With all this snow around me I’ve had a chance to catch up on my readings.  I have been in the mood for fiction lately, and the newest one I read didn’t disappoint!  It took me about 3 hours to polish it off  while I snuggled under my blankets and listened to the wind snarl at me.  I’ll totally admit it was 3 hours of pure entertainment.

C.J. Darlington is a new author with her debut novel, Thicker than Blood.  I wouldn’t have guessed it was her first novel and honestly I’ll be looking out for her in the future.

So, what is this book about?

Christy’s life is a mess.  She’s 33, a drunk, and just running away from everything.   She has a love for books, but can’t seem to stay out of trouble.  Why can’t she keep herself from sinking?  When the death of her aunt leads her back to her old home that she so desperately ran from as a youth, she finds life unraveling like she didn’t expect.  Is there really forgiveness available for someone like Christy?  Can a reunion of two sisters turn out good, or will the past just cause more pain between them.  Add in a stalker and some painful sins that only God can rescue her from.

C.J. Darlington weaves a highly adventurous story that screams out God’s love for us.  She mixes in grace with the gritties of life and how can you not appreciate that?  We may not have been down the same road, but when you’re not with God you’re down the same road.

I liked that Christy, and her sister May were different and both had different struggles.  I didn’t feel like there was a favorite, so you couldn’t help but feel like both characters should have good outcomes.

Some of the issues that were present in the book were fairly dark like abuse, alcoholism, abortion.  A few were a bit too detailed for my liking (her nightmares about the abortion), but all in all it was extremely well written.   It kept my attention and one of the few books that I couldn’t put down and HAD TO READ in one sitting!

My initial thoughts were “Heartland”, the Canadian television show –reminds me a lot of that, and in a good way.

I really enjoyed this books and expect to see Darlington’s writing to only get better with each book!

Thanks to my friends at Tyndale for providing me with a review copy.

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