When I first saw the cover of this book, the striking image and the title gave me the impression that it was Christian nonfiction. So I was a little surprised to then see the line on the cover referring to the book as a novel. In any case, as a lover of fiction, including shorter works, I decided to give this one a try. I didn't finish it, though.

It didn't turn out to be the kind of Christian fiction I typically enjoy, and I should have paid closer attention to the book blurb. I didn't realize that for the whole book, two men would be seated at a meal, having a conversation on theology and Christian morality. It's my strong preference for story to be not only the outline of a novel but its prominent substance as well, rather than for the book to be an extended discussion driving a message to the reader. To me, a book like this is basically a nonfiction exposition, merely dressed with some fictional elements.

However, the main reason I didn't finish the book is on account of its need for thorough editing. (As far as I can tell, I received a finished copy of the book rather than an ARC.)

I found the verb tense inconsistency to be distracting. It seems the novel is meant to be narrated in the present, but the main character frequently switches between present and past tense as he narrates. There are also confusing punctuation errors and paragraphs where the first lines aren't indented.

Also, the dialogue in a novel should match up with the action beats, which isn't the consistent case in this book. That is, in a novel, when Character A has a line of dialogue, if the rest of the paragraph is describing what Character B is doing, then Character A's line should stand alone. Character B's actions should be written in a new/separate paragraph rather than right after Character A's words in the same paragraph. This is especially true when a line of dialogue has no dialogue tag. Action beats often serve in the place of dialogue tags for characters right after they speak.

While this book was an unfortunate miss for me, I do realize that technical writing details oftentimes improve in an author's later works. I also think this book might be better suited for readers who may indeed be more interested in reading a theological and moral discussion rather than a story. Again, that's a matter of preference.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.

I felt like I went back to freud from adler. binary ping pong that was not deep enough to meaningfully reach this theologian. most likely helpful to the basic new & older christians. possibly repellent to the non-believer and certain individuals of the theologically left. ( )

A novel of uncompromising truth. I applaud the author for her excellent storytelling and ability to convey a sensible message to the masses.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. ( )