Where Hope Begins

Author: Catherine West

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Release Date: May 22, 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

An emotional roller coaster ride that some may find difficult to read but will find closure in the end.

Savannah Barrington has just lost the one person she never dreamed would betray her. Her husband, Kevin, has had an affair and has decided to leave her for his younger love.  Now with Kevin gone, their daughter Zoe in college and son Adam at a boarding school, the house feels as empty as ever.  Savannah decides to go stay at the lake house her mother owns up in the Berkshires for a change of scenery.  While there, she is introduced to a  young girl who is the spitting image of her first daughter who died in a bicycle accident several years ago.  The girl’s father turns out to be a famous author that both she and Kevin always loved to read.  They are staying with his aunt, who has been prepared to help Savannah heal through tending her late husband’s greenhouse.  But healing won’t come easy, it will take faith and forgiveness.  Can Savannah find the strength to forgive her husband and move on?

I have been wanting to read a book by Catherine West for a long time and I am glad that I finally did. This book was really hard for me to read because half way through my three year old son had a freak accident that could have easily resulted in death.  It really shook my husband and I to the core and it was hard to pick up the book and continue reading when the main character was feeling the same emotions that were going through me at the time.  Fortunately, he is ok and the book had a silver lining at the end.

I love getting to read a great story that is clean and relatable. I understood the emotions of the characters and have seen what they were going through first hand.  There is a lot of family drama and struggle in this book and it makes it very real.  West also did a great job of setting her scenes so that I could easily find my way into the characters world.  I am going to go get a couple more of her books for future reading!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.