Forever Soul Ties

by Vanessa Davis Griggs

When one woman is caught in the act of her greatest transgression, it's the beginning of her greatest transformation. . .

It started innocently: a coincidental meeting between old high school friends--first loves--at Butterfly's business, The Painted Lady Flower Shop. Then came lunch, then confessions of unhappy marriages, loneliness. It went on that way for years between Butterfly and Ethan. That's how they built the soul tie--the bond that, despite their devotion to God, has now led to adultery. And as with all things done in secret, they've been found out. Well, Butterfly has.

As a leader in her church, Butterfly is suddenly cast into the spotlight. But she soon realizes she's being used as a pawn to bring down a new pastor--a young man who is upsetting tradition by preaching about real-life issues real people deal with. People like Butterfly. And as she faces a challenging search for truth, forgiveness, and the real meaning of love, she may finally break out of her cocoon. . .

"There are enough tears, hugs, and lessons learned before summer's over to appease readers, young and adult, who like a good dose of faith with their fiction." --Publishers Weekly on Ray of Hope

"Griggs address[es] the challenges of living by Biblical rules with homespun humor. Fans will be pleased." --Publishers Weekly on The Truth Is the Light

"A smart novel that addresses an issue that many in the church shy away from--divorce--with frank realism."--Library Journal on Practicing What You Preach

"Vanessa's rich stories of faith in action always hit the writing trifecta--they make you laugh, cry, and yearn for more." --Angela Benson, National bestselling author

"I absolutely love Vanessa's unique writing style. She is one of a kind." --Mary Monroe, New York Times bestselling author

Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian, Romance

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Vanessa Davis Griggs is the author of novels: DESTINY UNLIMITED, THE ROSE OF JERICHO, PROMISES BEYOND JORDAN, WINGS OF GRACE, BLESSED TRINITY, STRONGHOLDS, IF MEMORY SERVES and PRACTICING WHAT YOU PREACH, GOODNESS AND MERCY, THE TRUTH IS THE LIGHT, RAY OF HOPE,, REDEEMING WATERS, FOREVER SOUL TIES, THE OTHER SIDE OF GOODNESS, THE OTHER SIDE OF DARE, THE OTHER SIDE OF DIVINE, STEELY GRAY and COUNTLESS BLESSINGS.

Visit my Web site at: www.VanessaDavisGriggs.com"

Reviews

[Kathleen Huben · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into the storyline of this book. I've read another of Vanessa Griggs books and enjoyed it, but the characters and their inability to really deal with their relationships in this book just plain annoyed me.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had I read this book at another time I might have finished it. I did something I rarely ever do. I skipped the middle section of the book and read the end. I just couldn’t stomach Butterfy being used and neglected by her jerk of a husband anymore.
Butterfly an African-American woman married to a man who doesn’t appreciate her. He expects her to keep how he kept expects her to do all the work in their marriage and raising children while he goes out at night with his friends and even have dole care of his mother with dementia. they’ve been doing this pattern for 20 some odd years. That’s very sad. A bit unrealistic information: she worked for the Social Security administration for 20 years and didn’t get a pension -that doesn’t make sense. I liked that she opened up a flower shop because it was her lifelong dream inspired by her daughters who were living their dreams.

She then reconnect with Ethan her high school love. They’re both in unsatisfying marriages periodically he comes to the flower shop she owns, eat lunch together or they go to a park and talk. They support each other in a way that their spouses cannot or choose not to they form of connection a soul tie. Why couldn’t they be friends? Maybe the author believed the Premise that men and women cannot be friends or they truly find each other to be irresistible.

After 10 years of this, he asked her to have dinner with him and they go to a fancy restaurant that’s in a hotel before they can even have dinner together a deacon in her church, sees her and insists on walking her to her car.
What they don’t know is that the Deacon‘s wife Has had them followed and the resulting pictures make his wife think that they’re having an affair. Instead of confronting her husband in the main character individually or together, she insists on doing it in the middle of church Service. The young pastor talks about soul ties and how you can form them with people and sometimes it’s not leads people to a wrong relationship breaking commitments that they already have. He then refers to the scripture where the woman is caught in adultery. He sad if anyone is totally without sin, they can accuse her. Then he lists off a multitude of sins, including: adultery, lying about what you contributed to church to he IRS, downloading, illegal music, movies, buying stolen goods returning outfits after wearing them one time, parents not supporting or acknowledging their children, men skipping out on supporting the young women that they get pregnant and disrespecting your parents. One by one they leave the sanctuary beginning with the oldest. In the fellowship hall, they have a prayer asking God to forgive them. The young minister ask her to come to his office and he calls his mentor. He turns out to be Ethan the man who invited her to the hotel. Ethan tells the young minister that he handled things care and inspiration in the Scriptures and that he didn’t really need him.

