I have been reading the stories of Christy and her friends since I was 15. Robin Jones Gunn has a way of writing relatable stories with characters that you can connect with. While this is a fictional story, I found myself examining my own heart with my marriage and my own friendships. Being Known made me laugh, I cried and can not wait to purchase to add to my own library. I will definitely be recommending my friends to read this.

BEING KNOWN is another delightful book by ROBIN JONES GUNN. I really enjoyed following the characters from Becoming Us, but Being Known can be read as a stand alone.
It is rhe story of five women who have made a commitment to each other as members of the Daughters of Eve, a really strong circle of friendship who meet from time to time, have a lot of fun, group text often, and generally do life together.
The author has an amazing way of describing the characters' emotions as they try to juggle their commitments to family and work, whilst longing to grow closer to the Lord. I like the way they each find a word from God that is meaningful for their situation, and follow through on it.
Jennalyn's struggle with the loss of her mother and the reappearance of an old boyfriend, emphasizes the importance of honesty and making the right choices.
It is a most enjoyable read and one I can highly recommend.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Waterbrook & Multnomah. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

A long time fan of the author I had high hopes for this story. It beings with Jennalynn and her husband Joel along with her group of friends who call themselves the "DOES" daughters of Eve.
They are collectively the Havenmakers. Christian women, most of who are married mom's, along with one who is single. They are a delightful mixed group of women who care for each other, meeting often and trying to live rightly. Yes the Christian theme is an undercurrent throughout the book.
We meet Jenna our main character who still grieves the loss of her mother, a frustrated stay at home mom whose husband is mostly absent while he's both running a new restaurant and is the head chef there. Her two children are an almost 4 year old and an almost toddler. Jenna is not seen nor is she heard by her husband. I had a tough time liking Joel. Joel raised in a large Italian family, her in-laws are a wonderful support for her, I liked them very much. When she takes her daughter to ballet class she runs into her high school boyfriend, the man who broke her heart. His daughter and her's happen to be best friends in this class. While Garrett tries to engage Jennalynn, she's pretty standoffish, and shuts him out. He apologizes for the past. He is married, his wife busy with her work, so he's the one who brings her to class. Jenna doesn't share this meeting with her circle of friends, nor does she share the online contact that happens to develop with him after Jenna and Joel have yet another major disagreement. Jenna retreats to her cave that is a source of comfort for her. The two play a simple word game on social media and there is some conversation woven into that. She finds out that he too has lost his mother who was her mother's best friend. In that they share a common bond. She does recognize that she is married and nothing can ever happen, yet she doesn't share this with her friends. I enjoyed the support and caring for each other these women had and the often times guidance they provided for each other. Pivot point in the plot when Joel comes home saying they need a vacation and he's taking her to Hawaii. She's over the moon with that, thinking she'll finally recharge both herself and her marriage. She misses her husband. When he tells her it's a marriage retreat, suggested by her friends husband, she's a little less than happy. Add that he's already made the plans for them to go without talking with her about it, even less happy. Another point of contention in their already strained marriage. Again we see Jenna hold back with her group about this. Her closest friend knows the strain. Her husband is the one who talked to Joel about the retreat and they want to go also, so he's working extra jobs to pick up the much needed money to go.
The lack of communication between these two and Joel's anger issues were a problem for me. Along with some things with Jenna that could be obvious to the reader that paid attention to her unresolved grief issues and maybe a little post partum thrown in. That was just my feeling. While the group was busy guiding the single woman through a questionable friendship with a man, Jenna was always the peacemaker of the group. Withholding her own story, I didn't find her likable at times, yet I am certain there are many women who can relate to this scenario. Jenna tries several times to talk to Joel about Garrett, and none of which she's able to accomplish due to Joel. Things blow up, Joel's anger really shines through and leaves the reader wondering really what's going on here. It did me.
When he turns a corner, I found it superficial and much too quick and tidy. I needed more character development and depth to these two. It's a light read, quick and light on their faith relationships.
Also notable you never read about Jenna or Joel going to church. While church attendance isn't the focus of the story, it's brought up by other characters while they were relating a story to each other.
I had higher expectations for this book, since the author is a talented writer. For me it was just ok.

arc from publisher with thanks

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC of this book! I am a Robin Jones Gunn fan and have read her books for many years, Now I am a librarian and our readers love the christian message in her books.
We will be buying this one for our shelves. Great story! All readers can enjoy this book.

I really don't enjoy women's fiction, but Robin Jones Gunn captured my attention with the Christy Miller series when I was a teenager, and I look forward to everything she writes whether it is YA or Women's fiction. Being Known continues the journey of adult, parenting group of friends that have devoted time to spend together. Either praying or talking about issues in their lives. It is nice to catch up with Christy Spencer and Sierra from Gunn's earlier writings. But it is also nice to hang with the new girls. Everytime I read Gunn's new series, Being Known included, I wish I had a group of Christian women I could hang out with and plan different get together days. It would be nice to have prayer partners who I can see actually caring about the situations in my life. Gunn does a wonderful job at showing the heartache of being a mother at home with kids all day while the husband works. Now one of her novels needs to show a mother who works 50 hours a week while her husband works 40 hours and she still has to come up and cook dinner, enforce chores, assign baths, and work on homework while the husband lounges on the couch watching television. That is a book I couldn't wait to get my hands on. In Being Known, I really admired the way Gunn handled the grief of losing a mother from Jennalynn's perspective. So many times novels mention once and then the characters appears to move on and never think about it again. So untrue. Losing my Daddy four years ago, it can hit at the most unexpected time, and I think about him almost every day. Overall, Being Known is not a typical women's fiction novel, I love how Gunn faces the harsh realities of being a mother and parent in her novel, but with grace and surrounded by friends. I highly recommend this series to anyone. Christian or not.

I received a complimentary copy of Being Known by Robin Jones Gunn from Waterbrook-Multnomah Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

Very good story. The plot was very easy to follow. The characters were well developed and easy to identify with. The religious overtones weren’t to bad. As not every one believes in G-d, I think everyone can enjoy this book.

As always it’s a great story. Filled with warmth, love, truth, honesty and trust. A group of friends help one another in life. The choices they make in their relationships are held to a level of trust and truth only a God can direct. The storyline is written in a way that draws you directly in and you feel as though your living amongst these friends.