Monday, November 9, 2020

About the Book

Book: Matching Points

Author: Nancy J. Farrier

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 9, 2020

Matching-Points-Kindle She doesn’t hold his past against him…can he forgive hers?

Fresh out of prison, Asia Jessup wishes she could change her past and maybe her future. She has no family and no one to turn to. All she has is her newfound faith. She returns to the town where she spent a couple of idyllic summers to find family she didn’t know she had. Her devastating secret won’t bring a joyful reunion. Will it destroy her last hope?

Ian Kittridge has his own thriving restaurant, is a respected business owner, and is active in his community. Thanks to a teenage Asia’s empathy one summer he’d been pulled back from the brink of ruining his life and ending up like his father—a murderer. He is working hard to eradicate the past and rise above the murmurs of “like father, like son.”

When Ian runs into Asia he can’t believe she’s returned to their coastal California town. Although he’s eager to reconnect, he isn’t looking for a serious relationship—he can’t take the chance of becoming his father. Asia is wary of Ian’s friendship because of her shameful past and the sins of her mother and father. As Asia’s secrets quake the family she hoped to find, can she and Ian find their way through the storm, to a peaceful resolution, and look toward the future?

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MY REVIEW

This is one of those books that you can’t put down until the very last word has been read. It is an emotional roller coaster experience and surprises throughout the story. I loved how the author develops her characters and allows readers to slowly become acquainted with them.

Asia was my favorite character and I could easily relate to her. She longed for a family and had hopes that someday she would find that with someone. It is hard to life in a dysfunctional family but I really admired how Asia did something for her mother that to me was a true sacrifice. Her decision one day leads her to prison and a world she never thought she would experience.

When Asia shows up in the town where she spent summers she had a mission to find answers about her past. This is where the story really delves into an emotional journey for several people. Asia is hiding her past from those who have welcomed her home. She knows there are still rumors going on about her mother. Oh how I cried when words were spoken to Asia that cut to the core. She is nothing like her mother but several people like nothing better than to treat her disrespectfully.

Ian has has his share of pain growing up. The crime his father commits is unthinkable. Ian is so fearful that he will turn out like his father that he decides not to get close to anyone. A relationship scares him but when he sees Asia for the first time after her being gone maybe there is hope. I loved how Ian turned to God to help him make wise decisions and learn to trust Him with everything.

I thought the author did a great job of describing quilting and all the work that goes into making a heirloom to cherish. There are a few funny moments with Ian and Asia in the class that lightened the story up a little. As I read the book I soon became aware that secrets floated around and I knew that someone was going to get hurt. Asia has come back to find her father, but will her past cause a falling out from people she has grown to care about? Can Ian move forward and allow God to heal him and show him that he is loved? Both Ian and Asia will find themselves face to face with their past. How will they handle their emotions when secrets come out that will shock some and give closure to others? I enjoyed the story very much and loved how the author let us see what happens when we try to hide our past. Pride plays a factor in the story as well as judging others. The ending is beautiful and I loved the message of forgiveness . Secrets always have a way of coming out. If we can learn to trust God, He will show us the right direction and guide us to “let go and let God.”

“When you withhold who you are, you are carrying the load and not allowing Him to work.”

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

About the Author

nancy-farrier-HR-4 Nancy J Farrier is a best-selling, award winning author of over twenty-five books. Nancy has written both historical and contemporary fiction, as well as nonfiction for the Christian market. Her Southwest fiction is filled with characters who face real life issues, which she hopes will encourage her readers. Nancy lives in Arizona in the Sonoran Desert and loves the sunshine and most of the time enjoys the heat. She lives with her husband or thirty-seven years, four cats, and dog. Nancy enjoys early morning hikes, spending time with her family, reading, and going to church.

More from Nancy

From the moment I first pictured Asia standing across from that quilt shop, I knew I had to tell her story. She carried so much emotional baggage and such longing, but I didn’t know why. Going on that journey to find where she’d come from and why she was here at this place, in this moment, was such a rollercoaster ride.

Exploring the theme of family and how our families impact our past proved both exhilarating and painful. I remember hearing a man say he couldn’t help being the way he was because of his father’s influence. That man was a Christian. My first thought was that he has a new Father and he is to be like Christ. Like God.

This is why both Ian and Asia struggle with the concept of having a parent they were compared to in an unflattering light. Ian couldn’t change what his father did, he could only make his own choices and be a different person. To be like Father, like son. Asia, too, had people assume she would be her mother’s daughter, but she wasn’t. Her choice was to live a different life, despite pressure to be as immoral as her mother.

Our choices are what make us who we are. How we choose to live. How we choose to forgive. How we choose to love. And Who we choose to love and follow.

Exploring these themes in Matching Points kept me on my toes. Seeing Asia and Ian work out their choices and their journey proved exhilarating. I hope my readers find encouragement in the pages of this book and the lives of the characters.