💕🙏🏻✝️ “Love Unfailing” (A Divine Love Series #2) (2021) ✝️🙏🏻💕 – Book Review

 

MY REVIEW

 

Series: A Love Divine (Book #2)

Paperback: 266 Pages

Publisher: Winged Publications (September 4, 2021)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1956654011

ISBN-13: 978-1956654011

⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information

 

 

“Anna Andros, a new Christian, becomes enraptured by the worship leader on stage each Sunday. His love for the Lord appears as solid as his strong muscles on display each week. The attraction is mutual, and Anna is drawn in by his charm.

 

Meanwhile, she becomes closer to another man, this one a lifelong Christian and family friend. Conflict arises as she is torn between the two men in her life. Is the worship leader as genuine as he seems? Or is the one she has known for years who God has in mind for her?

 

A crisis at the church puts things into perspective for Anna. Who is the one who will stand beside her? Why is the pastor turning a blind eye to the hurt Anna endured? Will God answer prayers and give Anna the healing and love she so deserves? 

 

Thank you in advance to the author, Tara Taffera, for providing a complimentary review copy through JustRead Publicity Tours, a positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.

This is the second book in series by the author, but the first book I’ve read by Taffera. I did, in anticipation of this one, purchase the first book though I have not had a chance to read it.

 

A note about “series” books – depending on how they’re written … readers may or may not need previous books.

 

Here are some examples of “series” books (by my own descriptions):

 

📚📖 #1 – Continual. These tend to pick up one right after the other and carry a familiar story arc, thus it is essential to read them in order; ie: book #2 begins same day to perhaps months after book #1. Books may have an open end to continue the series (Lisa Harris’ U.S Marshals, Laurel Blount’s Johns Mill Amish Romance). Thus, the books have to be read in order to see the progression of the story.

 

📚📖 #2 – SA (standalone) Connected. These types of books can act as a standalone but include characters and references to previous stories (some Harlequin Heartwarming titles, Love Inspired, or Love Inspired Suspense; Lynn Blackburn’s Defend and Protect and Dive Team Investigations). Books SHOULD be read in order to establish the progression, but it likely won’t be necessary.

 

📚📖 #3 – Standalone/Theme Connection. These books are part of a “series” only by theme (Barbour’s Doors to the Past or Heroines of WWII). They have a common theme/element to them, but do not share a common location or characters. Characters from previous books do not appear nor are they mentioned, they can also be read in any order.

 

This series by Taffera falls under “continual”. Book #2 picks up within the same time frame as book #1 or very close to it. Last names are not mentioned for most of the characters as if we know everyone and the dialogue suggests readers already know what is going on.

 

I would DEFINITELY and HIGHLY recommend reading the first book before reading this one though.

 

That said …

 

Many characters from book #1 make a reappearance here:

 

🔵 Anna (Christian and Alex’s sister; Alex was killed prior to the start of Love Ordained)

🔵 Christian (Anna and Alex’s brother; newly married to Gina)

🔵 Helena (Anna, Christian, and Alex’s mother; had an issue with Gina in book #1, all seems to be forgiven now)

🔵 John (Anna, Christian, and Alex’s father)

🔵 Gina (Re-married now to Christian, had dated Tony after Alex’s death)

🔵 Elizabeth

🔵 Grace (Lost her daughter to a murder, met Gina in a support group)

🔵 Tony (Had dated Gina, but seems to have eyes for Anna now)

 

As far as Garrett and Pastor Tom, I can’t say whether they were in book #1 or not as I hadn’t read it. There may be others from that book that I have missed or inadvertently left out.

 

When I read the back cover, the plot really stood out to me.

 

There are mentions of the death of a spouse, death of a child, murder of a child, divorce, post-partum depression, stalking, and mention of rape (someone that Anna interviews).

 

Despite how the author seemed to throw the reader right into the middle of the story from the first page, this wasn’t an easy read for me to get into. I felt like I was trying to get to know everyone in a short space of time since there was no proper introduction that most books/stories have to establish itself. I did manage to read this less than 12 hours off and on though.

 

Right off, that style of writing could be a bit off-putting, especially with short scenes inside short chapters. It certainly adds to the fast-paced nature of the story and moves the story along, at times to its own detriment or its own benefit.

 

The POVs are: Anna, Tony, Gina, and even Garrett despite the huge cast of characters.

 

Anna was a likeable character, however given how she was part of the people who abandoned Gina in book #1, only to come around. By this book, Anna seems clingy with Gina who’s had a baby girl with Christian, in addition to raising Alex Jr from book #1.

 

Tony was the real hero the entire time, and Garrett? It was easy to see where he was taking us (as well as Anna). The rest of the characters were hard to describe from likeable to a bit loud. Still, they came off as mostly “real” – like you’d see these people on social media posts.

 

As this begins, it’s obvious the entire family has moved on from the events in book #1, and Gina only as has few “moments”, especially with post-partum depression. She has more good days than bad and really steps up in character development.

 

Tony and Anna are “just friends”. He is afraid Anna is falling for Garrett’s charms. She is also having conflicting emotions regarding her friendship with sister-in-law Gina. While she understands why Gina isn’t around much – it still bothers Anna. Gina feels like everyone has gone forward without her.

 

Anna is also desperate to find someone to spend her life with. And, of course she starts spending a lot of time with Garrett almost right off.

 

Elizabeth can see how much Tony cares for Anna and while there were issues with him and Christian over Gina, Christian wouldn’t mind Tony for his sister. It seems everyone but the two can see that – even Garrett, who forces her to choose between him and Tony.

