Who is Sarah Hollenbeck? Is she the former Sarah McDermott, divorcee of Patrick with the wandering eye? Is she Raine de Bourgh, author of steamy novels that are flying off the shelves, and getting her spots on talk shows? Or is she actually Sarah Hollenbeck, who finds herself a new Christian, ashamed of the work that has brought her wealth and fame? And as Sarah finds herself falling for the pastor at the church she's begun attending, how does she reconcile all three of those people and pasts into a new creation trying to move forward?
I thought this was an interesting concept for a Christian novel. Like Sarah herself recognizes as she attempts to move from popular romance to her own Christian romance novel, there is a gap in the Christian fiction market. So many fictional couples have the perfect little romance with little to no temptation, and no sordid pasts to have to explain or be forgiven of. How true does this ring to life? While fiction is a good escape from the issues readers might like to avoid, sometimes it's helpful to see problems worked out in someone else's life to see that it can be done, and that they're not alone.
The other thing I really appreciated in this novel was that it avoided the trope of each half of a couple withholding the truth from each other under the guise that they didn't want to hurt their partner, only to have that bite them in the butt when the news was spilled from someone else. I liked that both Ben and Sarah were as upfront with each other as they could be, even with awkward conversations. And the one time Ben withheld information, it was because he honestly didn't see it as important.
I give this book 4 stars, for its interesting characters and fresh outlook on what a Christian character can look like.
You can find The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
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