Publisher description:
This warmhearted and moving prequel to the “heart-tugging and emotional” (RT Book Reviews) #1 New York Times bestselling Baxter Family Series follows the family members as they face rising tensions during a wedding and a colossal storm.
A terrible storm builds in the early morning sky over Bloomington, Indiana, as Elizabeth Baxter prepares to celebrate her daughter Kari’s wedding to Tim Jacobs. It’s supposed to be the happiest of days, but Elizabeth can’t shake a growing sense of dread. Is the storm a sign? Something bad is about to happen. Elizabeth knows it.
Indeed, there are dark currents of conflict and doubt coursing through the Baxter family. In the midst of them, Kari Baxter is starting to panic. Is marrying Tim a mistake? And what about her family? Her brother Luke is angry and resentful of their sister Ashley, who has recently returned from Paris, a single mom with a son she too often leaves with their parents. At the same time, Ashley and their sister Brooke have lost the faith that is the family’s glue. Against all this, Kari sees Ashley rejecting her longtime love, Landon Blake, who clearly cares for her, no matter what happened in Paris.
When the storm reaches a terrifying crescendo, a shocking moment of danger brings important truths to light. At the end of the long day, can the Baxters remain a family, tested but strong
From an author who “writes with seemingly effortless poetic elegance” (Booklist), The Baxters is an unforgettable testament to the power of love, family, and faith.
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My Review:
You may already be a fan of Karen Kingsbury’s many books about the Baxter family. (I’ve read all of them over the last several years.) I’ve loved the characters in this series and have appreciated the way the author has always kept the emphasis focused on faith and the hope we find in Jesus Christ. For those of us who have kept up with this family through the years, the setting of this book may come as a surprise. For those of you who haven’t read any of the books in this series, this is the perfect place for you to begin.
This book takes us back in the past to a couple of years before the first book in the series, “Redemption”. In this book, we meet John and Elizabeth Baxter and their adult children. This book begins on the wedding day of Kari Baxter and Tim Jacobs. A strong storm system is moving towards Bloomington, and it mirrors some of the inward turmoil that some members of the Baxter family are experiencing. Kari is experiencing some trepidation about going through with her wedding that day; her sister Ashley is struggling with her own loss of faith in God.
All John and Elizabeth can do is pray for their children and pray for safety not only from the storm that’s approaching, but also for the spiritual battles that their children are experiencing.
The reason for this book? There’s going to be a new TV series based on these books and this prequel will be opening for that series. My drawback to these books has always been that sometimes the storylines seemed at times to be just a little bit over the top and dramatic. But I enjoyed this one and felt that it filled in some things that the first books didn’t address. I’ve already found my copy of the next book, “Redemption” and I’m looking forward to becoming reacquainted with the Baxter family again.
I voluntarily received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
About Karen Kingsbury:
Karen Kingsbury, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists and many of her novels are under development with Hallmark Films and as major motion pictures. Her Baxter Family books are being developed into a TV series slated for major network viewing sometime in the next year. Karen is also an adjunct professor of writing at Liberty University. In 2001 she and her husband, Don, adopted three boys from Haiti, doubling their family in a matter of months. Today the couple has joined the ranks of empty-nesters, living in Tennessee near five of their adult children.
