Two Weeks by Karen Kingsbury
Published by Howard Books on April 2, 2019
Pages: 352
Format: ARC, eBook
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Cole Blake, son of Landon and Ashley Baxter Blake, is months away from going off to college and taking the first steps towards his dream—a career in medicine. But as he starts his final semester of high school he meets Elise, a mysterious new girl who captures his attention—and heart—from day one.
Elise has her heart set on mending her wild ways and rediscovering the good girl she used to be. But not long after the semester starts, she discovers she’s pregnant. Eighteen and alone, she shares her secret with Cole. Undaunted by the news, and in love for the first time in his life, Cole is determined to support Elise—even if it means skipping college, marrying her, and raising another man’s baby.
When Elise decides to place her baby up for adoption, she is matched with Aaron and Lucy Williams, who moved to Bloomington, Indiana to escape seven painful years of infertility.
But as Elise’s due date draws near, she becomes focused on one truth: she has two weeks to change her mind about the adoption. With Cole keeping vigil and Lucy and Aaron waiting to welcome their new baby, Elise makes an unexpected decision—one that changes everyone’s plans.
Tender and deeply moving, Two Weeks is a story about love, faith, and what it really means to be a family.
I’ve read so many Karen Kingsbury books I can’t even begin to count, but I don’t usually receive them to read and review as part of my blog, so when I saw today’s book, Two Weeks, available on NetGalley, I requested it and was approved. Although this is book 5 in the Baxter Family series, the book definitely served as a total standalone. I had not read books 1 though 4, although I’m pretty sure I will be going back to catch them.
Two Weeks is the story of Cole Blake, Ashley Baxter’s son and how he is ready and anxiously waiting to leave home so he can attend college in order to pursue a career in medicine. He’s got his life all planned out – college and medical school at Liberty, while playing baseball and then back to work with his grandfather. He is in his final semester of high school when he meets Elise. He can’t think of anything else except her – heart and mind, he’s invested “all in”.
The bad news is that Elise has baggage – she’s pregnant by her ex-boyfriend who is also abusive and she’s just not sure what she’s going to do about it – is she going to let the baby live and raise it, let the baby be adopted out, or just get an abortion. Cole watches Elise as she struggles with her decisions to be made and he really wants to help her, even if that means giving up his own dream and marrying her to raise another man’s child. Cole is determined to stand by Elise no matter what she decides to do about the baby.
Then there’s Lucy and Aaron who have unsuccessfully tried to get pregnant or adopt for ten years without results. They’ve struggled through the heartbreak of it but Aaron knows that God has His own timing and they will eventually have a baby of their own. Lucy, though, finds her faith wavering.
Finally, there’s Theo and Alma Brown were previously foster parents until they had their own beautiful daughter, Vienna. Now that Vienna is growing up, she thinks that her parents should go back to fostering kids.
I’ll admit I was a little confused by the different points of view in this story and how they were going to fit together. Two Weeks totally pulls readers in from the beginning and keeps us on an emotional journey all the way throughout the book. The characters are very well written and the story itself is very well developed. I always enjoy reading Karen Kingsbury books because the storylines are legit and current in today’s news.
Karen Kingsbury, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists and many of her novels are under development with Hallmark Films and as major motion pictures.
Her Baxter Family books are being developed into a TV series slated for major network viewing sometime in the next year. Karen is also an adjunct professor of writing at Liberty University. In 2001 she and her husband, Don, adopted three boys from Haiti, doubling their family in a matter of months. Today the couple has joined the ranks of empty nesters, living in Tennessee near five of their adult children.
Connect with Karen on social media ~~
WEBSITE // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // INSTAGRAM // GOODREADS
I received an advanced readers digital copy of this book from NetGalley and Howard Books in exchange for my honest review and unbiased opinion. Thanks NetGalley and Howard Books!!
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