Author: Katie Ganshert
Publisher: Waterbrook Press
Source: Own
My Review:
A Broken Kind of Beautiful might be the book's title , but I think it can best be summed up as a messy kind of beautiful. The story is rich and deep, the characters are flawed but real, and the plotline flows seamlessly.
Ivy is an unlikable character, which I think is intentional. You can understand her circumstances, and why she is the way she is, but it is still hard to see past her behavior. However, her character growth is subtle but beautiful.
You have to admire Marilyn and her unconditional love for Ivy. She is a great portrayal of Christ and His love for us. Ivy has done nothing to earn Marilyn's love, in fact, she has rebuffed her stepmother all her life.
Davis is complicated, his sister Sara is resilient, and Ivy's Uncle Bruce is a cad. Yet each has an integral part to play in the story. There is so much I want to say, but this is one of those stories that is best experienced for yourself.
★★★★/4
Using for the Mount TBR Challenge and Chantel's 2025 Reading Challenge
Synopsis (Goodreads):
Sometimes everything you ever learned about yourself is wrong
Fashion
is a fickle industry, a frightening fact for twenty-four year old model
Ivy Clark. Ten years in and she’s learned a sacred truth—appearance is
everything. Nobody cares about her broken past as long as she looks
beautiful for the camera. This is the only life Ivy knows—so when it
starts to unravel, she’ll do anything to hold on. Even if that means
moving to the quaint island town of Greenbrier, South Carolina, to be
the new face of her stepmother’s bridal wear line—an irony too rich for
words, since Ivy is far from the pure bride in white.
If only
her tenuous future didn’t rest in the hands of Davis Knight, her
mysterious new photographer. Not only did he walk away from the kind of
success Ivy longs for to work maintenance at a local church, he treats
her differently than any man ever has. Somehow, Davis sees through the
façade she works so hard to maintain. He, along with a cast of other
characters, challenges everything Ivy has come to believe about beauty
and worth. Is it possible that God sees her—a woman stained and broken
by the world—yet wants her still?
Does Ivy's growth as a character mean you end up liking her at the end?
ReplyDeleteLark, yes! For a while I was like it's going to be too little, too late, but it was just right.
DeleteIt's been a long time but I read this one once and I remember liking it. I think it was one of those books that was a bit more "emotional" than I tend to like to read now, but also one that has as good kind of character journey story. :)
ReplyDeleteRissi, exactly. I think that is why I put it off so long, but I am determined to make a dent in the amount of books I haven't read that on our my physical shelves this year.
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