I'm going to skip the star rating on this one except on NetGalley where it's required.  I requested it on NetGalley partly because of the beautiful cover.  I knew it was about infidelity but hoped it would be handled well.

Honestly, infidelity on the man's part is a thing that has had a massive impact on my immediate family and a number of my friends.  Some have stayed and some have not.  However, one thing all these women I know have in common is a sense of guilt over having failed in some way, and at least one encounter with well-meaning (usually) church people who think that by scolding the wife they will save the marriage.  Because of that, infidelity is a huge and very touchy subject for me, and I also think it's one of the major failures of the modern American church.

I'm very grateful for a friend's heads-up that this might not be the story I hoped it would be, which saved me a book purchase and several hours of frustration.  I was able to flip through it some and read the ending and see that it was definitely not a book I needed to be reading.  I have too much baggage from all the friends I have who have been hurt.

One thing that is VERY clear in biblical marriage is that the marriage tie is a picture of Christ and the church.  The husband is told to love his wife sacrificially; the wife is told to give her husband brotherly love.  Vast difference there.  We aren't held to the same standard--the type of love a husband must give is very much harder to give.  He is obviously held to a much higher standard in the relationship.  And yet the modern church seems to think they can blame the wife for the husband's errors.

The next section contains some big spoilers, so click at your peril.
<spoiler>
First, the book is more "shadows" than hope.  It's not edifying to have a woman left in the same pit she was in before the story started, and alone to boot.  Her faith is mentioned, mentioned as being different, but the explanation of it is short and hazy and not edifying to us, nor does it share the exact state of her beliefs other than to say they are "different."

Second, she acknowledges "I failed him just as much as he failed me." NO YOU DIDN'T.  You didn't CHEAT on him and sleep with others and break your marriage vows.  Their marriage was not her lone responsibility to uphold.  He is the head of the household and thus the primary person responsible before God to maintain his marriage.  Look at Hosea, for goodness' sake!  Read the New Testament and study the different Greek words used for love.  Just because the poor baby boy thought he needed some kind of emotional support in his marriage doesn't give him the right to physically break his solemn vow before God.  We aren't supposed to expect our marriage partners to do the hard work for us.  If he needed emotional help, he needed to hit his knees and find it in God--NOT in the arms of another woman.

Third, the book ends on a sad note with no promise of a sequel.  I've never been a lover of tragedies.
</spoiler>

Thanks to the publisher for a free review copy.

This book is done from the first person point of view. The author did write it from all sides, from Marissa, Kaitlyn and Colin's view so you really aren't left wondering what is going on from the other person aspect. This book is very powerful and emotional.  I was not a fan of Marissa's mother, I didn't like Colin either I felt like they both blamed her for everything and used her as an emotional punching bag. I did really like Adam and Tristan I felt like they were amazing. I wish the book would have played out different it didn't go the way I was thinking at all. Colin came off as a narcissist and a "victim" to everything it became so annoying. Overall this is one of those books to me is "to each his own". This book is a clean read but does deal with some very tough subjects this may not be suitable for all ages.

A book that speaks the truth but doesn’t preach.  A story that diffently says something.  Thank you Georgiana for writing a wonderful read.  Thank you NetGalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read.

This is a well written story about infidelity. It is a painful read for those who have friends who have lived through the heartbreak of marital adultery.
Marisa is a loving wife who is dealing with the pain of infertility who discovers that her husband is expecting a child with another woman. Now she must decide what to do, save her marriage or start over?
The ending is realistic, definitely not a happily-ever-after. The book does give the perspective of all three main characters so it will make you think.
Thanks to NetGalley and Barbour Publishing for an ARC in return for an unbiased opinion.

I really enjoyed this book because although it contains a love triangle, it is atypical in that there is an underlying Christian theme.  I liked that New Beginnings, where Marissa worked, was a pregnancy center with the purpose of giving hope.  I willl always remember the way that Marissa handled herself in the face of her husband’s betrayal.  She had to climb a mountain to get there, but she is a good example of how we should behave when others betray us.  It was important that Marissa and Kaitlyn have a strong friendship in order to make the story believable and also to introduce conflict and suspense.  Colin was not a very sympathetic character, but he seems to be a typical man without Christian values, so he is clueless as to how to love his wife and save his marriage.  All readers of romantic suspense will enjoy this wonderful story, and Christians should read it especially so that they can learn the valuable lessons that it teaches.

Infertility in a marriage can be devastating to the relationship and intimacy of a couple..Georgiana Daniels effectively uses imagery & technique to evoke emotional responses to her characters. I could feel the pain of  Marissa as she  found ways to cope with the infertility. Too bad Colin sought to distract his pain of infertility in such awful behavior.  Found myself reading it without stopping because I was so angry at Colin.

