Started a little slow and a little predictable, but a touching book with enduring characters...definitely will keep on with the series.

I read this series a long time ago and it was as good as I remembered!!

This is a reread for me. It’s been years. I do love the Baxter Family.

Really interesting to hear the beginnings of the Baxter family stories.

This series focuses on the five grown children of John and Elizabeth Baxter, Kari, Ashley, Luke, Brooke, and Erin. Each one has personal problems or issues ranging from adultery to AIDS to adoption to mentally challenged children to cancer to marital problems to doubts about God. Through the series, we see each character grow and mature, especially in their love life, since all five are happily married by the end of the series (Two of them are married at the beginning of the series).

I think a lot of people rate this book for the message it gives: Love is a Decision
If my opinion would have been based solely on this I would also give it five stars, [a:Karen|3159984|Karen Kingsbury|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1458747158p2/3159984.jpg] truly brought the theme through beautifully.

But I don't just read for a theme or a messages, I want an intriguing plot and full well developed characters. I want a clear line between whose point of view I'm reading.
For me this was the biggest issue, there were so many characters that sounded the same, that felt the exact same thing, and described it the exact same way. I get that this is the first book in a series, but there where so many unwanted characters and thoughts brought in, that at stages it was just to much.

This is my second [a:Kingsbury|3159984|Karen Kingsbury|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1458747158p2/3159984.jpg] novel and to be honest I was disappointed, the plot for this book and [b:A Time to Dance|115036|A Time to Dance (Timeless Love, #1)|Karen Kingsbury|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1171695767s/115036.jpg|2465598] was almost the exact same plot, cheating husband dedicated wife, supporting family that doesn't quite understand. The plot was not really a surprise for me in any way. I predicted the ending so accurately when I hit the forty percent mark it was an "I told you so" ending.

I really like the christian fiction and would try other books, I'm just not sure it will be [a:Karen Kingsbury's|3159984|Karen Kingsbury|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1458747158p2/3159984.jpg] books.

The first three quarters of the book were good...but not great. I was glad I persevered until the end though...definitely worth it. It became a page turner during the last quarter and had all of my emotions working. I love Christian fic like this because everything comes back to God...teaching us how to better live our lives for God in the midst of all troubles.

Yay! Christian-themed book where everyone in the book isn't perfect AND it's well-written. And you actually care about the characters. I think everyone can find a bit of someone they know in any given character. Can't wait to read the next one....oh wait, I didn't wait! Had the first chapter in the back of this one, so I've already started!