Deb’s Dozen: 12-Word Summaries
Discovering dreams, fearsome fiancé, finding forgiveness, helping the homeless, a God-given love.

Ainsley Meadows is looking for love and stability. She believes she’s found these things in Richard, her fiancé. However, she is troubled as Richard seems to become more and more controlling – telling her what she will do instead of asking. In fact, Richard seems opposed to those things Ainsley holds dear. At the same time that she is questioning her relationship with Richard, she is having difficulty dealing with her mom, a dysfunctional parent who goes from one man to another with great abandon. Ainsley must discover who she is, what her dreams are, and that there is so much more to a marriage beyond, “I do.”

Ainsley struck a chord with me emotionally. She is very believable and wants very much to do the “right” things. Richard, on the other hand, is from the beginning a louse. I kept wondering why Ainsley couldn’t see through him, but then acknowledged that I’ve been in relationships where I’ve not been able to see the forest for the trees, too. How Ainsley works through her relationship with Richard, with her mom, and with God is the stuff of real life. Will Ainsley follow her heart, her dreams, and her God, or will she choose security over love. You’ll enjoy Ainsley’s story – you’ll want to shake her at times, and at others you’ll find her journey all too familiar. Beyond I Do is a 4-Star book – you’ll enjoy reading her story.

Beyond I Do is Jennifer Slattery’s debut novel written to encourage people to go beyond their comfort zones to help the impoverished, addicted, at-risk, and broken. While these themes are prevalent in the book, the characters carry the novel. Jennifer has a fulfilling career ahead as a novelist as well as her ministry efforts in her local community. Anyone who “enjoys, long, leisurely strolls with her husband, mall-dates with her daughter, and chatting with her girlfriends over hot, flavored milk with a hint of coffee” is someone I look forward to hearing from again. Jennifer definitely lives her life “out loud.”

I was given a complimentary copy of Beyond I Do by New Hope Publishing for my unbiased review.