After the young minister leaves, she and Ethan decide they cannot see each other anymore. She comes to the conclusion that he did not choose her in the past, and he would not choose her in the future unless it was God’s will. When she gets home, her husband, Zeke and another woman in their community or there at her house and are very nervous. It turns out that they were also at the hotel and they were concerned about themselves being in the pictures. Butterfly decides to shred the pictures rather than show them to anyone else. She tells her husband that things are going to have to change if he truly wants to stay and that he would need to be fully committed to their relationship and treat her differently than he has for years. She decides that she wants to be first in a relationship and if she’s not then she’s leaving. He does change. Her husband presents her with a single red rose, ironically from her own rose garden to demonstrate his commitment to be with her and to change. The author tells us he did change. I’m not sure that giving Zeke another chances is the answer. In this instance. I’m not really comfortable with the ending because I wouldn’t trust him to follow through.

This book the main character butterfly put up with so much from the way her husband talk to her, told her she had to take care of his mother, never made an effort to help raise their children, came home and demanded his dinner, then went out who knows where at night. It was published in 2012 but it might as well have been published in the 50s. She put up with being used and was painted as a saint with a secret understandable sin. Maybe she was a woman if her time with limited resources. I don’t totally blame her, but I would hope that women now would take action before she did and not wait to be accused of adultery to make a change. It’s also hard the example that she set for her daughters of staying with someone who treated her with such neglect. It’s no wonder her daughters didn’t wanted to come home. The relationship that butterfly and Zeke had probably tainted all of their relationships. And even Ethan does not come out of his man cave: he was married, had children, and didn’t make anymore to be only with Butterfly. the way he talked to butterfly was pushy and charmed her into doing things she didn’t feel right doing, but She wanted to continue seeing him. He was demanding to in his own way. Neither man was really true to butterfly.
Story was more of a cautionary tale. It was a combination of the scarlet letter, and a retelling of the woman caught an adultery in the Bible. Like the scarlet woman, Butterfly comes off disgraced while Ethan lives a charmed life as a respected pastor. There’s a lot of justification employed. if she had really been caught in actual act of adultery would she had been treated differently in the story or judge to be as worthy . It was written to be a Christian novel so she couldn’t get too far off the beaten path and be deemed worthy of forgiveness evidently. I guess what it comes down to the stories kind of dated in the end. no one comes out of the story unscathed.

[Anino · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the way that Ms. Griggs writes about real-life issues. "Forever Soul Ties" wasn't spectacular, but it was decent and satisfying at the end.

[ShayBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Butterfly and Ethan are old high school friends that were once in love but circumstances led them to go their separate ways ending up marrying different people. After sometime later they are reunited at Butterflies place of Business The Painted Lady Flower Shop were they re started their friendship and The Forever Soul Ties Bond is created.

I actually want to rate this book as 3 1/2 stars. This is my second chance trying to read Ms.Griggs books I have came to the conclusion that they just might not be for me. I was able to finish this one. This book started off real good and held my interest but then I switched to the audiobook and realized the audiobook had more chapters than the ebook and actually revealed some things that everyone thought was going to happen but did not. I am Really confused at how the audiobook had 22 more chapters than the ebook. In my opinion you did not miss anything because it started to drag up until chapter 44 where it peaked my interest. Even if i had not started listening to the Audio I would have a lot of questions especially ones about her trifling husband Zeke.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it was a good book , I think it had a lot of fluff though . Ethan & “ Butterfly” really had a “ Soul Tie” but I loved how they didn’t cross the main boundary. Zeke needed to be slapped , it’s no way I would have been served what he was dishing out. When we as women don’t know our self worth and value , we settle . I loved the bond that Zynique had with Madame Perry & it paid off . I was proud of Zion & Zanetta for pursuing their dreams . I expected a different ending & wanted more .

