Helpful Score: 12
Billed as Christian fiction, I found this novel to be a 'heart-warming' story of talent, love and redemption. There were a couple sections which were a little preachy, but otherwise it was just descriptive writing, quotes about the heart from Shakespeare, among others, and a great plot. Highly recommended!
Helpful Score: 8
This is an excellant book. It truley is a book of the heart. Not only is it a great story but very imformative. Characters are wonderful, story line is great. One that will definatly pull on your heart strings!!! A must read.
Helpful Score: 6
Absolutely haunting. This is such a beautiful story. It's about a man who is a heart transplant surgeon and his wife dies, he goes into hiding. He meets a little girl selling lemonade and crickets because she has a heart problem and needs money for the transplant. The story is moving, heart jerking, and wonderful. It is written so beautifully, the words just flow, the visual pictures are with every page. Out of all the books i have read, this is in the top 10 of my most favorites. I loved the author and the story. It is very very haunting when you finish. I am looking for more by Mr Martin now.
Helpful Score: 4
This was such an awesome book. It was kind of hard to get into at the beginning but once it grabs you, it really grabs you all the way! Annie is the sweetest little girl who needs a new heart. Reese is a heart surgeon who because of something that happens in his life, no longer cares about being one. Its a great story of how Reese comes to help Annie in so many ways...and how she helps him too. I just loved it!!
Helpful Score: 4
Fantastic book about relationships, love, and the human spirit. The little girl is amazing and the story is heartwrenching and heartwarming at the same time. Charles Martin has done it again! Great read.
Helpful Score: 3
Such passion and detail. A heart story, truly for the young and old
Helpful Score: 2
This is the first book by Charles Martin that I've read and I'm sure it will not be the last. This is a moving story where the main character walks away from his former life after a personal tragedy only to find himself in a very similar situation with a young child needing his life-saving expertise. Can we put our guilt and fears behind us in order to move ahead with life? Billed as Christian fiction, which it is, it's not heavy handed. Really enjoyed this read!!! Would highly recommend.
Helpful Score: 2
I read this book for my monthly book discussion group and I was the only one of 8 women who did NOT enjoy the book. It tells the story of a little girl who is in need of a heart transplant. It is clearly designed to tug the heartstrings and offers a Christian message of hope and redemption. I felt that the author manipulated the storyline and was heavy-handed in directing the reader how to feel rather than allowing the reader the courtesy of reacting as the story unfolded. If you like Richard North Patterson's and Nicholas Sparks' writings, you will probably enjoy this.
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful story!! Charles Martin makes you fall in love with the characters in all his books. This one included..
Helpful Score: 1
This was a good book from the Christian Fiction genre. Some parts were over-written, but all in all a very good read. Very sweet.
Helpful Score: 1
The story is touching and kept me reading to the end; however, the book is often bogged down in medical jargon, and I was occasionally annoyed by the way important information was presented - sometimes Martin leaves you guessing too long, and other times he sneaks it in in a way that's confusing. All in all, I'm glad I read this book, but I'll be hesitant to read this author again.
Helpful Score: 1
Great Christian fiction about a child with a doubtful future and the doctor who must heal his heart before helping her
I loved this book, first time reading any Charles Martin books and have ordered another one. I could not put this book down. I also learned a lot about the heart and how it functions physically and emotionally. A well narrowed book by the person who has to make a huge decision in his life after a terrible tragedy and the little girl that everyone is pulling for.
I enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and well developed.
I loved this book. A friend recommended it. I think I have found a new author that I want to read a lot of.
LOVED this book - another winner from Charles Martin
Just a beautiful story - very moving. Loved it.
An outstandingly talented heart transplant surgeon loses his wife and abandoning his practice, to live an anonamous life rebuilding and reconditioning rare and beautiful boats of the past. When he buys a glass of lemonade from a little girl he recognizes her frail condition as one he often saw in the past.
The story focuses on what happens between the two. He knows he could help her but is afraid to do so because of the guilt he harbors for the death of his wife. She died of a heart condition while he slept beside her, exhausted from his medical work.
It's a tale that takes the reader through a beautiful friendship that begins to mend the surgeon's broken heart. While the ending is predictable, the story is told with sensitivity and emotion that warms readers' hearts. The only flaw I found was the strange adjectives the author sometimes used to describe nouns in the story. Ignore that an you find a wonderful read.
The story focuses on what happens between the two. He knows he could help her but is afraid to do so because of the guilt he harbors for the death of his wife. She died of a heart condition while he slept beside her, exhausted from his medical work.
It's a tale that takes the reader through a beautiful friendship that begins to mend the surgeon's broken heart. While the ending is predictable, the story is told with sensitivity and emotion that warms readers' hearts. The only flaw I found was the strange adjectives the author sometimes used to describe nouns in the story. Ignore that an you find a wonderful read.
This was the first time a read a book by this author. I absolutely loved it. I am going to add more of his books to my list.
This book was great. I enjoyed the twists and turns it took by not being too predictable. Interesting characters, especially the brother in law. I also appreciated the Christian emphasis without being too preachy or fake.
Tender, warm, loving, even my husband read it ! It goes on my Church library shelf. One of my favorite authors !
I loved this book. It was bittersweet. Charles Martin has become one of my favorite writers. Writing about the south he includes many southern sayings that remind me of family. He invites God into his books, and Martin is used in a way that can help show how God can work in our lives...even if we are reading a book of fiction it is real on many levels.
An awesome book!
This was a very interesting book about the heart. Our book club read it and had an interesting discussion about the book.
It was a great book, it had me hooked from the first few pages. I couldn't wait to finish reading, staying up way too late at night.
Good story. Kept my interest. Predictable ending but happy one.
This is a good book
This book had me hooked from the first sentence. The characters are endearing. The plot has been described by other reviewers, but I wish to say that the author's writing is excellent. His metaphors are superior, not the same old tired descriptions. It's fresh and easy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and plan to follow this author more in the future. D.
A Southern Living Book of the Month Selection.
Author also wrote The Dead Don't Dance and Wrapped in Rain.
Story line: A man with a painful past. A child with a doubtful future. And a shared journey toward healing for both their hearts.
Author also wrote The Dead Don't Dance and Wrapped in Rain.
Story line: A man with a painful past. A child with a doubtful future. And a shared journey toward healing for both their hearts.
This was a heart warming story billed as Christian reading. Fortunately it was not excessively prosletic, but way out of the possibility of being believable for me. So I found it rather sappy. Nonetheless other less critical reviewers have loved it. Just not my cup of tea.
