cover image Coming Home

Coming Home

Stacy Hawkins Adams. Zondervan, $14.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-310-33398-2

In her seventh novel, Adams (Dreams That Won’t Let Go) tells a story about the importance of forgiveness in relationships centered around Dayna, a hospital executive who struggles to remain steadfastly devoted to her current boyfriend once her ex-husband Brent reappears in her life with foreboding news. Vivid characters and scene setting are strengths of the narrative, as Dayna’s family and friends help her navigate complicated emotional territory with the help of prayer. Dialogue overly heavy with backstory and clichéd descriptions of feelings and thoughts (“he made her heart soar”), however, weaken the novel overall. But the book’s plot pivots quickly forward as characters face the challenges of blending past with the present, with the overarching premise that God has the power to heal any wounds, restore relationships to their proper place in couples’ lives, and help flawed humans make peace with themselves along the way. Agency: Steve Laube Agency. (Mar.)