Review and Giveaway: Veil of Secrets

Book Description

Can a mother face the secrets of her past in order to protect her daughter from the same mistakes?

Melanie and Will Connors seem like the perfect couple, but their marriage only looks good on the outside, having withered inside from a lack of intimacy.

The barriers Melanie faces to intimacy are hidden in her past—a misguided tryst with a trusted friend of her father’s, a pattern of promiscuity as a teen, empty relationships in early adulthood. The only way Melanie sees to save herself from herself is to turn off her desires—even in her marriage.

Will insists they either work on the marriage—or work on the divorce. Their attempt at restoration occurs in the midst of a New Hampshire presidential primary that is rocked by violent protests and razor-sharp character assassinations. For the first time, their marriage begins to feel like a safe place.

As Melanie tries to sort through her own past, she sees her 16-year-old daughter’s head turned by a charismatic older man on Will’s campaign team. Can Melanie sift through her own rubble and find the voice to help guide her daughter—and possibly find the joy that God intended for her marriage?

My thoughts and giveaway:

This is a book I really I  have mixed feelings about. I liked it, really I did, but there are some things I didn’t care for.

So let’s start with the good.

The back cover blurb doesn’t really do the story justice. There is so much more going on in this book then just the storyline of Melanie and Will. I would say Will’s sister, Carrie, has just as much of a part in the book at Melanie and Will.

There’s a lot going on this book and a lot of bouncing back and forth between view points. For that reason I did feel it was difficult to get a good grasp on the characters. But the plot kept me reading. I wanted to see what would happen with each of the characters and there really is never a dull moment.

It was interesting to be in the throes of a political campaign. The authors did a great job of making you feel like you never had a moment to yourself.

The problems between Melanie and Will seemed pretty real. Melanie closes off sexually to her husband and her thoughts are thoughts I could very much relate to.

What I didn’t care for so much was all the touching and kissing. Not anything passionate, but it seemed like Carrie was kissing every guy she came in contact with and I didn’t know who she really cared for. I suppose this was done to show the intimacy that is gained during a campaign but she even did this with a guy who wasn’t part of her campaign.

My other issue with Carrie was she was portrayed as a Christian, as almost everyone else in the book was, but  I had trouble finding anyone with strong faith. I think it might’ve been more affective to have Carrie seeking, or falling away, but it doesn’t seem as if she had a falling out with God or was angry at Him, just that she hoped He wouldn’t see her sin as she was about to do it. As someone who did choose sin over Jesus I can say I never prayed during that time, I never asked Him not to see what I was doing. I just didn’t talk to Him. That seems more realistic to me than praying that He wouldn’t see what I was doing.

I understand that many of us struggle with our faith but I would’ve like to see more stability. I felt like everyone used God instead of relied on Him.

I was also confused by Melanie and Will’s hot and cold relationship. One minute they are yelling at each other the next they are holding each other, and this would happen several times in one conversation.

With all that being said, I did like reading this book and seeing how the characters would work out their difficulties. I was rooting for them to make the right choice and gain a deeper faith in Jesus.

As always, these are my thoughts only and I encourage to you form your own opinion and see what you think. Enter to win the copy I’m giving away and let me know what you think.

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A copy of this book was given to me through the BookLook Bloggers program in exchange for an honest review.