Runaway Heart Paperback – 28 Feb 2014

What a beautiful story do well told and written thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author

It is lovely to walk the journey with someone coming to Christ. Could not put the book down at all.

I really enjoyed this book. I sat and read it in a few hours. I did not want to put it down. Here are some of the things I enjoyed: I loved that you could see the growth the heroine from beginning to the end. You could see her trying to figure out who she was and where she REALLY belonged. You could see the growth in the relationship between the heroine and her grandfather. I loved the fact that this was a Christian romance, yet the heroine wasn't perky and perfect. That her relationship with God was broken, then mended. I loved that it was a book about love. LOVING God, loving your family, and loving yourself. I loved the multiple points of view. Now Here is what frustrated me: The way she kept pushing ( no spoiler name here) away. He loved her. He kept pursuing her, yet she pushed and pushed him away. ( maybe the author was showing us an example of God's unconditional love?) I also wish she had more interactions with (no name). He only shows up toward the end. It was like he was a minor character. Then there was the ending. Some things were left without any explanation. For example what happened with the other guy that had a selfish interest in the heroine? I hope the author writes a sequel about the author guy. He was painted as a nice guy who needed to recommit himself to God.

I appreciated the fact that there were no f-bombs in this book, and I also appreciated that the author did a pretty good job of constructing her sentences and describing people and places. There were some mistakes in the writing that a good editor should have corrected, but there weren't nearly as many mistakes as many books today have.Sometimes the author would change the character and the time and place with very little warning. A new chapter or a little more blank space between the changes would have been helpful to the reader.The sudden jumps from romantic thoughts to religious decisions were distracting and seemed out of character. I think those transitions could have been handled better.

What happens when your past controls your future? We never know how many of our decisions in life are reflection of some of the bad things that occurred as we were growing up.A terrible childhood for Kyla and her sister shaped their views of married life and the chaos that results when children are jerked from a semi-secure existence and forced by their adults to live a life of inconsistency. Kyla decided she would never give her heart and life over for someone else to control.Then she fell in love with Will and life was fine....why did he want to change it by getting married??? ...she KNEW what marriage was, didn't she? It was nothing but disruption and heartache and insecurity.This wonderful story leads us into the mind of a flawed woman who tries to control her own destiny...but she's not sure what that destiny might be because she can't trust anyone but herself. But the running leads her to the exact place where much of it began, the only 'home' she could ever remembered that stood for security and love.And there, with the help of a past 'rock', neighbors and God she finally gains the strength and wisdom to move her life away from aimless running from her fears to a love and trust she longs for.

This was a realistic story of a young lady, from a dysfunctional family, finding true peace in Jesus Christ. The story addressed real fears of not being able to rise above the past and be different. It also challenges readers to not become complacent, but to be aware of new and wonderful things God brings into our lives, simply because He loves us. The main characters were well developed and realistic. No character was that perfect person that none of us can be.

Teresa Slack delivers a classic love story, though poor Kyla Parrish doesn't know her own worth. This novel is a perfect demonstration of how we let the "sins of our fathers" hold us back from the wonderful things God wants for us, the things he has in store for us.I wanted to shake Kyla and scream at her and say, "Don't you get it?! You can seek forgiveness for HER sins and be set free and live in God's Grace and in Will's life!" But, that is just how REAL the characters in this story are!Four stars instead of five, only because some of the conversion story felt contrived and because Brandon's conniving annoyed me and I think the story line would have played itself out just as well if he had just been a neighborly guy.Great job, Teresa! This was my first read of one of your novels and I can't wait for more!Visit http://ghostreaderblogger.blogspot.com for this and other book reviews. Or, find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ghostreaderblog