I grew up with Christy Miller and the Haven Maker books are some of the best of all of the Christy books. There is just so much meaning and "life" stuff in these books that make them incredible reads. I really enjoyed this story with Jennalyn and her struggles. The struggles she faces can be a common one for wives and mothers and I identified with her a lot. This story is raw and beautiful and I adored it. I am so looking forward to more in this series!!

Being Known is a contemporary novel written by Robin Jones Gunn. This is the second book in the Haven Makers Series. It is not necessary to have read the first book in order to enjoy this one.

Summary: From the outside, it looks like Jennalyn has it all. A beautiful home, two wonderful children, a husband with a successful career, supportive in-laws, and the ability to create beautiful art.

But inside, Jennalyn is lonely. Her husband is always working, and the day-to-day grind of taking care of small children, combined with a deep lingering grief over the loss of her mom combine to create a loneliness and depression that feel overwhelming.

Can Jennalyn trust her friends in the Haven Makers with her deepest secrets, or is it just better to keep everything to herself after all?

My Thoughts: I love this series. Reading these books make me feel like I am just taking time to catch up with a close-knit group of ladies that I would love to be a part of. The author does an amazing job of showing the vulnerable side of each character is such a real and emotional way, that it can’t help but draw the reader in to the story.

The book is beautifully written, and definitely worth the read.

I highly recommend this book, and I am eagerly anticipating the next one!

I would like to thank Multnomah for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you!

“You and I are both experienced at holding our feelings in for a long time and not sorting out what’s true and what’s a trap.”

Jennalyn tries to be happy with her life, but with a husband working long hours, two toddlers to run after and still grieving the loss of her mom, she feels down most of the time. She loves that her husband, Joel, is fulfilling his dream of running a restaurant, but since he’s also still the chef, he gets very little time off. Her mother passed away several years before, but now having children of her own, she wishes her mother was there to see them. She doesn’t quite know how to explain it to her friends but when she runs into an ex-boyfriend, she finds she can talk to him.

I haven’t read a Robin Jones Gunn book since I was in high school. I really liked her Christy series. When I saw she had a new book out, Being Known, and was invited to join the Waterbrook and Multnomah launch team, I signed up. I was given a free copy in exchange for a fair review.

Jennalyn only chats with her old boyfriend through a game messaging app and while she doesn’t think she is crossing any lines, she is opening up to him in ways she isn’t with her husband or friends. She tries several times to tell Joel that their daughter’s dance friend’s dad is her ex-boyfriend, but one of them is always exhausted. The warmth of friendship finally draws her out and that friend shows her the truth of how close she is to the fire.

I enjoyed reading Being Known and found it to be a very realistic story about how little things can creep into a marriage. The characters feel authentic and while it’s a Christian book, the faith of the characters is just ingrained in who they are so it doesn’t seem fake or pushy. I plan to read more of Gunn’s books for adults.

I enjoyed this book. This second book could be read independently but does connect details to the first Haven makers book. This book takes on JennaLynn another woman in the established friend circle that have named themselved DOEs or Daughters of Eve. This book layers in self actualization and discovery as Jenna struggles with the grieving her mom, her husband working long hours and their lack of communication, struggles with interactions with another man, and her thought life. It was strange that no mention of attending church by her comes up, other members of talk about knowing someone from church, but this theme isn't present in the book at all. There are connections and things that we are to remember from the first book, some of which weren't mentioned in this book, and even though I read the first book less than a year ago, at times I was trying to remember details.
My joy in reading this series is the narrative of faith in God and choosing to grow as people and followers of Christ. This book was a little more disjointed to me, but it shows the thinking and Jennalynn's prayer life grows as she reflects and trusts God more. I'd like to see a bit more depth in this area. Thankful to partner with netgalley and review this book.

Another sweet story by author, Robin Jones Gunn. The book is number two in the Haven Maker series.

It is a very relatable story no matter where you are in your marriage. Although the story is about 30 somethings, it was fun to read and see how they worked together to lift one another up and base their advice on scripture. A fun read, but an encouraging read with great examples of how we can care for each other especially in light of our current crisis. No matter what we are facing—will the baby nap, or will we get to go out in public again—this story is inspiring to work through the tough times and do so with God in your plans and a good friend (or four!) in your pocket.

A definite read for all RJG fans! And those that will be once they've read the book!

