Bethany Pierce

Amy Inspired is not your typical Christian fiction novel. So many of them slap you in the face with a sermon. This does not. I think that is what I really liked about the book. Amy, the main character is full of flaws. She proclaims she is a Christian, yet she makes the same realistic mistakes that many Christians make. That doesn’t make her less a Christian, just more realistic.

Amy is an aspiring writer. To live she accepts a teaching job at the university. Her writing passion shines as she teaches her students the finer points of writing. Unfortunately she is amassing a stack of rejection letters for her own writing. Feelings of happiness and jealousy rage as her friend and roommate Zoe gets an article published in a national magazine. Then Zoe lets a friend move in with them until he can find a job. Amy is attracted to Eli Moretti. He is everything that she has never wanted in a man. Eli is a tattooed, scruffy looking, an artist that lives life more freely than Amy has ever dared. It is exactly this type of man that helps put things in perspective for Amy. He causes her to question things.

There was so much I could identify to in this story. I like Amy make lists and have stacks of post it notes. My family teases me about my lists for my lists. I often feel I do a better job inspiring my students in their writing than I do in my own. I loved the way the author showed the human side of Amy. Things like jealousy, dealing with death, and family issues were handled in such a realistic way that anyone reading this could find something to relate to. This was the first book I had read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will definitely recommend it to my friends both Christian and non-Christian.… (más)

I’ll be honest: I started out hating this book. Of all the books on my pile to read (particularly those I needed to review) this was one I looked forward to the least. And once I started to read it, I had to keep forcing myself to read “just another page”. When I finally realized that it had been five hours and I hadn’t had to remind myself that I was reading this for review, I also realized that my opinion of the book- of the characters, the plot, the entire content- had undergone a subtle one-eighty. And yes, I know that’s something of an oxymoron.
But accurate. I’m unable to tell you at what point, exactly, my opinion shifted. I don’t know if it was when Lonnie started becoming Amy’s stalker, or when her mother’s wedding neuroses started to become more annoying than amusing. Or maybe it was at the Happy Publication Birthday Party when Amber was safeguarding Eli’s “honor” for Jillian. Maybe it wasn’t until Amy sprained her ankle (which, actually, I found hilarious, because I’ve been there.). I just know that this book made me laugh. It made me think, and it made me feel as though Bethany Pierce had come across some of my old journals and notebooks of lists at an estate sale, because this book was about me (no, not literally).
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and have since gotten it on Kindle, where I’ve added it to my “Favorites” collection. This book was surprisingly real; something I’ve come to realize is all too rare in faith-based fiction, where the miracles God does are ever so obvious. Amy’s story was one of everyday miracles- the ones we’re sometimes too busy to notice, but that are no less real for it. God is the same kind of author Amy strove to be- the one whose writing is there, whether it’s appreciated or not. Ms. Pierce has done a fabulous job of bringing miracles into real life.… (más)

I received this book very early on in participation in LT's Early Reviewer program. Unfortunately, it took me this long to read and review because I just could not get into the book. I would pick it up, read a few pages, set it down and forget it. I finally buckled down to read the entire novel, but I just never felt pulled in by the characters. Amy is a writer, struggling to get published, and the book touches on all aspects of her life - her roommate, her co-worker, her job she sort of, but not really, enjoys, her disappointments. I just couldn't make myself care about Amy. Her roommate, Zoe, seems more developed and interesting. After reading through the entire novel, I found that, upon finishing, it was a so-so read, somewhat enjoyable, but not a book I've given a single thought to since.… (más)