WONDERFUL SERIES!!!!!

I just wanted to cry so many times and shouted for joy many others!!! I love her books, they just bring me closer to God and thrill me!!! Make sure to read "A Time To Dance" first to get the full enjoyment from the series!!! ENJOY HER BOOKS !!!!!!!

Carolyn :o)

A Time to Embrace is the first Karen Kingsbury book I've read. As is typical of my experiences with Christian fiction, I encountered too much interiority for my taste. To be fair, relating abstract spiritual matters requires some telling to go along with the showing, but shove me into the characters’ heads as little as possible, please.

Considering the amount of time spent reading the POV characters’ thoughts, Acts I and II held up reasonably well. The anxiety John felt over parent criticism of his coaching piqued my interest, and I loved Abby's nightmare about the meeting in the Marion High auditorium. Unfortunately, the story fell apart for me in Act III. Without revealing specifics -- and there are many -- the medical circumstances in the last act are wholly unbelievable. Mission Implausible.

Among the numerous story arcs, Nathan Pike had potential but faded into the background, losing his individuality among the throng of caricatures supporting Coach. Kade's arc was unnecessary to the story and came across as heavy handed and preachy. Jo’s revelation should have been separate from the birth of baby Haley as it added a weird, dark vibe to an already distressing time.

Whether you enjoy A Time to Embrace or not will depend on what you expect from Christian fiction. Kingsbury could not have swept the story’s plotlines into a neater pile at the climax if she’d used a broom. If you like your novels tied up neatly at the expense of realism, this book may satisfy. If you believe happily-ever-after should never trump plausibility, you may come away aggravated when you realize you’ve just read a fantasy.

It gets a minus one I was not able to finish reading it

A wonderful follow-up to A Time to Dance - continuing the story on of Abby and her family. Thanks for once again telling an emotional Christian based story that often plays out in the USA even today with Christians. Your story-telling ability just grows with each book I've read. Thanks, Ms. Kingsbury!

A Time to Embrace is a beautifully woven story about forgiveness and love. Abby and John Reynolds have just survived 3 years of an unhappy marriage which almost ended in divorce. A Time to Embrace picks up just after they have forgiven each other’s transgressions - John’s for spending too much time with another woman, and Abby’s for becoming too close to her magazine editor via email. They have renewed their vows and are more in love with each other than before. They put God first in their lives, and are seeing the blessings of being in God’s will.

As John struggles with the politics of being a high school football coach, he is still working on encouraging and loving his students and players. He not only wants to see them succeed now, but also is training them for life. After winning a football game, he is involved in a horrific accident. During his recovery, he and Abby both struggle with God’s involvement in their “new” life. The promises of God are written throughout this wonderful book! Romans 8.28 teaches us “…that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Karen Kingsbury has reminded us again to put God first in our marriages and in life! For an uplifting read, pick up both A Time to Dance and A Time to Embrace and walk through a slice of John and Abby’s life together. You won’t be disappointed.

WOW was this one super, I could not put it down. John and Abby are now back together, their oldest son is into porn, and their daughter who just got married finds out she is pregnant which is totally against the plans she and her husband figured on. The problem for John is that the parents are mad and his team is not working together and losing more than winning. Then one night John works late grading papers and as he pulls out of the school parking lot he is hit from behind and they don't expect him to live thru the night.

Read book #1 first, "A Time to Dance". You need to understand where this book is coming from.

I think this was a wonderful Christian book based on events that could be very real to life.
In the first book "A Time to Dance" with Abby and John Reynolds... we read about they're very young years, high school, marriage, children and John's football coaching in Marion High School. John made some very bad choices but then in the end he remembered that Abby was/is his one true love.
In this book, John and Abby have re-committed themselves to loving each other above all else. But then one day tragedy hits. Almost the worst that could ever be imagined... will their faith in God... and each other be enough? Will justice be fair? Will they set a Godly example to their children, the football team and their community?
I love Karen Kingsbury's writing and wish she would write a book 3....
and that Hallmark Channel would bring Book 2 to the screen.

Another great story by Karen Kingsbury. If possible I enjoyed this one more than the first book of this series. God is in control of our lives even when we can't see it.

I read the first book and loved it. This one was a fast read, however this one was a bit lacking in believably.

This book was filled with heartache, loss, tragedy but also second chances that make life more wonderful than you thought possible. Jake did a terrible thing when he raced his car and ended up hitting John's pickup and causing him to go paralyzed. But he prayed to God and manned up to what he had done and was willing to go to juvenile detention center if that is what the judge ordered. But instead, he was allowed to go back to Marion High School and be an example to the other kids and also that he would go and talk to four schools for the next five years about racing. Loved all the insights and talk about how God is in our lives all the time. We just need to stop and listen. Miracles do happen and when they do, it is pure joy and rejoicing. Just like when Nicole's baby Haley and John had their miracles. Usually in the end, it ends up affecting more people than just those that the miracle happened too. People pray for others all the time. God answers those prayers in his own way. But don't lose the faith is a strong message throughout this book. Very inciteful author and love reading her books.

I wish there was a possibility of having less than one star. It's beyond me why this author is so popular in Christian circles. Her writing is abyssmal, and the premise of this one (a healed spinal cord injury) offends me.