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy through NetGalley from WaterBrook Multnomah with no expectations in return. The thoughts and words above are my own.

Being Known by Robin Jones Gunn has Jennalyn feeling the grief from her losing her mother six years prior. At the time her mother passed away, Jennalyn had too much going on to stop and deal with the loss. She now has two children under the age of four, a lovely home and a husband she loves. Her husband, Joel is part-owner in the Blue Ginger, a local restaurant, as well as the head chef. He is working long hours until he can get the staff he needs in place. She feels alone and misses her mother dearly. Jennalyn is thankful for her friends, but she does not feel she can share this with them. The ladies call themselves “Daughters of Eve” (DOEs) or haven makers. One day, Jennalyn encounters Garrett, an old boyfriend, when dropping off her daughter for dance class. They begin chatting online over their shared memories. Garrett recently lost his mother and understands what Jennalyn is experiencing. Jennalyn begins to wonder about her life and the choices she made. Her friends are aware something is wrong and rally around to help Jennalyn. Being Known is the second novel in the Haven Makers series which I did not know when I began reading it. I felt like I had been plopped down in the middle of a book. I wish the author had taken the time to introduce the characters in the beginning. Things become clearer as I got further into the story. I believe it would have been beneficial to have read Becoming Us first. There is a nice mix of Christian women in Jennalyn’s group. They all have problems and doubts. The group helps them to get through the difficult times as well as provide comfort, support, and encouragement. They bring out the best in each other. I had a hard time liking Jennalyn who made bad choices or retreated into her “cave” of melancholy. She could be rude at times and standoffish. I could understand how hard it was for her to be at home with two young kids (both under four) and with her husband working long hours. There were miscommunication issues in the marriage along with Joel’s highhandedness and his short temper. This couple needed marriage counseling and time together (a weekly date night). I would have liked the author to develop the characters (they were not fleshed out). Having faith and putting God first are two important aspects of Being Known. I was curious, though, why Jennalyn and Joel did not attend church. Being Known is a good novel to read while sitting poolside (or at the beach or by the lake). Being Known is an optimistic novel about faith, friendship, and family.

I've loved reading Robin Jones Gunn's Christy Miller series and several of her other books. Her style since those early Christy Miller years hasn't changed dramatically: the stories are still engaging, very real-life, relatable characters, always trying to bring the situation within a biblical point-of view. I really love that about Gunn, and I admit, though I was disappointed with some elements of the first book in this new series, I still wanted to read this next one and find out what would happen next in this circle of friends who have grown up since high school and are now (most of them) mothers and wives.

The positives:
- the easy, absorbing way that Gunn tells the story
- the relatable characters with incredibly true-to-life situations (the workaholic husband, the overwhelmed-with-toddlers mom)
- the (ultimately) biblical response to a couple of flirting-with-adultery situations

The negative:
I felt that the women in the story took on the blame for their husbands' issues. The main character goes from blaming her husband (internally, for the most part) to blaming herself for the malfunction of their marriage. This was not only untrue - her husband was often the cause of their miscommunication - but also is not a biblically-solid answer, which disturbed me. I find that, more and more in Christian fiction, if there's an issue in a marriage, the answer must be that the woman is not understanding enough, doesn't wear attractive enough clothes/make-up, etc. Frankly, I am tired of the main issue - sin in the lives of both individuals - not being pointed to. We desperately need to stop addressing the surface issues and to instead address the deeper issues... of both the husband and the wife. Yes, in the end, the main couple has a happily-ever-after and jets off to a marriage conference (which her husband scheduled without her agreement or input); but the real issues were addressed only very briefly.

Overall, the story is engaging - a great lazy-day read when you can sit and read through the whole novel. And it's fun to see characters from Gunn's other series to make appearances. But I left the reading pretty disappointed with the solutions offered and felt like it might mislead some young mothers into trying to fix their own marriages with the solutions offered.

Being Known, the second book in the Haven Makers series, is the continuing story of a circle of women who grow in friendship, challenge each other and find comfort in their connection with one another. I found the book to be entertaining, and yet even more that than, encouraging and inspirational. Ms. Gunn writes with authenticity and readers are easily drawn into the lives of these women who have known disappointment and heartache and yet can find strength as they nurture each other, realize God’s provision in their lives, and find the passion of true friendship. "Having friends in your life who are willing to take the time to know you by heart is a gift." Being Known is a poignant story about understanding the importance of cultivating wholesome relationships and recognizing that we are fully known by our Heavenly Father.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from WaterBrook & Multnomah Publishers and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are my own.

