DNF Review – The Pages of Her Life by James L. Rubart (2/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Religious/Contemporary Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: May 21, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-0718099428
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 2/5 stars

“Allison Moore is making it. Barely. The Seattle area architecture firm she started with her best friend is struggling, but at least they’re free from the games played by the corporate world. She’s gotten over her divorce. And while her dad’s recent passing is tough, their relationship had never been easy.

Then the bomb drops. Her dad had a secret life and left her mom in massive debt.

As Allison scrambles to help her mom find a way out, she’s given a journal, anonymously, during a visit to her favorite coffee shop. As the pressure to rescue her mom mounts, Allison pours her fears and heartache into the journal.

But then the unexplainable happens. The words in the journal, her words, begin to disappear. And new ones fill the empty spaces—words that force her to look at everything she knows about herself in a new light.

Ignoring those words could cost her everything . . . but so could embracing them.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I received an ARC through Amazon Vine for review.

Story (2/5): I feel a bit hoodwinked here, I didn’t realize this was a Christian fiction book. I got this through Amazon Vine to review and from the description it sounded like an intriguing magical realism book. After more research I realize that Rubart is a big Christian fiction author and that this was done under the Thomas Nelson imprint, my bad for not doing more research ahead of time.

Anyway, the story involves a woman named Alison Moore who is trying to get her own architecture firm off the ground but is just barely making it. When she finds out her father died, leaving her mother in massive debt Allison is desperate to help out. When she is offered partner at a big architecture firm she thinks her prayers have literally been answered, but this change will involve leaving her best friend running their architecture firm alone. She’s not sure what to do and hopes God will answer her prayers and help her to find the right path.

While I don’t mind religious context in my books, I always think it’s a bit silly to expect someone else (be they a deity or otherwise) to make your decisions for you. I realized about 60 pages in this was not a book for me.

Characters (1/5): I didn’t like any of the characters here. Shortly into the book characters are praying for God to let them know whether or not they should accept a new job or if they should let down a friend. I absolutely hate it when characters try to force their decisions on someone or something else…so lame. Allison comes off as incompetent and needy, her best friend is selfish and whiny, and the guy who offers her the partnership was creepy.

There is also some weird stuff going on in here. For example, when the main character is offered a position as a partner in an architectural firm she asks to talk to the other owner’s wife to make sure that his wife is okay with her being this guy’s business partner…uh what?? That is creepy and wrong in so many ways and implies all of the characters are a bit shady. Business is business and I can’t ever imagine asking to talk to some dude’s wife at work to make sure she’s okay with me working with him…so creepy.

Setting (3/5): This is set in a modern city, pretty forgettable setting. I didn’t read enough of the book to really care.

Writing Style (2/5): I guess the writing was fine. I was too distracted by all the religious strangeness to really notice anything wrong with it.

Summary (2/5): Overall this book was really, really not for me. If you are really into Christian fiction where characters are constantly asking God to make their day to day decisions for them this book might be for you. I personally found the whole thing, along with some of the odd scenes, really distasteful and decided to stop reading it.