I loveeee this modern take on the story of Mary Madeleine! God definitely was guiding Karen as she wrote this story, I mean only God could've given Karen this sort of insight and understanding about some of the demons that took place in Mary's life. Highly recommend!!

This was hard.

I know things like this happen all too often and reading this...I have never even come close to experiencing that, nor has anyone I know to my knowledge. And I pray to God it stays that way.

Is this a good book? Yes. Is this one I think everyone should read once their an adult, especially woman? Also yes. Is it one I will ever read again?

No my heart can't take it

SO GOOD! There is a reason Karen Kingsbury is my favorite author. I've had this book on my reading list for several years now, and it nearly had me in tears on many occasions. Divine is an incredible story about God's love and how even when things seem hopeless, God will always be by your side. Divine is inspiring, heart-wrenching, and well worth reading.

this was absolutely beautiful, breathtaking, and heartbreaking all at the same time.

•i didn’t like lou, jimbo, charlie, or clayton at all.

•i was so frustrated when mary had her grandmas phone number with her and still chose to go back to clayton because she loved him even though he beat her, he was married and claimed he loved mary

•i was also kinda frustrated when emma went back to charlie. gladly, that didn’t last very long, though

A very dear student of mine gave me a copy of this book to read: Kingsbury is one of her favorite authors and they are e-mail correspondants. For my Contemporary Fiction class, each student selected a contemporary author to report on, and this student naturally chose Karen Kingsbury.

I am not the usual audience for a Christian fiction novel, and so the book did not work for me as it would for a reader who is looking for a conversion story. However, it is a typical conversion story (abused girl who has been taught to use her sexuality to get by in the world is transformed into a Christian social worker) and it works on that level. There is even a secondary character, another abused woman, addicted to drugs, who is converted by the main character's story. the main character is supposed to be a modern day version of Mary Magdalene.

There are descriptions of women being beaten and abused by men, and, though the details are slight, or perhaps because the details are airbrushed, the descriptions reminded me a little too much of 50 Shades, and the thought occurred to me that the Christian women readers the book is addressed to might actually use such scenes as fantasy fodder. But, I think the fodder is more emotional release/catharsis than anything else.

The novel is also better written than 50 Shades of Grade, interestingly.

So, I finished the book, knowing it wasn't my cup of tea (in our class, we read works by Morrison, DeLillo, McCarthy, Egan----quite the opposite of Kingsbury), but knowing that my student adored the book, and I appreciated that insight into the raw emotional power such a story has on very many readers. She taught me something.

God's love covers sin

This wonderfully written book reminds me of God's amazing love and unending Grace. I praise my Saviour for his relentless knowing on my door .

An excellent book about God's love for all people and how he forgives and loves us no matter what. No one is beyond his love. This is an excellent book to share with women in abusive and abusing situations in which they feel there is no hope or no way out.

Deeply Moving

I felt all the characters and their stories in this book. This is the sure sign of an amazing author. What an amazing story of God's redemption in so many lives. Read it!

This is probably one of my all time favorite books. On the top of my must read recommendations.

Devine by Karen Kingsbury is a very difficult read. It deals with rape, physical abuse, and drugs. It deals with a woman who survived all of the above, and spent her life being a spirit to those abused women to believe in God and his power. Mary never knew real love as a child or a teenager from her mother, just from her Grandma Peggy who never gave up on loving Mary and her spiritual belief that Mary would do good in her life. Read this book to know how Mary survived and turned others to Christianity.

Wow! What a powerful story to share for someone to know the importance and goodness of being a follower of God. The two main characters suffered and were able to help one another. This story made me cry. It is such an easy read and the type of book that keeps your desire to not stop reading. Highly recommend it even if you are not interested in being a Christian or if you are on the cusp of making that decision. It will not disappoint.

The author said she got the idea for this novel loosely based on Mary Magdalene. I did not really see that. It is a redemption story about two women coming from an abused background and making bad choices. They both come to know the deliverance of the Lord Jesus but went through some really bad situations before that. Karen has a somewhat simplistic writing style, so it is easy to read without really in depth thinking. That makes it a quick read, but trying to read while I should be sleeping kept me awake due to the subject matter and wanting to know the outcome.