Book Review: Stand By Me

If I haven't said it before I'm saying it now, I love to read series. I think the reason I love book series so much is because I get so involved in the character's lives and stories and I feel like reading about them for one book just isn't enough. I love to get to read more and become more engaged in their lives through book after book. Another thing I love in books is when author's tell the story from different character's points of view throughout the novel. It's so fun to get the different perspectives within the same book!

Anyway, the latest novel I received from Booksneeze was Stand By Me by Neta Jackson. This novel is the first in a new spin-off series called Souled Out Sisters following her other two series Yada Yada Prayer Group and House of Hope. I loved both of the other series and I was excited to learn that Neta Jackson was coming out with yet another series so I requested this book right away! And I started and finished it almost as soon as I received it!

The book is told from the perspective of a college senior who is a newly professed Christian, Kat Davies, part of the time, and from an elementary school prinicipal and long-time Christian and church leader, Avis Douglass, the other part. Kat is very enthusiastic about life, living "green" and her new found Christian faith. Kat discovers Souled Out Community Church and introduces herself to Avis and longs to become a part of the multi-cultural church and to be close to Avis, a woman whom she greatly admires. However, Avis is going through some hard times in her life at the moment; including a strained relationship with her daughter and the unknown of her and her husband's job status. She thinks Kat is very eccentric and nosy and does not want to be bothered by her. Kat is almost the complete oppostie of Avis and yet God put them in each other's paths for a reason. Their lives keep intertwining in ways neither of them would have expected but God knows what He is doing!

I realled enjoyed this book. It was so fun and filled with real struggles and life situations. It kept me very engaged and wanting to learn more and more about the characters. I had "met" Avis before in the other series books by Neta Jackson but she was never a main character. In the Yada Yada books she had a "supporting role" so to speak and in House of Hope she was basically a character that appeared every now and then. I'm loving that I get to learn more about her and her family. Kat was a new character and it was lots of fun to "meet" her. I look so forward to reading the rest of the books in this series and getting to know more about her! She was so spunky and full of life, she almost reminded me of myself in some ways.

If you're looking for a fun, engaging, heart warming story that teaches great lessons pick this one up! And the best part is, you don't need to have read the other series before reading it. All of Neta's series though intertwined are completely readable on their own! Each has a different set of main characters and the characters that are in the other series are explained well enough you know all you need to about them! I highly, highly recommend this book along with any of her others!

Cindy

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's guidelines.