 

🚩 Red flag here 🚩

 

When a man wants you to choose a friend over him right off, and it is a male friend – that is a HUGE warning sign! ⚠️🛑

 

Anna smartens up and calls it off. Smart girl. Yet, like most – there’s the giving in to the inevitable second chance request –🚩 Red flag #2 & #3 🚩  

 

Garrett tries to convince her to skip the weekly family dinner, he then wants to come (she’s not comfortable), when he learns Tony is there – he states he’s not comfortable with her spending time with him.

 

Gina doesn’t like Garrett and I didn’t think the entire family was fond of him either – 🚩 red flag #4 🚩  

 

The issue with Anna and Garrett culminates during a competition where he finishes second. Thankfully, Elizabeth is there to see this “incident” – 🚩 red flag #5 🚩  

 

Right at church the next day there are several red flags. However, what transpires is Garrett dumping Anna out of his own pettiness.

 

The story then takes a turn from a light, fun “soap opera” like read to dark territory which encompasses stalking, after Anna moves on and starts “dating” Tony. Obviously, it is clear, Garrett is not finished with Anna.

 

I was already past 10 🚩 red flags 🚩 by this time. And, with Elizabeth being a witness to some of it – something should’ve been said about him. Still, his position in the church was an issue (as it later comes to be as well).

 

The penultimate scene is toned down by some standards (spoiler – there is only a slight menacing and use of physical force). In short, Garrett confronts and threatens Anna which leaves her traumatized. Tony arrives and makes a decision to say something, thus she turns on him – even blaming him for not being there.

 

It is because of this incident that Anna and Tony’s relationship and faith are tested, even those around them lose their respect for the church with the pastor.

 

Tony, despite Anna’s reaction still defends what he did (which was right). Which, leaves the reader to a moral assessment with the “what would you do” scenario?  

 

Overall, once the story got going it was really interesting and held potential that wasn’t fully executed. I absolutely adored Tony, as well as seeing the Andros family finally coming together after the incident in the first book. Some of the characters had little room for development having been carried over from the first book. The Anna/Tony flip-flop might be annoying for some readers, in addition, Anna’s continually going back to Garrett despite certain “red flag” behaviors (especially some outlined above).

 

Reading this was a bit challenging due to the “time placement”. I would’ve liked some type of “time placement” – prior to the chapter or the scene break – as it was kind of hard to follow with certain scenes ending and transitioning a bit too abruptly. There were plot arcs that could’ve used expansion which would’ve added more depth to the story.

 

One of those was the sermon series regarding “addiction”. It was an interesting point in that it didn’t pertain to the usual culprits such as drugs and alcohol; but focused on social media (a HUGE one), food, and significant others. It was also a connecting point for Tony and Anna where Garrett didn’t connect too much with it.

 

The scandal was definitely spot-on when it came to the pastor’s reaction, how arrogant Garrett was acting after, and how Anna (a victim) was treated in light of it (by Garrett and the pastor). While I felt for Anna, I did take a slight issue with how she was acting after the “incident”. Her reaction and attitude was not, I feel, proportionate to what occurred.  

 

I have to give kudos to the author for addressing the rape of another character as she did. It is definitely relevant in these times. Even when women are sexually harassed, they tend to have a stigma coming forward, and often don’t for decades after the abuse. It is even worse when the accused holds a lot of clout like Garrett did.

 

Speaking of Garrett, there is a question of where he went at the end of the book. Someone who does what he does, doesn’t really stop and just disappear. What about his background? There was little to no character background about him.

 

As I know there is a book #3 to be released – I definitely want to read it to see if the author concludes the Garrett story arc and gives us an update.

 

This book had a lot of potential, and thus was between a 3.5 to 4 star read.

 

Since some of the story takes place in church and deals with someone on the “worship” team, there will be strong references to God and the bible. Themes of “his will”, having faith, and waiting for God’s words are prevalent throughout.

 

Those who read the first book will want to read this as well to see the continuing story. Those who enjoy a clean, wholesome read will want to check this out.

 

 

 

RATING:

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)

 

 

Previous books in the series:

 

 

Series: A Love Divine (Book #1)

Paperback: 272 Pages

Publisher: Winged Publications (February 17, 2021)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1952661633

ISBN-13: 978-1952661631

⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information

 

 

“Where Great Loss Turns to Ordained Love

 

When Gina Andros loses her husband Alex and almost two-year old daughter Teresa in a car accident, her world falls apart. Her mother-in-law Helena, a woman she views as a second mother, blames her for the accident and cuts her out of her life. Doing so, she turns her family, including Gina's best friends, Anna and Christian, away from her. Gina falls deep into the pit of grief, but slowly the family starts to heal—due in part to a major event in her life. But not before Helena goes to great lengths to derail Gina’s recovery. Will Helena’s heart melt, bringing the family back together?

 

As the months go by, the possibility of new love arrives in Gina’s life, but is it the love God has planned for her? Will Gina realize the one she is meant to be with, and if she does, will he be ready to love her unconditionally?”

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

 

Tara Taffera is a journalist living in Stafford, Va., with her husband of 24 years, and her three daughters. In 2020, she realized her dream of writing her first novel, Love Ordained. She has always loved to read, and anyone who knows her knows how fast she can plow through a good book. Her mother always says, how as a youngster, she was always asking to go back to the library for more books. She started writing Love Ordained more than 20 years ago, and she finally made it a priority in early 2020, and finished the book – a Christian romance.

 

 

She can be found on the following social media networks:

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authortarataffera

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarataffera/

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TaraTaffera

 

Website: https://tarataffera.com/

 

 

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