I feel that I must warn readers, that if you want a feel good Christmas story filled with joy and a picture perfect family, this is not the book for you. However this book is for everyone who has ever thought that temptation would never catch up to them. It lurks in our darkest places, waiting to come out. Adultery is an ugly word and is surrounded by devastation. The author pulls no punches in this book. She is upfront and transparent with her characters. I had a very hard time reading this book without having to wipe tears away. To say this book hit home, is an understatement.

My dad was a baptist preacher and the one thing I always thought was he treated my mom like a queen. Little did I know that secrets were there that would one day destroy everything in my thinking of pastors. A pastor is someone who is held to a higher standard and when that trust is broken, the devastation is painful. I related to this book because of two things. It talked about pastors and their families and adultery that can happen in any home.

Emily was a good character and I loved how she had a passion for children. I liked the work she did with them and the relationship she was able to build with them. Everyone around her thought she had the perfect life. She was married to a wonderful man who was very respected in the church. He counseled couples, mentored people and lead classes in the church. Temptation is a hard thing to resist and even the most goodly person can fall prey to it.

Through a series of events that the author so brilliantly wrote, we find out that Sean had committed adultery early in his marriage. I think he thought that as long as he could hide it from his wife, he could keep his guilt hidden. God always has a way to bring deceit to the surface. Emily is shocked, hurt and angry when the truth is revealed. I know how hard it is to trust someone after they have shattered your hope. I liked how the author took Emily and Sean through the emotions of sin and shared how the most important thing is to forgive. We all have choices and Emily wanted to listen to God, but it became difficult when she became tempted as well.

There were many people who wanted to give their opinion about the situation, but some of it was judgmental and hurtful. A sin is a sin. One sin is no bigger than another. In the story we meet another couple that is dealing with adultery as well. I’m not surprised at the anger the wife had, but I was a bit upset that she kept trying to belittle Sean and convince Emily to divorce him.

This is a very powerful story that details the destruction adultery can bring . The children in the story broke my heart. Joey is someone that I wanted to hug and assure him that nothing was his fault. He is loved and wanted and the author expresses that through characters with grace and beauty. Our actions always have consequences when they disobey God’s Word. Sometimes we forget our families, especially the children suffer along with us. I did mention that this story hit home. My dad, the preacher had a daughter no one knew about . Suddenly she showed up when I was twelve. The pain was overwhelming. It all made sense to me why I was shunned by my parents. The secret they kept caused me to know I wasn’t ever wanted. They made sure everyday I knew. That little hurt girl never forgot the betrayal she felt from her father. I am thankful for an author that writes stories that talk about issues many people face. No one is immune to temptation. The important thing is how we handle the confession of sin.

“Only follow your heart if the lord is guiding it”

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. ( )

This is a hard book to enjoy since it is about such a hard topic. I don’t know how I would handle if I found out my husband cheated on me at any time. This is well done but very sad all around. I know that I liked the ending but I didn’t if you can understand my thinking. This is not a light hearted Christmas story. I found it hard to put down. I received an ebook copy of this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will. ( )