ALL IN

by

L.K. Simonds

Genre: Gritty Realistic / Christian Fiction

Publisher: Morgan James Publishing

Date of Publication: August 27, 2019

Number of Pages: 282

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A woman’s empty pursuit of happiness leads to a crisis before finding redemption in the Lord in this challenging and gritty Christian novel.

Twenty-nine-year-old novelist and blackjack dealer Cami Taylor seems to have it all—but just underneath her confident exterior and newfound celebrity is a young woman in trouble. Cami’s boyfriend, Joel, wants to get married, buy a house on Long Island, and raise a family—a life that’s a million miles from Cami’s idea of happiness. Her therapist suggests compromise and trust, but Cami would rather bolt like a deer.

Breaking things off with Joel, Cami launches herself on a new quest for happiness. But her pursuit of pleasure only takes her further from herself—and toward a harrowing new reality unlike anything she’s faced before. What follows for Cami is a fight to the death that can only be waged with God’s love.

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All In delves into the human psyche and digs deep for the truth.  A truth that is revealed by the actions of Cami and those around her.

This is not your typical Christian fiction book, so if you are opposed to nitty gritty situations in your books, then you won’t want to read this one.  BUT if you like to see how faith in God can change a person from the lowest depths to the highest levels, then you will want to read this novel.  Cami is the kind of character that many will be able to relate to because her life is not picture perfect.  She may have achieved success as an author, but something is missing.  It takes connecting with distant family and a life altering event before Cami realizes the destructive path she is on and if she doesn’t change her life will not be what she wants.

I will admit that the first half of this book was slow and I wondered if Cami was going to find her way or she was going to keep floundering with her writing, her family, or her life.  But about halfway through the book, there is a revelation that changes everything and from that point on I was hooked on the book and had a hard time putting it down.  How was Cami going to handle this situation?  What about her new relationship with Kate (a distant cousin)?  How was she going to handle this news?

Chapter 23 is one of the best chapters, in my mind, because it centers around a discussion between Cami and Kate about faith, God, life, and the direction Cami is headed.  I could have quoted most of the chapter because I felt so much of it was poignant. I think it was also a turning point for Cami and Kate was instrumental in facilitating the new path despite Cami’s reluctance to open her heart and life to others.  Cami hides so much of her life from everyone and, in a way, she is much like the character Jackie in her book.  Living life on the edge but without a real purpose.  Is what she missing faith and God?  Only Cami can discover that and it isn’t an easy sell.

A large portion of this book is set in Dallas where Kate lives and Cami visits.  I was surprised to discover that Christ for the Nations Institute is a real place in Dallas.  It is a charismatic non-denominational church and I’m not sure I believe what was described in the book, but I can’t say it couldn’t happen either.  The bible is full of miracles so anything is possible.  The only question that wasn’t answered is why Kate and her husband left one church for this one.  Kate tells Cami she will tell her later but I do not remember that being answered.

These are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

“…but it seems like you’re kinda dead emotionally.  Your characters feel all kinds of things, but do you?  It’s almost like you’re putting up a front all the time.”

“In the half hour or so between first light and daybreak, the desert holds its breath.  Nothing moves. Not air. Not cactus flower. Not thermometer. Then the sun, in full bloom, crests the lumpy red mountains, and the birds abandon their night roosts with trills as clear as the air itself. By noon, you can grill tortillas on any sunny sidewalk, but the early mornings are perfect.”

“A mother bear’s protective instinct. Actually, more like wolverine.”

“There’s only one reality. Any other ideas on the subject are just existential crap.”

“There’s a big difference between hoping something will happen and arranging your life in such a way that it will happen, inevitably.”

“We’re all one bad hand away from disaster.”

“That’s an important thing about fiction, not only telling a story, but helping the reader see and feel things. Maybe even understand things, they wouldn’t – couldn’t – otherwise.”

“At the time I wrote the book, I thought she played it well.  I still believe she played it well, but I’m not so sure I should’ve let her walk away unscathed. The game always costs us something.”

“Cami, the end of your story haunts me. It breaks my heart to think about a young woman who’s determined to go after a life that will destroy her.”

“I used to think life would all make sense one day and have, you know, a beginning, a middle, and an end. But it won’t. It never will because there’s just one day on top of another until you have a whole string of them, a lifetime of them.”

“This is Texas, the weather here turns on a dime.” 

Overall I really enjoyed this book, especially the last half and felt that the story concluded and closed all storylines with no unanswered questions (other than the one I mentioned above).  We give this 5 paws up.

L. K. Simonds is a Fort Worth local. She has worked as a waitress, KFC hostess, telephone marketer, assembly-line worker, nanny, hospital lab technician, and air traffic controller. She’s an instrument-rated pilot and an alumna of Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas. All In is her first novel.

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