Review: Never Let You Go by Erin Healy

Book Details:
Never Let You Go
by Erin Healy
Genre: Christian Fiction
Published May 2010, Thomas Nelson
Paperback, 339 pages
ISBN: 9781595547507


Synopsis:

Losing everything has Lexi clinging to her daughter. Hell is determined to loosen her grip.
It's been seven years since disaster struck her family. Lexi Solomon has held it all together since then--just barely.
But now Lexi is losing it. The husband who deserted her is back in town, wanting to see their daughter Molly. Her sister's shameless murderer is up for parole. An unsavory old friend is demanding payment for debts that Lexi knows nothing about and can't begin to meet.
And something else is going on--something Lexi feels but can't explain. A dangerous shift is taking place between this reality and the next. Forces beyond her imagination are vying for control.
A rare novel that will satisfy a wide range of readers, Never Let You Go explores the high-stakes decisions played out in the thin spaces between heaven and earth. As the enemy's grip tightens around Lexi, she will have to decide what's truly worth holding on to.

I was originally drawn to this book because it was about a mother fighting for her daughter. As a mother of two young daughters who has already been through quite a bit of fighting for them, I can relate. Once I got into the book, I was a bit put off partly because I was introduced to too many characters so soon into the plot and a lack of unique characterization made it difficult for me to keep up with the plot (and this is coming from someone who has read Sara Douglass). A second reason was that it somewhat reminded me of another book I read recently with the meth theme. Drugs are just not something that I purposely want to read about in my fiction. The only thing that really kept me reading was Lexi's relationship with her daughter, Molly. Along the way, I discovered that there actually is a fantasy-like aspect to the book that is difficult to see for at least half the book. This is probably as close as you can get to the fantasy genre without actually qualifying for the classification. I so badly wanted the book to come "out with it" over the supernatural aspect that I flew through the rest of the book. The ending was mostly satisfying in that the bad guy gets his just desserts and all the lose ends are tied up appropriately, but my fantasy-loving side wanted a more fantastical intervention than what actually occurred. At times, the plot felt like a soap-opera, with Lexi's affair and two other characters being convicts, as well as Ward's constant harrassments and almost reality-defying omnipresence. I would describe the book as high-intensity suspense combined with overdramatic reality and a dash of supernatural.

The Cover: The artistic aspects of the cover are fantastic. Even though I have no idea what the relevance of the picture is to the actual plot, I don't care because it's just that cool.

First Line: "For seven years, Lexi Solomon had been as cold as the wind that raced down the mountain above her home."
This is a beautiful simile for the opening line, even as it describes such a terrible situation. A great metaphor will always keep me reading.

Favorite Quote: "Listen to love, which keeps no record of wrongs. Choose love, and it will save you even now."

Read For: Pages Read Challenge

*I received this book free of charge from the publisher for review purposes.*