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To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this Desired. It was written well, offered a compelling story, drawn out and real characters, and everything that is worthy of a five star review. Yet, this book also had some serious draw backs for me personally.
Desired is very dark. While Ginger Garrett never glosses over the Biblical realities we so often miss when browsing our own Bible, she's been known to point out the darker side of stories that we may not think on. This story, was a tad too dark for me.
Yet, nothing in Samson's account gives any indication that it should be anything other than a dark story. This man was a man of war. Despite this truth, I could have lived without the graphic violence.
This book also contains a lot of sensuality. I don't really mind the sensuality between those who are married--no Christian literature will ever make me blush as much as reading Songs of Solomon. So I can handle that. The opening scene, however, left my stomach retching. While it may have been common practice among the Philistines to esteem homosexual marriage, I felt like it could have been implied without describing one of the men as having a "virgin's blush."
In spite of all of this, Ginger Garrett truly manages to bring one back to the truth and lessons that we glean from Samson. She brings the reader back to reflect on how Samson's life may resemble our own, what we can do differently, and how God is merciful in spite of what we've done.
Desired is not a book I would recommend to the average reader. If you're able to handle the darkness this book deals with, you will definitely gain so much from it. If you're not, my recommendation is that you should start with Ginger Garret's first book, Chosen, and work your way up to this one.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from David C. Cook Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.