If you are looking for a sweet novel with some self-reflective themes sprinkled throughout, Being Known is for you!

Although it is the second part of a series, I had no trouble following along. It was refreshing to read about women in close friendships supporting one another while being open and vulnerable about their lives and relationships.

It was interesting to journey through the parallels in Jennalyn and Tess' situations. Reading a novel in first person is not my preference, but nonetheless, I found myself wanting to know what would happen next.

I received a copy of this advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent story! I was so involved in it that it almost seemed like reality. Definitely want to read more of the author's books!

“Being Known” by Robin Jones Gunn, book review Haven Makers #2

This novel about several adult women who are close friends, starts right where book #1 ends. These ladies have given their small friend group the name Haven Makers, as they are each working to build their lives and families into havens of peace and love.

Each of the ladies is dealing with fairly typical middle age life issues: children, marriages, jobs, careers, relatives, and other outside influences. But when they get together, they are able to be completely open and honest and receive grace and love to deal with life’s messy moments.

The story line moves right along with no lagging. The characters are real feeling and deal with real world stuff. The way they encourage and lift each other up is wonderful. All women should have a group of friends like the ones in this book.

This book will stand alone, but will be much more enjoyable if you have read #1. The author gives a little bit of back ground from time to time, but really assumes the reader has already read #1 prior to beginning #2.

Disclaimer: I received an electronic ARC of this book from the publisher, Waterbrook Press. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was an interesting book starring I'm wondering, characters from other books. Whatever the case, it was an interesting story.

The characters are likable and I believe it would be a good story for married couples with families.

I understood Jennalyn's struggle in finding those places that are dark inside, wanting to just hide in a cave. So it's my guess that the author dug deep within herself to recreate a story within this book.

But for me personally, I found that the dialogue was hard to follow because there were so many voices. Especially since I didn't know who these outside voices were, the haven makers. I would however, consider reading another book in the series to see how well the stories intertwine and mesh together.

I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher, and all opinions are my own.

Great character and plot development made this book a page-turner for me. The Biblical truths applied in true-to-life scenarios were refreshing and realistic. Easy to read and fun to finish!

I absolutely loved Gunn's Sisterchick series, so was sure I would love her new series about a group of BFF's. I did not read the first book in this series which must have set up the group of young women, but this book read well as a stand alone. (I definitely will find book 1 and read it.)

This group of 5 women are a wide variety of personalities and places in life: single, married, married with children. But their strong faith makes them supportive of and great at sharing their wisdom with one another. The focus is on Jennalyn who has a 4 year old and a new baby. She is still deeply grieving the loss of her mother and is frustrated that her husband who is a chef and has his own restaurant is gone so much of the time. When she takes her daughter to begin a ballet class, her ex-boyfriend is there with his daughter. This begins an "emotional affair" with her ex in that they talk for hours on the phone and play a game app together.

Being open with your spouse, forgiveness, trust, and support all are major themes in this book. I thought the idea of an "emotional affair" quite interesting. We often don't think that sharing our deepest thoughts with someone of the opposite sex, if married, does amount to an "emotional affair" when we should be sharing those with our spouse.

I hope that Gunn will continue this series and focus on each of the women.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions are mine alone. I was not compensated for this review.

Belatedly Coming to Terms with Grief

From the outside, Jennalyn has it all: a handsome husband, two bright children, and a lovely home, but she also has a long withheld grief. When they had just moved to their home and life was busy and challenging, Jennalyn lost her mother. Now with life more settled, she finds herself at times overwhelmed with grief. She’d like to talk to her husband, Joel, but he’s very busy with his restaurant so she retreats into her melancholy cave.

An important part of Jennalyn’s life is her circle of friends. They call themselves the Daughters of Eve (DOE) or the Haven Makers. This is a Christian circle and the women meet regularly to share their faith and provide support for each other. This time two members, Jennalyn and Tess, are dealing with friendships with men they fear may be becoming too entangling.

The characters in this book are very real. As young married women, they are easy to relate to. Their friendship is so loving and supportive you find yourself wishing you could be part of the circle. Because Jennalyn is dealing with difficult problems that she finds hard to share, she sometimes comes across as prickly and difficult, however she also acts as peace-maker in the group. Although this is the second book in the series, the author provides enough background the backstory for the characters is easy to follow.

