About the Book:
Readers’ Favorite 2017 Christian Fiction Honorable Mention
Gemma Ebworthy is eighteen, pregnant, and alone. Now that she’s been evicted, she finds herself sleeping in a barn, never dreaming that tomorrow could bring kindness of a life-changing magnitude.
The Martins aren’t a typical family—even for rural Kansas. With more kids than can be counted on one hand and a full-time farm, Gemma must make a lot of adjustments to fit in. But despite their many differences, Gemma finds herself drawn to this family and their radical Christian faith.
When Gemma’s past collides with her yet again, she must begin revealing her colorful history. With every detail Gemma concedes, she fears she will lose the Martins’ trust and the stable environment she desires for herself and her unborn child. Just how far can the Martins’ love and God’s forgiveness go?
About the Author:
Abigayle has been a writer ever since her mother taught her how to hold a pencil. However, she devoted more time to reading words with her green eyes than penning them with her left hand. Inspired by a crazy dream at the age of sixteen, she set off on a journey to self-publish her first novel, Martin Hospitality.
Since then, Abigayle has devoted herself to sharing what she has learned through the mediums of freelance editing and her blog The Left-Handed Typist… when period drama films are not calling more loudly. Now she is committed to providing a community where real-world stories resound and prose has purpose.
None of her successes, including winning a 2017 Readers’ Favorite Award, would be possible without the support of her Savior, large family, and online community.
My Review:
First off, I have to admit that I don’t often read books in this genre. I had also read the synopsis and wasn’t sure if I would like Martin Hospitality or not. When I won it in a giveaway, however, I decided to give it a read.
The storyline was very unique. I don’t think I’ve heard of another Christian book about a single mother. There were definitely a few times that things seemed to slow down a bit. And there were multiple times I felt like screaming at/shaking some sense into some of the characters. There were a few unexpected twists, though I honestly had no idea what to expect to begin with. I loved seeing Gemma’s personal growth throughout the story.
Overall, I liked the characters, though as I just mentioned, there were times they kind of drove me crazy. Baby Farris was super cute! And I really wanted to help Gemma. She made some bad decisions, but at least she was trying to pull her life together. I really didn’t like Mr. Martin to begin with, but I eventually came around to liking him. And I must say, I did like the large family aspect, though it was a bit different than any other big family I’ve read about
There were definitely some things that made me feel a little uncomfortable – mostly concerning a girl wanting to run away with an immoral young man. As for other content, there was: pregnancy out of wedlock, mention of drugs and drinking, domestic abuse and violence, etc. There were also some scenes with a guy and girl alone that made me feel a bit uncomfortable.
Overall, I’d say this book gets a four star rating. The author did a good job of dealing with a tough topic, though I did feel that the story fell a little flat in some areas. Because of the content, I would recommend it to at least 18+ though it depends a lot on the reader.
Have you read Martin Hospitality?
Do you enjoy books with large families?
Have you read a book you weren’t sure about, but you ended up liking?
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