Standard
 Shadows of Hope  by Georgiana Daniels
This is my first book by this author and I found it very interesting. Daniels is an excellent writer. Colin and Marissa are having a tough time, being they want a child so badly that their marriage has become stressed to the limit. Marissa works at a crisis pregnancy center and unknowingly becomes best friend and confident to her husband’s pregnant lover.  I kept turning the pages to see how this would end. When we have faith to believe that “God’s got this” it may not be what we think it will be at all. Can this marriage be saved?  Can there be complete forgiveness for all the parties concerned?………I received a complimentary copy from Barbour and was under no obligation to leave a review.

Shadows Of Hope Is heart wrenching and it gets you to feel some very strong feelings as you read this. I mean how stupid he is and how awful for her and what an impossible situation. What breaks my heart the most is that this really happens and that this mess and broken hearts and dreams are torn asunder. Let me tell you this, the ending ends in a for real ending not a fluff ending - cool. How do Christians react in this situation? Well you have to read in find out - to be in full disclosure one of the three is not a Christian. I can't imagine going through what they all go through and not have GOD to Lean on.  What an awful situation.

Shadows of Hope is not the feel-good romance novel I usually read and review. Instead, it’s a thoroughly modern novel where messed-up characters have to wade the confusing waters of consequences, and there is no trite or easy answer with no convenient divorces or deaths (ironically, the plot twists in the two previous novels I read with similar moral quandaries).

Marissa is forty, infertile, and wants a baby—a want made worse by working in a pregnancy resource centre, and being married to a man she suspects of wandering. Kaitlyn is the barista at Marissa’s favourite coffee shop, a twenty-six year-old college student who is secretly dating one of her professors. Colin is a biology professor who breaks off his illicit relationship as he finds out he’s up for tenure. Now if only she’d stop trying to contact him …

Kaitlyn discovers she’s pregnant, but Colin has broken it off and she can’t tell him. She does tell Marissa, not realising she’s Colin’s wife. But we know, and that one small secret drives much of the tension. When will Marissa find out? What will she do when she does? How will she cope in the meantime?

The writing was excellent. The author delves into the emotions of three people who’ve all made mistakes in their relationships, mistakes which mean there is no easy answer, no possible ending that will satisfy everyone. The story wasn’t predictable, and I liked that because it felt authentic in a way a feel-good romance ending would have felt contrived and false.

The spiritual aspects were also interesting: Marissa and Kaitlyn were both raised as Christians, but both fell away from the church. Marissa got more involved in church after she married, but Colin never did (which caused some friction). Interesting … Recommended for those who enjoy contemporary Christian fiction that deals with the real-life issues that don’t have easy answers.

Thanks to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

When the first thing you think when you finish a book is, "I hope there's a sequel!" you know you've really enjoyed a story! Shadows of Hope was like that for me.  I loved it.  Each step of the way I stopped to think what would I do?  How would I handle?  Could I forgive? And a book that drives you to contemplate yourself in such a manner is a success in my eyes!  I highly recommend that others take this journey as well.  And please...let there be a sequel!!

Marissa worries that her window of opportunity for having children is closing; after a miscarriage she has been unable to conceive. Working in a crisis pregnancy center takes its toll on her emotionally, even though she loves her work and believes in its importance. She thinks her husband is having an affair, but never suspects that it's one of her clients -- and her client-turned-employee has no idea, either. An interesting examination of trust, commitment, and the question of who's at fault for problems in a marriage.

I had never read anything by this author before, so when I was asked if I would read this, I read the blurb, and seeing something that seemed to fit my reading tastes, I went ahead and downloaded it. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to the blurb.

My biggest complaint is that the ending was very abrupt. Reading some of the reviews on here let me know that there is not going to be a follow up to this, so I kind of feel like I wasted my time reading this to have this little of a resolution to the story. Based on that alone, I would not pick up another book by the author.

I also had a hard time connecting with the characters. The story is told from 3 different points of view, so the "headspace" is constantly shifting. It got confusing for me after a while, and limited my ability to connect with Marissa and Kaitlyn as much as I should have been able to. Marissa also seemed like too wishy-washy of a character to be able to thrive in the situation she ultimately ended up in, so I have to wonder what the author's purpose in writing this was. The faith angle seemed to be an afterthought in the story, and not front and center like I expected it to be.

All things considered, this was a bit of a miss for me.

This was a very realistic novel. Marissa and Colin both struggled in their marriage. Marissa was such a positive person that brought out the best in everyone except her husband. I thought Colin was a jerk by not giving Marissa the support she needed and cheating on her. Everyone needs a friend like Tristan. This was a very touching novel. Highly recommended!

Real-Life Drama!
I became thoroughly caught up in this story! The author gives the reader the opportunity to see this situation from the side of each person involved.  I appreciated this because there are many people who go through this type of situation, but we often don’t look at how each person may have felt or thought.

Great read!

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

Shadows of Hope is a book-length exercise in dramatic irony that kept me engrossed until all was revealed, in dramatic fashion.

From the first pages - or from the book description alone - the reader knows that Marissa counsels Kaitlyn throughout her unplanned pregnancy and that, unbeknownst to both women, Marissa's husband Colin is the father.

Tension builds as various conflicts unfold and layers of the characters are revealed: infertility, the absence of a father, infidelity, insecurity, and more bring great depth to Marissa, Kaitlyn, and even Colin.

