Book: This Side of Heaven

I read another book lately (big surprise I know!) by an author that I hadn't heard of until recently. I'm quite happy to finally have a chance to read this one since the things I'd been hearing were rave reviews.

Hachette Book Group was kind enough to send me a copy of This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsbury. Here's what the back cover says:

No one believed he had a daughter he’d never met . . . No one listened when she cried for the daddy she didn’t know . . . Now, in the ashes of tragedy, lies a vindication neither could’ve imagined.

Annie Warren always wanted the best for her son, Josh. But years of failure and bad choices created a heartbreaking distance that has grown far worse since the day Josh was hit by a drunk driver.

Now on medical disability, Josh has put his life on hold for years, waiting for the insurance company to send a settlement that never seems to come. Worse, he believes the story of a scheming woman who claims they have a seven-year-old daughter named Savannah.

Despite the unlikelihood and complete lack of evidence, Josh dreams of being a father and is determined to one day claim the child. His family doesn't know the full story. They don't know what happened the night of the accident that was worth the chronic pain Josh suffers every waking minute, or that he is turning his life around. They haven't seen that Savannah's eyes are his, and they don't know how desperately the little girl needs her family.

When the settlement that rightly belongs to Josh is threatened, Annie sets out to defend her son. But she might find a treasure more valuable than money, one she never expected, one that is the greatest gift her son could ever give her--THIS SIDE OF HEAVEN.

A story of family secrets, broken relationships, and a love strong enough to span an ocean – this side of heaven.

***

Let me just give you a fair warning. I cried through a good half of this book. You'll have to know that I do cry if a book is sad, but not usually for more than a few pages. This one was definitely tugging on my heart strings. And I won't tell you the story, but the character of Josh is actually based on Karen's brother. Wow.

I'm going to be looking for more of Kingsbury's books to read in the future. I thought it was very well written... I couldn't put it down! I finished it in just under 3 hours. That's a good read for me!