Newest Review for COMING HOME

-


Imagine my surprise when I woke up on Sunday to messages and comments from friends and family like ... "Great review" ... "Congratulations!"

I had no idea what they were referring to as I didn't know anything was being written or going into our local paper, The Oklahoman.  So I quickly got my iPhone and looked up their online paper, newsok.com and found this story:


“Coming Home” by Kimberly McKay
(CreateSpace, 340 pages, available at Amazon.com)

I liked getting to know the spunky but broken Anne LaSal in Oklahoma author Kimberly McKay’s “Finding Kylie” and “Facing Redemption,” so it was a treat to get more of her story in “Coming Home.”


Anne is the best friend of the main character Chastity in the two earlier books written by this budding writer. McKay, who at one time worked for The Oklahoman, does a great job of setting up the suspense — will it be romance or sparks? — when Anne agrees to be on the popular “Broadcast Affair” network show without learning who the show’s bachelor is for the season.

In “Facing Redemption,” readers learn that Anne is coming fresh off a nasty breakup and breaking free from a sad past when she agrees to be on the show. Realizing she has nothing to lose, she’s maybe even ready for a bit of fun and adventure. She finds that and so much more on this journey of self-discovery.

Anne’s growing up as a military brat helps prepare her for the drama of being on a dating reality television show along the lines of “The Bachelor,” where numerous girls compete for the affection of one man. The dilemma she faces is whether to believe Chad Chambers is truly a nice guy she could actually fall for or just a really skilled actor.

Readers might be tempted to settle into “Coming Home” as a typical romance novel, but McKay throws in enough curves to keep the reader furiously turning pages to reach the finale.

Mckay does a good job of making her characters real and relatable. They know loss. They have to rely on their faith. They want to love, but they’re full of all of the emotions anyone is subject to when opening up to this most vulnerable of feelings — fear, insecurity, uncertainty, and hope.

“Coming Home” is a fast read with main characters that pique the reader’s interest and draw compassion. Side characters add just the right amount of trouble.
McKay uses a deft hand in weaving elements of faith into the story. The characters face a real struggle between romantic interest and purity, but there’s no unabashed evangelism. Anne’s talk with her new friend Kamryn gives readers a great analogy of the difference between a true relationship with God and an empty religion.

— Tricia Pemberton,
for The Oklahoman

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mother's Day Surprise

-
Image
I got this for Mother's Day along with a big three-ring binder of photos and artwork that my son has compiled all through PRE-K. It was the most touching gift he's given to date, in his five years. Even though his PRE-K teacher orchestrated taking all the pics through the school year and organizing all his artwork, it was still all my son's favorite pieces and shots. I loved it. I love that he thinks I'm fourteen feet tall, which he says it's all leg by the way. He even drew me that way. I love that he remembers my age and my favorite color. I love that he still loves my kisses. I hope he never outgrows that, but I know he will. After giving it to me, he told me he loved my hair put up but thought it would be prettier with more ponytails. He ran and grabbed more colorful rubber bands and asked me to put them on in the places he pointed to. "I want a pink one ... there. I want the blue one ... there." He looked at me when I'd finished a...
Read more

a startling lesson

-
Okay, so I got a sex ed lesson this week from my almost 5-year-old. I know at this age kids are extremely interested in their bodies and the differences in them and the opposite sex. I think with boys...they are from birth to the grave....but I digress. He called me into the bathroom and said, "hey mom....um you know my hump?" (He calls his nads his hump, and I've never told him any other term) I nodded my head. He asked, "do you know it's a bucket of skin that holds my pee?" I raised my eyebrows and said, "No, I didn't know that." Okay...at this point I'm not going to correct him. I'm just gonna let him figure some stuff out on his own until "THE" talk comes at a later date. He got excited and kept going, " And you know what? " "What?" "When I'm older...I'll have hair on it too!" I almost fell to the floor at this one! "Ooooh really? Where did you hear that?" ...
Read more

Facing Redemption

-
The sequel to Finding Kylie is called Facing Redemption. I'm twelve chapters in and am so ready to finish. When writing Finding Kylie, I would dream of different scenes or character traits and wake up, knowing what direction I needed to head with my next chapter. So far with this book, I've not dreamt as much at night but can't stop daydreaming. I need to pull my head out of the clouds and focus on my own life a little more. Lately, it seems all I eat, drink, and sometimes sleep is this sequel. I think mostly because every time I turn around I've been getting emails, phone calls, and questions from readers of 'Finding Kylie' wanting to know 'when the next book will be out.' It's exciting to know they've fallen in love with my characters so much that they're chomping at the bit to have closure on some of the things I've left open-ended with the first book. It means I'm making a difference with my writing. I've impacted ...
Read more