This book was exquisite and just what I needed! I've loved King's other books so was pretty sure I'd love this one as well and I did! Liz is the epitome of the obedient pastor's wife, holding weekly knitting circles in her home and raising her daughter (now grown and a nurse) to believe she was put on this earth to serve men and kowtow to them. But when husband Thomas suffers a fatal heart attack, Liz realizes she has no real "voice" of her own until good friend, Val introduces her to community theater where she unexpectedly lands the lead and meets single, handsome Lance (who unfortunately is "emotionally unavailable"). When daughter Abagail returns home to "care" for her, Liz recognizes how narrow her vision has been and just how her husband shaped her to believe all the Bible verses literally and not recognize a woman's power or spirit. What follows is a wonderful and heartbreaking trial of the relationship between mother and daughter, mother and friend, mother and "church ladies," mother and hot guy." How does one reinvent herself when tragedy strikes suddenly? We never know until it strikes but I loved King's belief that, "...When you're held back from being yourself, from living your gifts, how can you possibly be your best self?" Oprah worthy, right?? I was teary-eyed at the end as Liz comes to terms with her new life and all the possibilities it holds!

Another wonderful and thoughtful story by Kerry Anne King. The ability of her to portray the feelings of a character who is smothered in the shadows of her husband, even in his death, and then eventually freed of them was refreshing and believable. I enjoyed this book from start to finish and would highly recommend!

I felt this book was quite the wild ride! It follows the life of Elizabeth Lightsey, the wife of a preacher who controls her life and makes every decision for her ...for 26 years. But then he suddenly dies - and although she’s devastated, she finally gets her life handed back to her and she’s free to make decisions for herself. The craziness that happens after this is absolutely amazing. (This story kind of has a housewives vibe to it as the whole community is constantly up each other’s a** ...and it’s comical!) for Elizabeth, is it too soon for a new romance? To soon to start a new life at 49 years old? This book is about life, love, surprises, change, challenges, loving yourself, sticking up for yourself, standing up for what you believe in (which I found to be pretty bad ass in this book), being able to get the strength to stop caring what other people think of you, and the power of YES instead of no! Overall great read from Kelly Anne King and I do recommend this book if you’re looking for a non-stop exciting and fun story! You will be rooting for Liz the whole time, just like I was!

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing (Amazon Publishing) for this ARC!

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for making it possible to read an advanced copy of A Borrowed Life!

I was intrigued to read this by the very fun cover design and also because the story sort of reminded me of an updated version of the play and movie, "Shirley Valentine," about a woman in her 40s who gets a second chance at rebuilding the life she's always dreamed about. While I think Shirley Valentine is the more daring take on this familiar "coming of age later in life" journey, I did find A Borrowed Life to be an engaging read for most of the book.

Elizabeth Lightsey is stuck in her life at 49 years old. Her marriage to the small town Pastor, Thomas, is unfulfilling to say the least, and she belongs to the worst knitting circle with the most judgmental people I can ever imagine. She journals to her "secret self", her alter-ego Liz, every morning, hoping to reclaim some part of her bolder, more adventurous self. Liz expects to be set free from boredom once her husband dies from a heart attack, but true to form, she discovers her new life is just the beginning of a whole new set of challenges and delights.

It took a while, but I have to say I was fully engrossed in the middle section of the book. Once Liz dips her toes into community theatre, a bit of casual sex, and reclaiming her sense of self, does the novel really come alive. I loved the Inner Liz sections of the book that revealed a lot of the character's unexpressed desires. Her overly opinionated and intense daughter, Abigail, along with a nagging sense that Thomas is trying to control her behavior from beyond the grave, work well together to thwart Liz's chances at full independence, which I found believable. Side characters like Val and even Lance, are a true delight. I didn't expect this book to have such a heavy romantic scene, but boy, is it worth the wait!

The dialogue in the book is somewhat stilted, however. Abigail and Thomas (and Earlene, Churchgoer) seem as though they are written as much older people. I don't know very many 25 year olds, Abigail's age, who go around using the word "obtuse." Thomas is written like a 65 year old Pastor straight out of the 1950s (versus 2019 when the novel is set) who appears to only know how to quote the bible rather than talk like a person living in the modern day. I wish we could have gotten scenes earlier in the book about what Thomas' and Liz's marriage was actually like and a clearer picture upfront of how Liz ended up here. Halfway through the story I started to ask myself why in the world Liz ever married this guy!

