borrowed from Ohio digital Library ( )

I received an advance copy of "For the Love" as part of the book launch team. I hesitated to apply because I have never read a Jen Hatmaker book all the way through. I don't really do non-fiction, especially not Christian non-fiction.

I have read this book three times. It is down to earth, engaging, challenging, honest and incredibly funny. The way Hatmaker intersperses humor with kick in the shins truth kept me wanting to read more. Her call to authenticity and true community is a very necessary message. I am so thankful for voices like Jen's, not afraid to speak hard truth with so much love and grace that you feel like it's gentle correction from an old friend. This is a book I have, and will, read again and again and will pass on to friends. ( )

Loved this book. Must read for every mother, daughter, woman, whether you're religious or not you can get something from this book. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching, other times thought-provoking. Some might not like what she has to say about Christianity today butI agreed with every word. Except for the part about the overalls….I'll never give up my overalls. And if you read these reviews, Jen Hatmaker, get yourself a VitaMix…For the love of soup!!!! ( )

I know people love Jen Hatmaker, and she can be very entertaining. But I find that whenever I listen to her or read something she’s written, I walk away feeling like something is just a little off, as though I’m not getting the whole story. For me, that’s a serious issue for someone supposedly representing Christianity and the Gospel to a world desperate for the whole truth.

This book was unsurprisingly no different. It was a bunch of humorous and entertaining essays juxtaposed with a few essays on the state of modern Christianity. She had a few good points, but I still felt like there was a shallowness that felt like a half-truth. There was no overall, organized arc or plot either, which isn’t a huge deal for a book meant to be conversational in tone.

It was a free book I won in a Goodreads giveaway, so I can’t complain too much. And I did keep the recipes. Otherwise I don’t really recommend this book to anyone looking for more substance than “I love Jesus, but I cuss a little.” (Not a direct quote from the book, just a generalization of the author’s approach to her faith.) ( )

For today's woman, life is a whopping mess of joys and challenges, bruises and triumphs, decisions and intimidations. And it is not getting any easier. Jen is a one of us.