Kat Davies is suddenly wondering if her good deed was a bad idea.
Kat may be new in her faith, but she’s embraced the more radical implications of Christianity with reckless abandon. She invited Rochelle—a homeless mother—and her son to move in the apartment she shares with two other housemates. And she’s finally found a practical way to channel her passion for healthy eating by starting a food pantry at the church.
Her feelings for Nick are getting harder to ignore. The fact that he’s the interning pastor at SouledOut Community Church and one of her housemates makes it complicated enough. But with Rochelle showing interest in Nick as a father-figure for her son, their apartment is feeling way too small.
But not everyone thinks the food pantry is a good idea. When the woman she thought would be her biggest supporter just wants to “pray about it,” Kat is forced to look deeper at her own motives. Only when she begins to look past the surface does she see people who are hungry and thirsty for more than just food and drink and realizes the deeper significance of inviting them to “come to the table.”
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The second book in the SouledOut Sisters series, this book started off with previously introduced characters. On some occasions Jackson over explained people and situations (it felt like the narrator was interrupting herself to give background information). At other places, however, I felt like I needed to read the first book. The most glaring example, for me, was Kat – I really didn’t like her. It was hard to get into the story because she came across as immature and self-centered. Maybe she wasn’t that way in the first book? It would have been nice to see some of her more redeeming qualities early in the novel.
I found myself skimming a lot – chapters, even – without it hurting my understanding of the story. The characters think a lot and converse very little. The largest sections of dialogue were sermons, which I skimmed. I kept looking for something to change or something new to happen, but it didn’t. Kat started the story with two problems (feeding people and Nick) and the book ended when she figured them out. There weren’t any surprises or road blocks to figuring out those problems – just lots of thinking about it and related sermons.
If you enjoy reflective stories with less action and more internal monologue, this is a book for you.
*I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
OUCH! Sorry it wasn’t your cup of tea, Karin. But thanks for your willingness to take a peek.