I found the pregnancy angle frustrating and unnecessary. Plenty of women go on to reinvent their lives without throwing in pregnancy and children (especially with a woman at age 49 who apparently already went through menopause?!) as an obstacle. I wish the author had taken a different path, which would have made the story more unique and believable for a woman looking to start over. In some ways, it seemed like the pregnancy was written in as a way to somewhat temper all of the growth and self-discovery that Liz was going through. It certainly stopped her budding sexual & romantic relationship with Lance. I don't know, this storyline kind of felt forced and more formulaic than I think what was intended. And it made Abigail one of the most unbearable bratty characters... I really wanted Liz to stand up to her more!

As a side note, and this is probably a technical glitch, but my Bluefire Reader cut out all of the dialogue in written as Texts, so I actually missed what happened in the end, which is a shame!

I appreciated King's writing and she does reach levels of emotional depth that surprised me. Liz felt like a living, breathing human, and honestly, who doesn't ever find themselves in a bad marriage, a horrible job, or just stuck in an unsatisfying phase of life with no clue how to move forward. I found Liz's struggle heartbreaking and something I could identify with on a certain level. Apparently King has experience as a medical professional working with those suffering from grief and loss, and she clearly knows what she's talking about here.

Thanks again to Netgalley for providing this advanced book in exchange for an honest review.

If you know anything about my reading habits, you know I’m not a fan of romance, so you’re probably wondering what led me to pick this book! I will admit I didn’t realise A Borrowed Life was a romance when I picked it up: NetGalley has it listed as General Fiction/Women’s Fiction, and the synopsis mentioned a romance, but only briefly. I had also already kind of fallen in love with the cover, and I had it downloaded, so I decided to give it a go.

This is a pretty uplifting story of a woman oppressed by her religious husband coming into her own and rediscovering her freedom and joy for life. When her husband dies unexpectedly, Elizabeth realises this is her chance to do things for herself, and starts to follow her passions. The general message of this book is empowering, especially for women who might feel a bit stuck in a rut, having let hobbies fall by the wayside. As a 21 year old agnostic university student, I’m not sure I’m quite the target audience for this book, but I still had sympathy for Liz. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who feels a bit trapped by their lives; perhaps your job has taken over your life, or perhaps you’ve been neglecting yourself in favour of looking after your family. Doing the things you love and want to do are still important, no matter what stage of life you’re at, and maybe this will inspire you to cut out some negativity in your life (you don’t need to waste time on the nosey neighbour!), and pursue the things that you want to do.

An interesting aspect of this book was the way the memory of Thomas almost haunted Liz: she imagines his reactions to her new life, and she speaks back to him. As an exploration of grief, it was interesting, but underdeveloped. It was also the only real exploration of grief this book really has, which I found a bit unrealistic as it opens with Thomas’ death. While Liz was not happy in her marriage I found it surprising that she didn’t mourn him more, and I would have liked to see more of her wrestling with grief, whilst being conflicted by her feelings of relief at her freedom. I think this would’ve helped Liz’s character development as well, if there was more of a chance to see her inner conflict.

The other thing I found enjoyable about this book was the writing style. It’s very simple, very quick to read, and honestly, I’m not sure I’d have bothered to finish this book if it wasn’t such a quick read. General message aside, the plot was predictable, and not at all gripping to me. Now, I’m hardly one to complain about a book with no plot — a lot of the books I read are character driven — but I felt the characters were also lacking. Every “twist” in this book I saw coming, and it seemed very formulaic. Husband dies, widow has epiphany about her life, cue the friend to step in and show her the light, oh look! A romantic interest! And a good dollop of angst! Formulaic story lines and abundance of overused tropes are some of the main reasons I usually steer clear of romance.

As I said, I felt the characters were severely lacking. Now, this book is set in America, and I’m from England so granted, the religious aspect of it may feel more realistic to Americans, but to me it just seemed… ridiculous. Compared to my experience of knowing people in the Christian community in England, these characters were just caricatures of all the negative stereotypes around religion. At every turn, they used their faith as an excuse to control, manipulate, gaslight, and poke their bloody noses in. And that was all there was to those characters as well. No three dimensions here!