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just knew there was going to more. I personally did not like the way it ended. I don't even know what happened? It was a slow moving story, then to end without finishing the story line. Plus the excerpt for the next book doesn't even wrap up the story. Waste of a read. Bummer. Would not recommend.

[Poetic Diva504 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t mind that this is clean Christian fiction. But this relationship didn’t make much sense to me. With no steam whatsoever, what hold could a married man possibly have on a married women he sends flowers to that she knew belonged to his wife? Other than problems in her own home, this hardly teeters along the edge of adultery. With hardly no action or drama, I couldn’t finish this book.

[Keesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I felt like the description on the back cover was a little misleading, I did enjoy the story. The main character was caught in some dysfunctional relationships that were not good for her and it was interesting to see how or if she would get out of them.

[Angela Williams-Edwards]

This book was unrealistic and pitiful. I listened to the entire book hoping that the main character would redeem herself and stop being a door mat, but no she remained an idiot through the whole novel. All in the name of religion, so unfortunate.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some parts that made me giggled a bit with the characters but for the most part, wasn’t too fond of this one. She has written much better novels and this will not prevent me from reading more. The ending seemed abrupt and felt it could have offered more.

[Josefa Washington · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was not a fan of this book. The storyline was difficult to get into and it was too slow pace for me. Not enough action for my taste and the ending left me with questions and no answers.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book until the end...

[Adrienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

As normal, this author delivers and creates "real-lifelike" stories. Some would also called wholesome novels with a spiritual soul. If you do not like sermons, or scriptures, or parables offered in the story line, then you may complain about this read (or other novels she writes). The story seems to exemplify a past love affair where both people get married and have families but catch up for old-time sake to share about their children, careers, and more.

As I read about a 4th in the story, I was thinking and then read the same thought in words: "Mother loves us...and Mother is going to do what she thinks is right and best." And when we are young, or teen years, we typically do not feel or see it this way and sometimes believe our parents (or mom) is the worst enemy; not allowing us to learn our own battles for ourselves since they did when they were young. As you become an adult (or have your own children), you begin to learn that mother knows best and only wants the best for her children. They try to protect us like a Mother Hen, and want to warn us since they've been through it, experienced it, or do not want to see us go thru it since it doesn't look like it's in our favor or for our good. This is like our Heavenly Father, he only wants the best for us, and for our good. But with free will, he usually will not interfere and let us go with our choices if we do not surrender our choices over to Him. Parents sadly have to watch us make choices sometimes that is against their will as well. I digressed but loved that this was stressed on p. 63 of novel in reference to mothers (quote above).

Adrienna Turner
Author of God is in the Equation
www.dream4more.org

[Krystal Esmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Monroe is right--VDG does indeed have a very unique style of writing. Ok, where do I start? I'm a VDG fan. Period. Because I trust her to write quality, genuinely entertaining Christian fiction. Now about the book, I instantly noticed that the main character didn't have a name. I LOVED that! It reminded me of my favorite book: Rebecca and how we never knew the name of the Second Mrs. DeWinter--it adds to the whole mystique of the book. I loved the reality of the how the story played out between the two main characters; it was actually something that could happen in real life. It was believable, except for the fact that it would not have taken that long for their relationship to escalate, but I guess the extended time periods were just an indicator of how strong soul ties can be. At one point in the story, I wanted to kill both homegirl and Ethan just to put them both out of their misery. My favorite part in the book was that whole church fiasco followed by the fellowship hall scene--Pastor Godbee's a classy man. Butterfly made the right decision in the end, although I wanted things to turn out differently, but that's life. The lesson of this book is the exact reason why I'm such a #HeartSNOB and #BodySNOB. I refuse to get entangled with anyone who God never meant for my life. I would read this book again, and I would recommend it.

