🌸 🧵 "Before I Called You Mine" 🧵 🌸 (2020) - Book Review
MY REVIEW
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
(March 31, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0764264951
ISBN-13: 978-0764234958
Click Picture for Purchase Information
“Lauren Bailey may be a romantic at heart, but after a decade of
matchmaking schemes gone wrong, there’s only one match she’s committed to
now—the one that will make her a mother. Lauren is a dedicated first grade
teacher in Idaho, and her love for children has led her to the path of
international adoption. To satisfy her adoption agency’s requirements, she
gladly agreed to remain single for the foreseeable future; however, just as her
long wait comes to an end, Lauren is blindsided by a complication she never saw
coming: Joshua Avery.
Joshua may be a substitute teacher
by day, but Lauren finds his passion for creating educational technology as
fascinating as his antics in the classroom. Though she does her best to
downplay the undeniable connection between them, his relentless pursuit of her
heart puts her commitment to stay unattached to the test and causes her once-firm
conviction to waver.
With an impossible decision looming,
Lauren might very well find herself choosing between the two deepest desires of
her heart . . . even if saying yes to one means letting go of the other.”
Thank you in advance to the author, Nicole
Deese, and publisher Bethany House for providing a complimentary review copy. A
positive review was not required. All words are my own.
I am part of this book’s launch team. That does
not affect how I rate this book though.
Deese’s idea for this story came from her own
experiences with adopting a child from China. The rules are clear (as stated in
the book, as well as a letter I got with my review copy):
1. You can adopt as a woman who has been
married for two (or more) years
2. You can adopt as a single, unattached woman
There is no middle ground. If the woman is
matched with her child, and then finds “Mr. Right” during the process – there are
some tough choices to make. And, those choices turned into “what ifs” …
* What if a woman was matched with her child?
* What if she found the man she’s waited her
whole life for?
Taking from that, Deese builds and weaves a
beautiful story around First (1st) Grade teacher, Lauren Bailey and
substitute teacher Joshua Avery.
Since this is from Bethany House, which is a
Christian publisher, this will have strong elements of faith.
For anyone who has tried to adopt and “lost” a
child, this will be emotional. For anyone who has miscarried and “lost” a
child, this will be painful. This might have some unpleasant triggers.
In this uplifting; inspiring; and at times
heart-breaking; gut-wrenching story is a message of faith and going along with
God’s plan.
The beautiful and simple cover has a winding
red thread. It’s used as the international symbol for adoption. It originates
from the Chinese proverb:
“An
invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time,
place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break.”
This was very hard to put down. I read it in 22
hours – with sleep, breaks, going out for a food run, meals, and chores. This
was such an easy read, and I easily savored it. Despite the length of the
story, the writing flow was natural and kept the story flowing at an even pace
so as not to overwhelm the reader. I particularly enjoyed the “text”
conversations, complete with emojis.
Deese’s writing exposes the vulnerable, raw,
realistic, and often times humorous relationship between Lauren and Joshua
along with Lauren’s struggle (and her impatience) to adopt.
As Lauren has already started the adoption process,
and given the rules, she’s pretty much given up on love. That is until she
meets Josh.
Next to praying for a child … Josh is the one
man she’s prayed for. Lauren’s strong faith, which is central to who she is, is
tested. But, Josh always has a strong sense of faith to help Lauren.
Lauren’s mother seems to have a strong disdain
for her daughter’s faith. This leads to a lack of family support, with her mom
even blaming the “church” people. This part was the hardest to read, but sadly
realistic in many ways. It causes such a rift in the Bailey family that it
takes nearly until the end of the book to resolve.
Lauren is honest with Josh – “they” won’t work.
Once he knows why, he’s happy to be there in the background, and happy to
support her. His support even goes into “decorating” help.
After suffering a devastating loss, Lauren
throws her focus into her relationship with Josh. The story then switches more to
their romance than the adoption issue.
Theirs isn’t a conventional relationship, but
it is precious, especially given his obsession with dinosaurs. His family,
including his famous writer father, is wonderful! Truly “Hallmark” wonderful!
It is from Josh’s father; George; that Lauren
learns that God’s way is rarely easy, but is always better than ours. The
lesson is simple – he gives us choices, but sometimes he makes the choice for
us.
Another lesson, Lauren comes to learn – family isn’t
about biology. Which of course is why she feels called to adopt a child. But,
she does need reassuring here or there from the wonderful supporting characters
– her friends Jenna and Gail.
A second chance comes her way and Lauren finds
herself conflicted. She has a hard choice to make – Josh or her child.
This made me tear up in several places. Emotionally
I went from laughing in places, to being mad, crying, and feeling joy.
No matter how anyone feels about international
adoption, this is more (to me) a story of faith, trusting God’s will to guide
us where we need to be, trusting God to put those in our life that we need, and
accepting God’s partnership in what we are doing.
At the end the author is careful to add she isn’t
using the book to persuade readers to adopt form overseas, but more or less
trusting God.
This was the first book I’ve read by Deese, and
I loved it!
Thank you for allowing me the pleasure and
honor of being on your launch team!!
RATING:
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating
explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicole
Deese’s eight humorous, heartfelt, and hope-filled novels include the 2017
Carol Award Winning A Season to Love.
Her 2018 release, A New Shade of Summer,
was a finalist in the RITA Awards, Carol Awards, and Inspy Awards. Both these
books are from her best-selling Love in Lenox Series. Her newest contemporary
romance, Before I Called You Mine,
from Bethany House Publishers has recently received a starred review from
Booklist.
When
Nicole’s not sorting out characters and plots of her own, she can usually be
found reading near a window overlooking the inspiring beauty of the Pacific
Northwest (most often while sipping on a sparkling water). She lives in
small-town, Idaho with her happily-ever-after hubby, two towering-over-her teen
sons, and her princess daughter with the heart of a warrior.
She can be found on the following social media accounts:
Website:
https://www.nicoledeese.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/nicoledeeseauthor/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/nicoledeese
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