The other set of characters, Liz’s theatre friends, were more bearable, but were basically just there to be the polar opposites of the church group. Bubbly, open-minded, friendly, charismatic… Apparently there’s only two personality types in this book’s world! The only characters that did have some level of nuance were Abigail, Liz’s daughter, who struggles to come to terms with her mother’s new life, trying to retain everything her father imposed on her, and the romantic interest, Lance. Lance’s hot-and-cold attitude was grating, though he was one of the few characters who actually showed some development. As characters, both Abigail and Lance were pretty unbearable, but as you learn more about them you do understand a bit more of why they behave the way they do, and they are both able to learn and grow, which is what sets them aside from every other character aside from Liz.

All in all, this definitely wasn’t my favourite read of 2020, and I think I’ll be steering clear from romances in future!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.
Again Thank you for giving me an opportunity to review this book. I throughly enjoyed the book. I am going to be going back to this book for years to come. Can’t wait to recommend to my bookstagram pals. Thank you again for the chance to read and review this book.

An absolute must for all Amanda Process fans! Kerry Anne King handles this sensitive topic with such a sure touch and huge empathy. Inside Elizabeth, dutiful wife of a church pastor, lives Liz, a free thinking, intelligent and rebellious woman. For nearly three decades Liz has been subjugated by her coercive husband who has slowly crushed her spirit and forced her to raise their daughter Abigail to be equally dutiful and repressed. Pastor Thomas's sudden death ,snaps the chains of duty which have hitherto bound her and allows her spirit to soar. No longer does she have to creep down in the early mornings to write in her notebook or read her forbidden novels. With the help of a free spirited neighbour who entices her into joining a community theatre group, she expands her friendship group, finds strength to stand up to neighbourhood gossips, and fling open the doors of her cage. Will she be able to free her horrified daughter who is still bound to the strictures enforced by her father? We are swept along on their journey , willing Liz to succeed. I won't spoil the ending for you but I was enraptured to the very last word. I need more from this fabulous, and emotionally intelligent writer !

Wow! What a tour de force! I read this highly addictive book in 1 day.

I loved the characters, especially Liz. I really enjoyed watching her develop and grow throughout the book and the changes she underwent were evident at the end of the book. I liked how her development was gradual; there were some setbacks along the way but she overcame them and become stronger.

I got frustrated at some points with Lance and Abigail. Lance was absent for much of the book and treated Liz badly at some points, often blaming her solely for mistakes that he had a hand in. I was frustrated with Abigail because she was never really supportive of her mom, although I understand how she had essentially been brainwashed by her father since childhood and ingrained habits, attitudes, and beliefs can be incredibly hard to let go of and change.

That being said, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. I'm really glad I read it and look forward to reading more by this author!

It takes a bit to really grab hold of this book - it wasn't until about half way through that I couldn't put it down. While the religious aspect of the book seems heavy handed at times, it does serve a purpose to show how overbearing religious zeal can bog down one's life and prevent them from becoming the person they really are. The transformation of Elizabeth to Lacey to Liz is one to be admired. The book teaches us an important lesson about being true to ourselves in order to attain true happiness, no matter how many people you may have to disappoint along the way.

Liz has admirably played the part of Mrs Thomas Lightsey, pastor's wife and mother for 26 years. Appearances for the congregation and looking after her demanding husband have taken there toll.
After the sudden death of Thomas, Liz although suffering from shock and grief, finds herself with free time on her hands. Liz lands the lead role in the next show at the community theatre much to the displeasure of her daughter Abigail. A relationship with Lance (The leading man) finds Liz pregnant at forty-nine. New haircut, clothes, and friends only make Abigail more uncomfortable seeing the changes her mother making.
For Abigail, Lance, her unborn baby, and herself, Liz needs to find a way to rebuild balance in her life?
I thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the Author Kerry Anne King for allowing me to review this pre-publication novel.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
I absolutely loved this book!
Liz is a preachers wife leading the perfect life her husband demands.
When her husband suddenly dies she decides to reinvent her life and find the real Liz.
She joins a theater group and falls for the leading man.
Suddenly she finds herself pregnant - will she keep the baby? Can she find happiness again? Can she build a relationship with her daughter? You will so enjoy this book!