[Arlena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author: Vanessa Davis Griggs
Published By: Dafina
Age Recommended: Adult
Recommended by: Arlena Dean
Rating: 5

Review:

"Forever Soul Ties" by Vanessa Davis Griggs was another good VSG read for me. I really enjoyed this novel for several reasons. One was for the 'Bible quotes and mini-sermons' along with the beautiful story that only Ms. Griggs can give us. In this novel there is a old flame love interest.... now was this leading to a adulterous relationship?...the mistreatment of the wife for over twenty years..... and the many family problems that came about in this story.


Now, getting back to this 'Soul Ties' was really something in that this Ethan's character was really something...and I am so glad the way Ms. Griggs brought this novel out to us. I do not want to say to much and give the story away...just pick this up and see just how "Forever Soul Ties" and this 'Butterfly' will turn out.


This novel will leave you being able to see how 'soul ties' can be a good or a bad thing but the decision will be all yours. I love Ms. Griggs books and this one was right up there with all of the others... great! You will truly be blessed by reading "Forever Soul Ties." and I do recommend it to you.

[Connie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a story about old flames and the struggle to stay true to the path you have chosen. The book was a quick, easy read. Unlike some people who have reviewed the book, I didn't mind the Bible quotes and "mini-sermons" as much as I was uneasy with the way the "old flame" love interest was looked upon in favor, instead of pointing out that, if given the chance, he was ready to dive headlong into an adulterous relationship, while the husband of the main character was chastised for his mistreatment of his wife. A bit of a double standard if you ask me. Other than this disturbing fact, however, the book was interesting.

[Dianna]

I love this author's work very inspirational to say the least. But i really enjoyed this book and never realized how strong a soul tie could be between people, until I found myself in one. This is a very strong hold that could be either good or bad just depends on the situation at hand. A very clear and concise understanding of what soul ties are and how long they can be there just waiting. In my opinion it can be a very beautiful thing to have.

[Kianaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes you on a journey with two connected hearts. Throughout the book, I often questioned some of my current belief systems as I looked at the situations and circumstances that the main characters faced. I highly recommend this book to any lover of Christian fiction as well as any of Vanessa Davis Griggs's other books. You will definitely be blessed by them!

[Corine Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first work I read from Mrs Griggs and I thought this book was easy a read and enjoyable. I am glad the ending was not as I predicted while reading the story. I have a lot of mix thoughts on Ethans character. However, I could relate to Butterfly well. I'm not a committed fan of Mrs Griggs yet I will add some more of her earlier works to my reading list is hopes of getting hooked.

[Nicole Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a new fan of VDG. This is the only book I don't really like. The wife should have left that fool so long ago. Her stress sent the wrong message to her daughters and the best part was when her youngest checked her dad.

I got the point though. At least in my interpretation. I guess that's all that matters.

[Hulean Lani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going to read this book, sounded good and had an interesting story line. As I begun to read I discovered I had already ready the book some years ago. My greatest surprised was that I remembered the book.
It wasn't one of my ...Gotta read Feelings, how did I forget but a smile for remembering the ending. Thus 4 stars because the story struck. I believe it has life lessons for others!

[Jana Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, clean reading.

Liked the characters and the scriptural references that tied in nicely to the story. I didn't like the repetitive dialogue, however. It gave me the feeling that the author was being paid by the word and not the content, and this story was meaty enough that nothing needed to be repeated.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK I felt the need to come back and change my rating from a 3 to 4 stars. I really should not have took my anger out on the book lol! I just didn't like how the main character was so weak. She allowed the men in her life to use her for their own selfish purposes but yet she was the one carrying around all the guilt! Forgiveness for what?

[Nakia Hendricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed some parts of the book but at times I got bored and couldn't figure out where the story line was going... I finished the book because I don't like to start and not finish.. Overall it was ok..

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a little long winded probably because the writer sounded like she was giving sermons throughout the book. The back cover gives the impression that the two characters commit adultery. In actuality they deal with the emotional connection or emotional cheating that can occur.

[Susan Illo-Adamou · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic! It was spiritual and uplifting. It dealt with sin and forgiveness, God and Satan. Adultery is a sin no matter how it starts or ends. But, God will forgive us; if we just ask him.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding! Fantastic! Wonderful! Awesome!

[Tamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.88

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too many bible quotes for my taste.

[Brandis Pruitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story contained a unique story line. I enjoyed it, although the story moved slowly until the end. Overall, I was impressed!