The reader gets to examine the situation from each of the three characters' points of view - closest with Marissa (1st person), but also Kaitlyn and Colin (3rd person).

Georgiana Daniels resists an easy resolution, instead delivering a true-to-life examination of the shared heartache, joy, and, eventually, hope, of three imperfect people bound by an unborn child.

Fans of women's fiction will especially enjoy this well-written, thoughtful story. I look forward to reading more from this author.

God hates sin, but not the sinner. How often have we heard that, & - superficially at least - accepted it. How different is it if you are the one sinned against - & most profoundly so? Is it easier not to judge, if we are not personally affected?
When we are told to forgive, does the enormity of the sin or the depth of  the hurt caused, make a difference? Forgiveness is not necessarily about the other person : it is releasing ourselves from their power to continue hurting us. 
Being a Christian does not mean we have to be a doormat, there are times when we need to stand up for ourselves - we need to be treated with respect, just as we in turn respect others. 
May we never be put in such a position (as the main character) ourselves, but if we are.....may we turn to the only One who can possibly help.

I was really into the story for the first half, but by the end, I wound up just being disappointed in the characters. The ending was not satisfying at all.

I read this book fairly quickly and really didn't want to put it down.  I found it raw, emotional yet entertaining.  It was written from three different character perspectives which was fantastic as I loved getting that glimpse into what they were thinking and feeling as the story unravelled.  I also fully appreciated the ending the author wrote.  That there was no fairy tale happy ending, but much more of a realistic one. 
Great book and well worth the read.  

Thank you to the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  I am very happy to recommend this book

The description of  "Shadows of Hope"  was interesting, but  the cover made the book more intriguing and harder to resist.  For most readers, the book's author, title, cover, and storyline are  great starts for a book.  For me, all but one was giving this book a winning start.  The missing piece was that I didn't know the author.  After reading "Shadows of Hope", I want to read future books by Georgiana Daniels.

Marissa works at a pregnancy center and it can sometimes wrench her heart because she herself has difficulty conceiving.  She loves her husband but begins to question his attitude and time away from home.  During this difficult time, Marissa's co-worker offers friendship and encouragement.

Marissa also forms a friendship with Kaitlyn, a college student working as a waitress. When Kaitlyn shows up at the center pregnant by a man who has cut off their relationship,   Marissa sets out to help her through the pregnancy.  Unexpected things begin to happen and a slight element of suspense is added.

I'm a fan of Christian fiction because it is known to have good morals, clean writing and strong faith content. This book had all three, but it also had an element of living in the real world of conflict and difficult choices. Not all good choices benefit us personally and the characters in this book face that reality and have tough decisions to make.

This book made for great reading between the first chapter and the last chapter.  The first chapter didn't immediately catch my attention and the ending sadly felt rushed and incomplete.  Even though these two chapters didn't live up to my expectations, all the other chapters did and I surprisingly enjoyed the book.  i look forward to reading future books by Georgiana Daniels.

Personal Rating: 3.95                Star Rating: 4/5 

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Shiloh Run Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Title: Shadows of Hope
Author: Georgiana Daniels
Publisher: Shiloh Run Press
Year Published:  2018
Reading Format: Kindle, Ebook

In the interest of full disclosure, this type of plot is not usually in my range of interest. Stories about infidelity are really hard to make me like. I figured that since this was a Christian novel, it might be something I'd be more apt to like. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

First of all, I didn't like most of the characters. Colin had NO redeeming qualities to me, and I felt like he was trying to work on his marriage with Marissa because that's what he was "supposed" to do instead of actually wanting to, and I really hated being in his head (at least it wasn't first person) for his scenes because of how much I didn't like him or his attitude.

Marissa was also pretty self-centered, though when she discovered her husbands infidelity I was much more sympathetic to her. Her character felt very wishy-washy, as she was portrayed as either too aloof to her husband's needs, or too clingy to her husband. Which one was it? Was she obsessed with him to the point where she couldn't have meaning without him and a child, or was she draining him dry putting all of her attention at her job? I couldn't make heads or tails of it and I found it hard to really understand her character.

Kaitlyn was fairly likable once she got over her naivete about her relationship with Colin. Mostly that's because you feel sorry for her being in a crappy situation, and she is pretty strong in her boundaries.

Tristan was just there so Marissa could have more tension between her husband. His role in her emotional well-being would have just as easily been filled by a woman, but it was clear he was only there so Colin would have a source of jealousy.

As for the plot, I felt like the point that everyone was ignorant of their true connections went on way too long. It read as pretty false, considering the supposedly close relationship Marissa and Kaitlyn had. It was hard to feel connected to any of their characters or that they had lives outside of their scenes, and I didn't really enjoy much of the book. I will say it did keep me reading (I took it on a camping trip/relay race) though I really don't like books that mix first and third person. Marissa's character development was there, at least, though I didn't feel like the other characters went through as much development as she did.

All in all it was a disappointment, I'm sorry to say. Someone else may like it more. I'm probably just not the target audience for this type of book.