The characters in this book are young married women, but it can be read by all ages and enjoyed. Older women can look back on their struggles and find rapport with the characters. If you aspire to a Christian life with supportive friends, you’ll enjoy this book.

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah for this review.

Being Known is book two in the Haven Maker series by Robin Jones Gunn.. This story focuses on Jennalyn. Jennalyn is a mother of 2 young children and the wife of chef and restaurant owner, Joel. With Joel spending so much time and energy getting his restaurant going, Jennalyn is left to handle the children alone. They spend very little time alone and talking, which leads to problems in their marriage. She runs into an old boyfriend and for a short time gets reacquainted and share their grief of the loss of their mothers.

Jennalyn is part of a group of young women who get together on a regular basis. These women come from different walks of live, married and single, stay at home moms and career women. Yet they are there for each other to encourage, support and pray for each other.

This is a great Christian modern day story that deals with real life situations. While this is part of a series, and the characters come from several previous series, this is also a good stand alone story. The parts in the story that stand out for me is the support Jennalyn and Joel get from their friends and his parents. The young women in the group chose a word that is significant for them for the year, such as love, trust, wait. There are also a lot of emotions running through this story. The loss of a mother, the hurts of a struggling relationship, the compassion and love of a friend and trust and waiting for God’s answer. There were times while reading the story I felt frustrated with the couple, who turned to others with their problems than to each other.

I received a copy of this story from the WaterBrook and Multnomah Launch Team via NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Star Rating: 4.5
Series: Haven Makers (book 2)
Paperback pages: 320
ISBN: 9780735290778

Robin Jones Gunn has written 100 books, including the Christy Miller series, Sierra Jensen Collection,Katie Weidon Series, and Christy and Todd: The College Years, The Marriage Year, The Baby years. Her Father Christmas stories were made into Hallmark movies.

You can read more about her and her books at https://www.robingunn.com/
This book can be purchased from:
https://www.christianbook.com/being-known-2-robin-gunn/9780735290778/pd/290778
https://www.amazon.com/Being-Known-Novel-Haven-Makers/dp/0735290776
https://www.amazon.com/Being-Known-Novel-Haven-Makers/dp/0735290776
https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/being-known-9780735290778
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/being-known-robin-jones-gunn/1132911994?ean=9780735290778


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3308468093

I read a lot of books now, but I really read a lot when I was a teenager. So, I have no idea how I missed out on reading Robin Jones Gunn's series for teenage girls. Now, every time I read one of her books, I wonder if I'm too old to read YA fiction now. 

In Robin's newest series, The Haven Makers, you'll get glimpses into the lives of some of her best characters, including Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen. But she's also added new characters that I think adult women can really relate to.

In Being Known, we go deeper into Jennalynn's life. She and her husband, Joel, are finally realize their dreams. He opened the restaurant he's always wanted, and Jennalynn is working on her art. 

But in her heart Jennalynn is still mourning the loss of her mother. She can't seem to talk to Joel about her grief, and he's always busy anyways.

So when she runs into her high school boyfriend, it's easy to connect with him over her grief. She knows she should tell Joel about her communications, but the time never seems right.

Of course, this leads to disaster, as things like this always do.

I related so much to Jennalynn in this book. She's so much like every stay-at-home mom with a busy husband. We are so proud of our hubby's for their hard work, but sometimes we feel so invisible.

And that makes us extra susceptible when things like an old boyfriend comes along. And we could so easily make a wrong choice. 

I'm not going to lie. I cried buckets reading this book. I felt like it could've been about me. (Although I should say I have never had a secret conversation behind my husband's back. I'm just saying it could easily happen to any of us.)

Being Known is not a romance novel. It's just a story about real life. The Haven Makers is a series for all moms. Life is messy, but we can all get through it with Jesus and good friends.

Christy Miller the adult years. While this book is not exclusively about Christy she is an integral character and I was just excited to meet up with her here. This is the second in a series, I have not yet read the first but after enjoying this so much I will be soon.
One thing that is constantly on my heart as I get older is friendships. It’s not always easy to have great friendships as an adult. Women who speak beautifully into your life telling you what you need to hear not only what you want to hear. Women you trust to share your heart with, the good, the bad and the indifferent. This book and likely the whole series speak wonderfully to that.
While the book encompasses this great group of women, we dive deeper into one as she deals with her issue. The others are integrated nicely for a well rounded story. These are Christian women but they aren’t perfect, they are regular, everyday women dealing with life, family and everything that creeps up. I love the support that you see, I felt included in this story. The problems of the characters weren’t mine but I still felt support and hope from everything that I read.
I did have a problem with one thing near the end that felt a little too perfect but it did not steal my overall love of this book.

