Gina Holmes

The Devil Incarnate came into young Penny Carson' life in the form of charismatic, good-looking Trent Taylor, a farmhand who dared to talk back to her overbearing father. With seductive promises, Trent stole Penny away from her home and family, luring her with his possessiveness, which at first made her feel wanted. It didn't take long at all for the twisted man behind the handsome face to begin his cycle of abuse--expectation of forgiveness--abuse. In "Wings of Glass", author Gina Holmes show more offers a look at domestic violence which is intense, unflinching, at times quite brutal, but is ultimately healing. The subject of abuse is one that many people turn away from because it makes them uncomfortable. Almost all of us know someone who is an abuse victim. We ourselves may be that victim. Abuse taints and tortures not only the immediate victim, but also others in the surrounding vicinity. Its effects are endless. Ripples upon ripples on the sea of life. When Trent is blinded in a work accident, Penny eventually finds work cleaning houses through a "church lady", Callie Mae. The woman who trains her, Fatimah, is a Sudanese refugee. The three women would at first seem very different, but they form a genuine friendship with a thread of shared painful memories. When Trent regains his eyesight, he also regains the vicious edge to his personality, which had been somewhat lessened by his loss of vision. Penny's pregnancy adds to the tension of the situation, even though at times Trent seems pleased about becoming a father. The abuse he suffered in his own childhood has taken a terrible toll, though, and he cannot stop the demon inside which makes him do awful things to Penny and other people. When the scope of the violence increases beyond their own home, and eventually includes the loss of a life, Penny must rely on the life lessons and friendship she has received from Callie Mae and Fatimah to sustain her own life and the life of her young son, Manny. I would like to commend Gina Holmes for choosing to write about abuse and its lasting, widespread effects–not just on the victim, but on those who care for the victim. All of us, whether we realize it or not, know someone who has been abused at some point in their life. The first reaction to abuse is denial. It’s a subject which makes people uncomfortable, and the victims often linger in a very painful silence. Writing about it may encourage someone who is a victim to seek help. Acknowledgement is not only a first step, it’s a giant leap! Recommended.

Book Copy Gratis Tyndale House Publishers show less

Dry as Rain is not only a great title, but an incredible story of redemption and discovering what is truly important in life. Money won't keep you warm at night or hold your hand when you are old. Just like in real life, the author doesn't make it easy on the characters when their lives unravel. I've read a number of great books this year on the subject of infidelity and found this one to be better than most for a number of reasons. First, I loved how the author wrote the entire story from show more the male point of view even though the author is a woman. I thought she did a great job with first person point of view. Eric's internal dialog rang true to me. For the duration of the novel, I felt like I was Eric.

I really empathized with Eric on a number of issues. He'd dug himself a pretty big hole with a few dumb decisions that cost him dearly, and he couldn't take the consequences back for a do-over. Who wouldn't want their wife to forget the bad stuff from their past when an opportunity to have their heart's desire--intimacy with the person who hate been hateful toward them--presented itself? The guilt he experienced was plenty of punishment, and typically the anguish a person can inflict on himself from guilt is often worse than what the spouse can dish out anyway.

While it's not an excuse, as is true in most affairs, one person strays because the other has grown cold toward them. It usually starts out with something as innocent as an e-mail. Most of the people I know who have had infidelity in their marriage said it started the same way. It's a sorry substitute to feel valued and attractive by someone other than your life-mate, which Eric soon discovered after he got a taste of what he thought he wanted. He learned the hard way that he'd sacrificed his family to earn more money, which caused his wife to resent him and grow distant. So many men do that when what their family really wants is not a bigger house, but a dad and husband who spends time with them.

I have never understood how women can become such witches when they have been cheated on, but I found the portrayal in this novel totally believable because I've known many women who acted just like Kyra did. Their anger and hurt just makes them look ugly and bitter, rather than attractive and someone desirable to the person who cheated. So in my opinion, Eric was a saint to be patient with her. I know he's the one who did wrong, but how many times does someone need to be yelled at and reminded of what they did wrong over and over again? He was truly sorry for what he did. He realized his mistake and had no desire to repeat it. Bitterness just hurts the person who is bitter about things, and Kyra was a great example of that. Sure she had the right to be angry, but she hurt herself more than she hurt Eric.

At any rate, I loved how the story played out and how Eric learned to be honest with himself and others over time. I loved how his priorities changed and how he decided to never give up regardless of what he faced every day. Most of all, I loved how God took an ugly situation and turned it around so it was used for the good. Great story with a convincing spiritual arc too. This is a powerful novel that is definitely making my top fiction list for 2011. show less

To say I loathed this book is a gross understatement. I despise domestic abuse stories. That being said I enjoyed the author's writing style and imagery, I just hated her story.

Penny ran away from her folks at age 17 in order to elope with her abusive lover. It's been 10 years of hell, but now that her husband has tragically lost her eyesight and she is with child, she hopes that it wil turn him into a better man. Her new friends however are doubtful, they want Penny to get away before show more Trent crosses the line and hurts her AND the baby. What is she supposed to do? She loves Trent and thinks that him abusing her is part of his duty as head of household. Will she ever be able to find God's strength and run away?

Now instead of giving this review only one star I chose to give it three because there are some redeeming qualities.
1. The characters are well developed and you feel as if they are people you could easily run into in real life.
2. The writing style is very descriptive, but doesn't bog you down, I read this book in a record 2 1/2 hours.
3. The author did her research well, even though I despise domestic abuse stories, the author really got into the mentality of the abused and makes it easy for you to empathize with the victim.

Now, why I hated this soo much. For the life of me I cannot understand or relate with the excuses that battered women make. I'm not trying to sound judgemental and I know I've never had to experience what they're going through, but I just can't undestand. Penny makes excuse after excuse for her husband. She even defends him when he drunkenly pushes her friend down the stairs who was carrying her newborn child!! A man pushes a woman carrying an infant and you try to tell the police it was an accident and that your husband didn't mean to do it!? Worst friend ever. Penny's friends keep trying to help her but she's in denial. Her husband beats her, degrades her, cheats on her, and verbally abuses her and she thinks it's ok! Like all the time!! I know this happens in real life but I can't understand it. As one of her friends, Callie Mae, says "The first time a man hit me would be the last time."

If you're into domestic abuse, rising above challenges, or living in denial, then thsi is the book for you.

I received this book for free from Waterbrook Press in return for my honest unbiased opinion. show less

How does a mother describe death to her five-year-old daughter? Looking out over the water from her father’s property Jenny tells Isabella that death is like crossing from one side of the ocean to the other. Jenny is forced to do this because she is dying. Only a reason so dire could have forced her return to the North Carolina town she turned her back on six years ago, grieving her mother’s death and abandoned by the men in her life. Her father was overwhelmed by his own grief and her show more boyfriend, not knowing she was pregnant, callously dumped her. But Jenny must find someone to care for Bella after she is gone. So she returns home to face her past and repair broken relationships. Raw emotion fairly jumps off the pages as Holmes’ flawed, believable characters interact with each other, wrestling with their grief, their love and their conflicting plans for Isabella. To her credit debut novelist Holmes never resorts to clichés, nor does she indulge in a miraculous cure for Jenny. She does, however, provide a good home for Isabella whom we meet again as an adult in the epilogue. Jenny’s journey down the path of surrendering to God’s will for her life is heartfelt and rendered so realistically that the reader knows that the author has experienced loss in her own life. This is a very poignant tale of love and loss, of mistakes and forgiveness, and of learning to trust in God in the direst of circumstances. At times, this is not an easy read, but it is definitely worth it! show less