Charmaine Ellis—bank president and spiritual armor bearer—is
accomplished in every way but one. She has yet to find the
love of her life, or any love for that matter. She blames
this primarily on her plus-size body. (Make that two areas
for improvement since she is aware that she is not at her
healthiest in a physical sense.)
As a result, when Travis Moon comes a-courtin', she falls
for every smooth line he throws her way despite the warning
bells assaulting her head and her spirit. Before she knows
it, she and Travis are married, and not long after that, she
learns the consequences of not following God's voice.
I first read FARTHER THAN I MEANT TO GO, LONGER THAN I MEANT
TO STAY about a year ago. My fuzzy memories were a bit too
distant to write a fair review, especially since I didn't
recall the story favorably. Since I love Tiffany Warren as
a writer, I had to take time to read this book again.
I'm pleased to say I came away from my second reading with a
much better feeling about the book. Atypically, I enjoyed
the book more the second time despite knowing the story and
all its twists and turns in advance.
The two things that threw me the first go-round were that
it's in first person and that it employs a good deal of
flashback. Neither of those are personal favorites of mine,
but Ms. Warren handles both skillfully. The story develops
naturally from Charmaine, her lack of self-esteem, and her
willingness to put her desires before the desires of God for
her. A lot of women, big and small, will relate to
Charmaine's angst and downfall. Who hasn't fallen for the
wrong man at least once?
The story is fast-paced and despite the flashbacks, easy to
follow. Ms. Warren quickly puts the reader in Charmaine's
aftermath, then retreats to show how she got there. Readers
who find themselves judging Charmaine a bit at first will
surely empathize with her by the end. Tiffany Warren books
always have a bit of fun to them, and in the middle of
Charmaine's lowest moments, there are splashes of humor to
be found.
I loved that Charmaine's trials weren't over at the end of
the book, all nice and neat. That's reality. It's not easy
to fall so far, pick oneself up, and return to the same
heights of achievement. Charmaine makes great strides,
however, and begins to value herself as much as she values
all that she has done.
I can honestly recommend FARTHER THAN I MEANT TO GO, LONGER
THAN I MEANT TO STAY for a good contemporary Christian
fiction read.
As President of Grace Savings and Loans, Charmayne Ellis is
an established, polished professional. Although she has
reached great success, her ridiculing mother and wise
cracking younger sister won't let her forget that she is a
36-year-old, overweight, unmarried woman.
In an
attempt to help, Charmayne's best friend, Lynette, is
obsessed with setting her up on a series of pity-driven
blind dates. When a drop-dead gorgeous man, Travis Moon,
shows interest, Charmayne's caution light blinks like crazy.
But out of loneliness and pressure from her family Charmayne
ignores her gut feeling and gets married.
Yet
instead of marital bliss, Charmayne begins to discover new
things about her husband that force her to question her
marriage and her faith in God.
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