I went into reading this book not knowing anything about the author or what this story was about. I was simply drawn to the title and just started to read.
*spoiler alert*
Please do not read on if you do not want to know what this story is about. I won't be giving a summary, but more so touch base on certain points of the books that confused me or I found very intriguing.
There may be some subject matter in here that may seem offensive, disturbing, or uncomfortable, so please do not read further if you are sensitive to certain subjects (rape, kidnapping, religion, etc.)
What captured me in the story was the very first chapter where it dates back to 19 years when a young girl, named Ruth, was found after being held from a kidnapping of 4 years and is helped and watched by a young military man John. Right then I was intrigued by what could have possibly happened during this girl's kidnapping and how would her relationship develop with John.
Then the next chapter takes a different route of the same woman Ruth, who changed her name to Charlotte, and an exchange about coins to man named Bryce.
This part of the story then began to be a bit confusing to me and I go caught in confusion for a bit. The story joins the two main characers by the buying and selling of rare coins. Since I don't know much about coin collecting or the amount of money that is involved in it, the scale of it was a bit overwhelming. Then there was a sudden introduction of a few other characters that got me lost in the beginning trying to remember who was who and what purpose they would serve later on. About a quarter way through into the book, I began to connect the characters a story a little better and didn't feel as lost as I did in the beginning. I do believe it was necessary to create a back story for connecting everything together (characters, coins, Fred's property and estate, etc) in order to get the story to where it needed to be in the finale.
Sorry if the above part seems confusing, but now I will begin to talk about the different aspects of the book that held my attention or I had questions about.
Religion:
Not knowing anything about the author or publisher, I did not know or think this would be a Christian, or religious book. Then I noticed how in tune with God and prayer was to the main character Bryce. Not only him but it spread to his friends as well. They have such faith in God and it is what helped Bryce get through his relationship with Charlotte and her situation. Charlotte on the otherhand lost almost complete faith in God due to her kidnapping and its hard to blame her for that, however, she does have her faith restored at the end when her captor is caught and it is refreshing to see her almost enlightened again. Though I am a Catholic, I did feel that religion was pushed a bit too much in this story and sometimes I felt it didn't go well with parts of the story, almost as if was just there to make space. But since this is a Christian novel, it wouldn't seem out of place--I think that because I was going into it not even knowing it was a Christian novel threw me off guard, but overall, I do like the message that God will eventually answer your prayers no matter how unlikely you think it would happen or how bad a situation is.
Kidnapping:
I really want to know more about the kidnapping and what else may have happened to Charlotte during those 4 years and what she went through. She mentioned she was drunk a lot and at times couldn't remember what happened (probably due to being drugged or something) so it is more than likely she was also repeatedly raped and/or beat or both which is probably why she flinches at touches and doesn't like being surprised. She never intended to marry and had only kissed one man, John, before she had with Bryce. I wanted to see more into her mind of that situation and how she was able to progress on with life. I also wanted to see more of how John helped her with the aftermath.
Christopher:
The story behind the 3rd captor, Christopher, I felt wasn't as complete as it should be. I want to know more of his backstory with her twin sister Tabitha and how he was a two-faced character. His chase scene that eventually led to his capture in the end I also felt wasn't as complete. Yes it does indeed get to the point, but I do feel like it was a bit rushed especially with the many elipses during that time. He is a very shady characer which I wish the author could go more into detail with, especailly with connecting the Baby Connor case, but since it was a story from the point of view of both Charlotte and Bryce, and some from the minor characters, it is impossible to know what was going on inside Christopher's mind at that time and his habit of kidnapping children.
Ellie:
Ellie is Charlotte's best friend and has had a harder life than Charlotte, but we never know why or the extent of it. I feel like the author leaves us hanging without going into even the slightest inkling of what could have happened to her and it still leaves me wondering what the author has in mind as what is worse than what happened to Charlotte. I wanted to see more of the relationship between her and John and the dynamic of John and Ellie and Charlotte all together. Initially, I thought the story would go with John and Charlotte being together but of course it didn't with the introduction of Bryce. I also wanted to know more about Ann and Paul and Ann's 8 day kidnapping as well, but both Ellie and Ann's past isn't touched so we are left to wonder what happened to them and how they had survived.
Marriage:
The notion of marriage in this novel was also a bit weird to me, because all the characters seemed to have thought marriage would be an answer to Charlotte's situation. The thought of marriage to eventually procreate and have children of your own seems to be almost tossed out because of Charlotte' situation and how she could possibly never be that intimate with Bryce. However, being a Christian novel, the subject of sex also doesn't show up, but there is tension in the story with Bryce, being a man, and though a faithful and respectful man, had temptations to kiss her a lot, but that's as sexual as a Christian novel would go. In the end, marriage without love became a marriage with love so overall, it was a happy union supported by everyone.
If this wasn't more of a Christian novel, I would want to see a more graphic version of the story, because many subjects, such as rape and kidnapping or what happens during such a time can be hard and difficult to write about and sometimes even taboo because of the subject matter. I'd also like to see more of the relationship between Bryce and Charlotte develop and the possibilty of them even having children one day.
This book was a little longer than I thought but the length was necessary to go through the plot and development of the story and the characters. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is interested in a good detailed story of the meeting of two distinct characters. Even if you aren't Christian, the story of with the coins and fortune and background of Charlotte will keep you intrigued and wanting to know more.
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