Two Weeks: A Novel (Baxter Family Book 5)

My wife has followed Karen Kingsbury from the beginning. She enjoys her stories but I don't enjoy the price. Come on $13.99 for an e book get real.

First, I am a Christian - a Catholic Christian - so it is not like I am an atheist or agnostic. But, I do not enjoy reading fiction that mentions each character's religious beliefs nonstop; forces the reader to listen to many, many prayers said aloud which does get tedious; and continues this theme on every single page throughout the entire book. I know no one who announces that they are a Christian every chance they get. But, boy oh boy, is this author shoving her version of Christianity down her readers' throats. I personally am against the destruction of a human through the act of abortion. However, I felt this poor, scared girl was browbeaten by these people. Give the girl a chance to think through what she wants to do because there is one thing this fictional, Christian book seems to forget and that is the concept of "free will." We all have it and no one is perfect in using it. I did not finish the book. I gave up about a third of the way through because I lost interest. I wish the description mentioned that this was an Evangelical author who believes it is her mission to "spread the good news" because we have already heard the news since it is 2019 and all. Plus, it was wrong to "trick" us into thinking this was a fictional book about the hard decisions concerning unexpected pregnancy, abortion, and adoption. This was about proselytizing the author's faith to those she feels is missing something and/or writing a book for Christians that already believe as she does. I feel I was duped by the description of this book. Please, at least put a fish symbol on your books so we know what to expect before purchasing. I never buy books in this genre, fiction or nonfiction.

I liked Cole's story. I loved Viennas parents role. I liked several of the regular Baxter family characters as well. I felt a bit disappointed in Ashley's character though. She appeared as a bit judgemental at times in the book when she had been in a similar situation. I did not like the part where she in her mind started comparing Carolyn to Elise. It was a turn off and I saw that character in a new light. It was obvious who the book was based on and felt lots of wasted space with all the dedications and review of characters. Could have hyperlinked in the electronic edition somehow. Books are getting thicker with less of the story in them promotional for other books, career and people are paying more. Probably my last Karen book . I retired and will not be able to afford these. You come to a point where it is wants vs needs. I dont need

I want to preface this review by saying that I know this is fiction and it is not supposed to be exactly realistic, but I just had some serious problems with the story.This review may contain spoilers!!!I was drawn to read this book because of the way I could relate to many issues addressed in the book in my own personal life. I grew up in a family with adopted children who were adopted from birth, so I figured this book would be a sweet story that reflected my own. I did enjoy the parts about adoption and the adoption journey.While I really enjoyed the story line, and read almost the entire book in two days, I had some major issues with some of the elements addressed in the book.I work full-time in medical pregnancy resource ministry and I was looking forward to the way our work would be portrayed in this book. However, I was disappointed. As a nation, we have stopped using the term "crisis pregnancy" as it has many people such a bad taste for us. I was disappointed to see that the updated terms were not used. Along these same lines, the first time she visits the Elise visits the clinic, she sees her baby who, if I am not mistaken is 12 weeks gestational age. She then leaves the clinic and rationalizes that "it's just a clump of cells." While this is often a line used by pro-life media to portray how pro-abortion people see unborn babies, this is just unrealistic. In all my years in this ministry, I have NEVER heard of a mother who was considering abortion saying or even thinking such a thing after seen an ultrasound that far along. Only a few times have I ever heard of a mother being detached in this way from her baby after an ultrasound, and only in cases where the ultrasound was too early, and the baby not clearly seen. That just did not hold up for me.Okay here is the spoiler. The biggest factor that caused me to put the book down and not pick it back up, was when Vienna died in the car accident. Again, I unfortunately relate to a lot of elements in this story. When I was 20 years old, my 26 year old brother was killed in a car accident. I watched my parents (very strong believers, active for decades in the church, and real, authentic Christ followers) grieve and be absolutely broken by the untimely death of their first born. While everyone's story is different, I just did not see the parents' reaction to be even slightly relatable. I won't go into a ton of detail, but their reaction just didn't seem to be representational of what actually happens in a time of trauma like that.I absolutely love the message of this book, and I would even recommend it. BUT, I would caution readers not to take every element to be how these events would unfold in real life.

Loved the compassion and empathy of this story. Yet the realness of how Ashley felt about Elise stealing Cole's future.

A page turner if ever there was one. Cole and Elise are likeable characters thrown into a tale of unwanted pregnancy. Would recommend

Love it