I found myself rooting for Liz from page 10 or so. This book centers around Liz who has been the model wife for Thomas (a pastor) for 26 years who suddenly dies. You see she then finds herself pregnant at 49 *sigh* and she has to make a few decisions about the baby, her daughter Abigail and her new man Lance *sob*. It’s such an addictive read that kept me up *sigh*

I devoured this book in 2 days and just couldn’t put it down. I found Liz’s life to be fascinating both before and after everything changed. I really resonated with losing yourself when you marry and have kids and was willing her on every step of the way to finding herself again. The final plot twist was the perfect ending to her new life.

I loved this book. I love the powerful message of saying YES instaed of no. I really liked Liz the main character and her steely resolve to want more for herself.
This is a well crafted book that will please just about every reader.
I think the author nailed it when people around you freak out when you decide to want more or a different life. But in the end....everything will work out.
Two thumbs way up.

Okay so first of all,
I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEED THE DRAMA!!! I finished this book in 2 days, could not put it down. It gave me white Beverly Hills Housewives vibes & I was living for it!
The storyline is pretty good! However, I have a few critiques:
1) Abigail reminded me of a lonely 86 year old grandmother who's only purpose was to bitch at people because she has no life... Reading her lines was just unbearable.
2) The ending low-key drags on. After chapter 31, I was wondering when the book was going to be over.
3) Liz may be in her late 40s, but the way the author describes her, you would've thought she was about 65.

Overall, I highly totally recommend this book to those who need a break from reading serious material. It was highlyyyy entertaining & very dramatic.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC. I’ll start off by saying I’ve never read anything from Kerry Anne King and I was pleasantly surprised. I couldn’t put this book down, while I’m not religious so my connect to that didn’t mean anything I found myself connecting with Elizabeth (Liz). A woman who’d been with a man of god for over half of her left suddenly becomes a widow and is left to dig back into her past to find herself a again. The real Liz slowly emerges and she finds herself in a few unpredictable moments, navigating her relationship with her daughter, the church and her new found friendships. Silencing who she was “supposed to be as a preachers wife” to find herself again, Liz’s journey is one you’ll be happy to take.

I received this book "A Borrowed Life" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. I thought this book was good. I did like that Thomas kept talking to Liz in her mind and she would talk back to him. She kept doubting herself but finally said goodbye. There were a couple surprises in the book that I didn't see coming. Overall a good story and a quick read.

This is a feel good story about loss and growth with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. Elizabeth was oppressed in her marriage and her husband dies suddenly and she literally wakes up in a whole new world. Trying to navigate that new world she has to battle her daughter and herself to become the person that she knows she can be.

I enjoyed this book, it gave me all the feels, happy and sad and left me crying in a few different places. I thought the writing was good and held true to the storyline and I especially loved the growth of the main character and her standing up for what she believed was right. There were a couple of characters that I didn't really like but they were necessary for the storyline. One of them I felt really sorry for as she had a lot of growing to do herself.

There was nothing earth shattering and not really a new idea, but it was a feel good book that left me feeling good and was just what I needed right now. I have a couple of this author's other books and will be reading those also.

This book is more than just a beautiful cover. The author has given it heart and soul, and it flies like a bird into the author's mind. A rare treat.

For twenty-six years Liz has perfectly played the part of Mrs. Thomas Lightsey, exemplary pastor’s wife and mother. But maintaining appearances for the congregation and catering to her demanding husband takes a toll, and she’s lost herself in meeting the expectations of others. When Thomas suddenly dies, Liz feels shocked, grief, and, to her surprise, the siren song of freedom. Dare she dream of life to call her own?

Despite the resistance of her daughter, Abigail, to even the smallest changes, Liz lands a role at the community theater. Inspired by new friends and the character she plays, she explores life’s possibilities, including an unexpected—and steamy—relationship with her leading man.

Just when Liz thinks she might be winning, life hits her with an unthinkable shock. She’s pregnant at forty-nine. Torn between conflicting loyalties to her daughter, her lover, her unborn baby, and herself, can Liz find a way to rebuild her dream life one more time?

I enjoyed the book. It was not at all what I expected. There are some parts that seem a bit off, well off as a forty-nine pregnancy. I enjoyed most of the book.