From the publisher:
Adam Colby is just doing his job, sorting through the unsold Alexander belongings after the estate sale. He is unprepared for what he finds in an old photo album, overlooked by the bargain hounds and treasure hunters—six decades of postcards and poems from Gabe Alexander to his wife, Pearl. The mystery of the Alexanders’ love entices Adam, a man unhinged by divorce and puzzled by the depth of commitment that he finds in the unabashedly romantic cards.
Forever Friday invites you to travel back in time to the early twentieth century Texas Coastal Bend where a young couple—Gabe and Pearl Alexander—are swept up in a miraculous love. As the heartwarming, pulse-quickening story of their relationship develops through Gabe’s poems, the Alexanders reveal a new way to consider what it means to be truly devoted to each other. Could the secrets of their love affair, laid to rest twenty years ago, hold the key to one man’s future?
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The idea book was intriguing to me and that is why I picked it up but I just can't say that it was one I will keep.
I did like the idea of a love and marriage lasting and not letting things get in the way. But it seemed that Gabe and Pearl's relationship was more about romance and exciting outings that anything deep and solid. I had a hard time trying to imagine them with kids or a solid marriage that was based on more than just fun activities.
I also am not a huge fan of jumping forward in time and skipping dozens of years. It was necessary for the book but that is just not my favorite way to read a story. Others might really enjoy this aspect however.
Timothy Lewis' writing isn't what drew me away from the story, so I would try another book by him.
I received this book free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.
Interesting that you didn't like that jumping back and forth in time, because that's one of the things I really liked about the book. :) I like books and movies that do that. I just finished it last night and haven't reviewed it yet.
ReplyDeleteI loved the romance in the story and the way that Gabe was so intentional about keeping romance alive. He seemed to always be doing something sweet for Huck... He was very invested in their marriage and that's something I'm looking for. Someone who will serve me, whether in the big romantic gesture ways... like buying clothes just because or creating our own private beach... but more so in the small, everyday-life ways that Matthew serves you. I've learned that for a successful relationship both people have to be truly invested and "two hearts commanding love". It has to be a two-way street. One person serving the other all the time only goes so far. There was a quote in the book early on about "two hearts commanding love" that I'll have to find... I wasn't reading it on my Kindle so I didn't highlight it. It was the one about how he and his ex were more like "two hearts DEMANDING love". I just did a lot for Jonathan... and enjoyed serving him and I was blessed because of it... but to a great extent, that kind of service wasn't returned to me. And I think his lack of investment in me/ us probably is partly why he could choose his parents' feelings without regard to how it would affect us/ me... He just wasn't invested enough. That's only a small reason... there are WAY bigger issues at play here. :)
Like you, I agree that it seemed to focus more on the romance and the excitement of love than on the deeper more lasting things. Timothy Lewis hit on it a few times, but the overall story wasn't in harmony with those few sentences about how it was their shared faith in God... I think he WANTED people to understand that it was hope and faith and all of that, but when it came to the actual story... he totally missed driving that point home.
I liked the story though. :)