Just like Becoming Us this book is about friendship and finding hope in the Lord and those friendships. I felt like this book got really to the heart of the matter with Jennalyn, with her missing her mom and the struggles she faces. This book was told in a first person point of view and I was not a fan of that. The author keeps this book clean so that is so nice allowing suitable for age appropriate readers. I think it goes back to this author has written about Christy for years and this series seems to be the adult version and the friendships she is forming along the way. I love these group of women and their friendships. Life is not perfect and life always hands you trials and the author doesn't try and make anything perfect or sugar coat anything. If you are looking for a fun read that's a breathe of fresh air and a little different then other books out there, this is worth the read.

Being Known by Robin Jones Gunn is exactly the story I needed to read at this point in my life. I feel as if this book was personally written for me as it spoke volumes. I loved everything about this novel. I found the plot highly engaging, perfectly paced, and quite satisfying. The characters are excellently crafted and completely endearing. I especially related to Jennalyn and her inner turmoil. I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the DOEs (Daughters of Eve) again. They’re so special and sweet, and I really love the deep bond they each have with one another. Every woman needs a special band of like-hearted sisters such as the DOEs. While I’m positive Being Known could be read as a standalone story, I don’t recommend it because I believe the reader would lose out on grasping just how impactful and special the DOEs are to one another. It is my opinion that the Haven Makers series be read in order so the nuances of the DOEs are not lost.

As stated above, I really related to Jennalyn and her struggles. In relatively recent years, she lost her beloved mother. She has a beautiful 4-year old daughter and full-of-energy 2-year old son. Both children light up her life but exhaust her with their boundless energy. And her handsome husband, whom Jennalyn loves with her whole heart, works 70+ hours a week at work. She often feels like a single mom who sometimes lives with a cute roommate. Jennalyn knows communication is key, but how does authentic communication happen when the other person is never available to talk? So when issues do arise, Jennalyn finds herself innocently turning to an old high school boyfriend and sharing her heart. Eventually, it appears like an emotional affair could be on the horizon for Jennalyn.

I have recently lost my beloved step-father. I work a full-time job during the day, then come home to my precocious, high-energy, highly intelligent daughter. My handsome hubby works nights. On a given day, I see him for maybe 30 minutes. That’s not a lot of time to share our days, bring to light any issues we may have, and/or share our hearts with one another. I have emotional needs like any other woman. I need someone to talk to on a regular basis. While I’ve never turned to another man to divulge my heart, I have been guilty of turning to my very best girlfriend and sharing everything — my grief over my dad (she has lost both of her parents), my exhaustion (she works full time too and has three kids), my frustrations, stresses, issues, etc. Very recently, I’ve realized that I was turning to her to meet my emotional needs, which isn’t necessarily bad in and of itself, but I was neglecting to ever tell my husband. Yes, it was hard to pin him down, but I was getting to the point where I wasn’t talking to him about real things at all. The thing is, it became REALLY easy to turn to my best friend and ignore my husband. Like Jennalyn does a bit in the novel, I, too, tried to justify my actions. I would tell myself that some things were just easier to discuss with another woman than with a man. But if I’m honest, I didn’t really want to wait a whole week to talk to my husband about things that were important to me at the moment. It was easier to just call my best friend.

I’m not going to tell you Jennalyn’s story; a lot is going on in her life. Definitely, I highly recommend reading this fabulous story to find out. But I can report a positive impact this novel had on me and my relationship with my husband. Having so much glorious free time right now with my husband — in 11 years of relationship we have NEVER had this much time together — and discussing the various issues Jones Gunn brings up in Being Known, we’ve both realized that we need to restructure our time as a couple and as a family better once life gets back to a more normal routine. I couldn’t have asked for a bigger or better blessing than this. Being Known fully blessed my life, and I just cannot recommend this novel enough. Purchase your copy today. It may just be the story you need right now, too!

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Waterbrook Press, via NetGalley in order to review. I also received a paperback copy of this book from the publisher as well. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.