born, and using people in their lives to pray for their salvation, and were still working after they got saved. For me this was evidence of the miraculous God, who never gives up and wants a relationship with everyone. He heals and restores and nothing is impossible for Him. I know a lot of people who were on the wrong track (drug users) and had a "overnight" conversion. In my opinion, if you meet God face to face, you will definitely not be the same. But yes, just my personal feelings.

I also did not understand the story between Nigel and Mary 100%.

I am very glad I finally read this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary Christian fiction books, especially the redemption power of Christ.

This is an amazing story! God can use the really messed up stuff in our lives to bring healing and restoration to others. I couldn't put it down.