Sunday 29 September 2013

Review: Kicking Eternity by Ann Lee Miller

Stuck in sleepy New Smyrna Beach one last summer, Raine socks away her camp pay checks, worries about her druggy brother, and ignores trouble: Cal Koomer. She’s a plane ticket away from teaching orphans in Africa, and not even Cal’s surfer six-pack and the chinks she spies in his rebel armor will derail her.
The artist in Cal begs to paint Raine’s ivory skin, high cheek bones, and internal sparklers behind her eyes, but falling for her would caterwaul him into his parents’ life. No thanks. The girl was self-righteous waiting to happen. Mom served sanctimony like vegetables, three servings a day, and he had a gut full.
Rec Director Drew taunts her with “Rainey” and calls her an enabler. He is so infernally there like a horsefly—till he buzzes back to his ex.
Raine’s brother tweaks. Her dream of Africa dies small deaths. Will she figure out what to fight for and what to free before it’s too late?
For anyone who’s ever wrestled with her dreams.


Kindle Edition, 318 pages
Published May 10th 2012 by Amazon Digital Services 
Genre: Christian fiction/ romance/ young adult
 
Kristine's Review: 
 
This book is a christian fiction book through and through which I am not. Does that make me dislike the story? The answer is absolutely not! The whole point of reading for me is to know stories that are different from mine and to perhaps learn something in the process.
This book is about four young adults (5 if you count Raine's brother) who are all struggling to figure out who they are and what direction they are meant to go. This is something that we have all struggled with at some point in our life regardless of our religious standing. What I liked about the characters is that they all had flaws, none of them were perfect and they all made mistakes. They were likeable and real. At no point in the story did I feel like religion was being forced on me, instead I found it quite interesting how religion and faith played and motivated the things the characters did or did not do in the book.
No book would be complete without a complicated love triangle and this book delivers in that department. Would it be team Cal or team Drew? These two men could not be more different from each other and were a big focus for Raine along with her dreams of Africa and her brother.
I thought this story was really good. Although these characters were from a completely different world than what I know, I found that I could relate to them. I found myself routing for them and was excited to find out how their stories would end. If you are easily offended when it comes to religion and faith then this is not the book for you but if you are open-minded and enjoy reading things that may be outside your comfort zone then I suggest you pick up this book. I don't think you will regret it.




About the Author

Ann Lee Miller earned a BA in creative writing from Ashland (OH) University and writes full-time in Phoenix, but left her heart in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where she grew up. She loves speaking to young adults and guest lectures on writing at several Arizona colleges. When she isn’t writing or muddling through some crisis—real or imagined—you’ll find her hiking in the Superstition Mountains with her husband or meddling in her kids’ lives
 
Connect with Ann online
Twitter- @annleemiller
 




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