My Hope Next Door

Tammy L. Gray is a must read author for me. Powerful storytelling and exquisite characterisation mark her stories and My Hope Next Door doesn't buck the trend. I soaked up the authentic challenges that Katie and Asher experienced in their journey towards God and each other. Loved the authenticity behind Katie's ongoing struggles despite her newfound faith in the Lord and her desire to change her life. Was really moved by her character arc and the barriers she continued to put up as she lived with the consequences of her past choices. While Asher captured my heart with his sacrificial love and genuine love for Katie, even the petulant antagonist, Cooper, held complexities with Tammy balancing his bad guy persona by exposing his vulnerabilities, making him a genuine and believable character. People aren't usually all good or all bad and it was refreshing to have Tammy highlight this across all her characters. Don't be fooled by the cute cover - My Hope Next Door is a beautiful, detailed story of hearts broken by pain and people, made new by faith, hope and love. \\r\\n

Katie Stone escaped her home town of Fairfield four years ago and has felt guilty ever since. Now her dad needs help with her mother, so she's home again. Reluctantly. Very reluctantly. But she's changed: she's no longer the drug addict who spends more time with her boyfriend than with her family. She's become a Christian . . . as if anyone in Fairfield is going to believe that. \\r\\n\\r\\nOnce home, she finds her new next door neighbour is Asher Powell. Asher, pastor's son and town good boy, the guy she teased for being so boring all through high school. And she finds her dad's new best friend is her ex-boyfriend, the person she's least in interested in spending time with. Oops. \\r\\n\\r\\nAsher has his own issues with the church and mistakes and judgement. It's not that he's given up on God. Just the church his dad pastors, the church he's attended all his life. \\r\\n\\r\\nMy Hope Next Door was one of the best Christian novels I've read this year. It had a clear Christian message-a message it delivers as much to the people in the church as outside. \\r\\n\\r\\nThanks to Waterfall Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.