Monday, September 19, 2022

SONGS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN by Amanda Wen, Reviewed by Rebecca Maney


"Can someone tell me please . . . what's happened to Ephraim?"

A desperate plea from a lovely woman whose mind is routinely losing and confusing vital information from her past. Her granddaughter feels completely helpless, who exactly is Ephraim? It's certainly not her grandfather.

Helping solve the mystery of Ephraim is not food blogger and photographer Lauren Anderson's only new project, she also has to figure out what to do about Carter Anderson. The chances of them literally running into each other were . . .  well, it was bound to happen sooner or later . . . after all, he was back in Wichita. "How many times had she dreamed of this moment? But all those empty promises, those pretty but meaningless words, had left deep wounds."

Taking second chances to an entirely new level, this story deep dives into the reasons that two couples, decades apart, lost their first chance to begin with. Not afraid to approach hard topics, the author gracefully and tenderly speaks the truth with love, treating broken hearts and aged minds with the care they deserve, allowing Lauren and Carter to discover on their own that God's grace is stronger and more reliable than any effort they can muster on their own. The "songs that could have been" still play a tune of love. . . after all this time . . . especially after all this time.

Wonderful book!
*I purchased this book and was under no obligation to provide a positive review.
 
 
 BackCover Blurb:

Two couples in love. Two sets of impossible circumstances. One powerful God of grace.

After a devastating tailspin in her late teens, Lauren Anderson’s life is finally back on track. Then a chance meeting with Carter Douglas, her first love and the man who broke her heart, threatens to throw her well-balanced world out of control.

Now a TV meteorologist, Carter is determined to make amends with Lauren. After all, she still owns his heart. But his old demons are forcing him toward the same decision he faced in the past. Is he courageous enough to make a different choice this time around?

When Lauren’s elderly grandmother, Rosie, begins having nightmares about a man named Ephraim--a name her family has never heard before—a fascinating and forbidden past love comes to light. As Lauren and Carter work to uncover the untold stories of Rosie’s past in 1950s Wichita, they embark on a journey of forgiveness and second chances that will change their lives—and Rosie’s—forever. Along the way they’ll learn that God wastes nothing, his timing is perfect, and nothing is beyond his grace and redemption.

 

Kregel Publications, June, 2022
Available in digital ebook,  paperback, hardcover, or audiobook
Buy SONGS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN at Amazon, Christianbook .com, or Baker Book House

 


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