What do you think?
Rate this book
A Father's Love
“After driving under the influence, Aiden Gates is required to help his single-father John restore an old motel to help combat the homeless crisis spiraling out of control in Seattle. During the project, he also has to attend a drug awareness class where he meets Rachel Weissman; a gorgeous blonde who shares many of Aiden’s struggles. As the two of them begin to show interest in one another, Aiden overhears her drug-dealing father Lucious torturing someone who lost a shipment of his brand new drug, Elation. In a bid to save his life, Aiden cuts a deal, citing the homeless shelter as the perfect place to sell pills under the radar. Over time, Aiden begins to like his new life, and love Rachel. John may be the only one who can save his son from himself.”
330 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 11, 2023
About the author
K.J. Sanne
1 book2 followersK.J. has been telling stories for over 15 years and is published in Washington State University's literary journal LandEscapes. His debut novel, A Father's Love, launched on June 11th, 2023 and is already earning high praise from award winning authors like Kimberly Derting of the Body Finders series who called it, "a gripping tale of redemption and grace."
Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, K.J. had a lot of inspiration for the setting of his novel. A homeless crisis and heartbreaking addiction is close to home, and while there is no easy solution to the problem, he believes compassion is the first step. K.J. is the son of a pastor, and well acquainted with the Christian bubble. It is important to him that his stories reach outside that bubble and meet people where they are. He wrote A Father's Love to show the type of love Jesus has for us, and reflect the fact that nothing we have done is enough to scare Him away.
K.J. lives in Washington, where he enjoys reading, writing, bingeing TV, and spending time with his wife and son.
Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, K.J. had a lot of inspiration for the setting of his novel. A homeless crisis and heartbreaking addiction is close to home, and while there is no easy solution to the problem, he believes compassion is the first step. K.J. is the son of a pastor, and well acquainted with the Christian bubble. It is important to him that his stories reach outside that bubble and meet people where they are. He wrote A Father's Love to show the type of love Jesus has for us, and reflect the fact that nothing we have done is enough to scare Him away.
K.J. lives in Washington, where he enjoys reading, writing, bingeing TV, and spending time with his wife and son.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 2, 2023
I would give A Father’s Love 2.5 stars, but I rounded up to 3 stars.
I received a free copy of this book. I am providing an honest review.
The basics:
After being charged with a DUI, Aiden is required to perform community service and complete several weeks of educational courses. To complete his community service requirement, Aiden assists his father John in constructing a homeless shelter in downtown Seattle. In his educational classes, Aiden meets a beautiful woman named Rachel. While at her house, he overhears her father torturing a man. To spare his life, Aiden strikes a deal: he will sell substances through his father’s shelter in exchange for his life. As Aiden becomes more intertwined with Rachel’s father and his business, John is the only one that can protect Aiden from himself.
My thoughts:
Before I begin, I would like to preface this review by saying that A Father’s Love is essentially an allegory for God and His Grace. I will also mention that I am not of Christian faith or background, so my perspective may be biased. Please take that into consideration.
With that in mind, I would give A Father’s Love a 2.5. I would give the plot and overall composition of this novel a 3.5, but the religious aspect became a little much for me at times. If you are religious, this book may rate much higher for you.
Overall, I felt the actual plot and composition of this novel was very interesting. There are very well done moments of suspense throughout A Father’s Love. K.J. Sanne opens the door for a larger conversation surrounding the ongoing treatment and our internal biases against the homeless population. There’s exploration into the trauma that surrounds the death of a parent.
However, I have a few major criticisms that take A Father’s Love from a strong 3.5 to a 2.5. First, I really did not genuinely enjoy any of the characters. Lucious was a beyond awful person, but he was surprisingly the character that I liked the most. Rachel felt very flat and surface level to me. It felt that she existed solely as a symbol to Aiden of independence. For such a pivotal part of the plot, I was disappointed she did not have her own desires (beyond her career aspirations to be a model), ideals, or values. Aiden, the narrator we follow, is immature and shallow. I understand he’s supposed to be flawed and sinful, but it was very difficult for me to have empathy or attachment for him. He is so frustratingly short-sighted in every situation— it truly felt like he did not learn anything by the end of the novel. Throughout the book, Aiden also commits multiple murders, arson, and serious property destruction. After doing all of these horrendous crimes (which his father forgives him for), he decides the best course of action is to trauma dump on a homeless woman that just received housing due to his father’s generosity. That scene genuinely ruined a lot of the redeeming qualities of the book for me, since it felt like Aidan did not learn anything from his experience.
In addition to my dislike of the characters, A Father’s Love was pretty heavy on religion for me personally. A theological background is not necessary to understand the concepts mentioned in the book, but the character John does frequently reference specific Bible verses, teachings, and Christian values. John’s motivations are also rooted almost entirely in Christianity. While there was a good dialogue about losing faith in the face of tragedy, I felt John’s dialogue surrounding God’s Grace, God’s guidance, and Christian values to be excessive at times. I understand God has Grace and forgiveness for all, but I felt like we were supposed to just brush over the fact that Aiden was responsible for the deaths of multiple people and for several other serious felonies.
Overall, the greatest weakness in A Father’s Love was Aidan’s lack of development. John and God may have forgiven him, but he still lacks accountability (serving a 180 day sentence after committing multiple murders does not equal accountability), emotional maturity, or any sort of major character development. I wish side characters like Rachel and Manuel had more depth, but they felt very one-dimensional to me.
I was greatly disappointed, as I loved the premise for the book and it felt very promising.
I received a free copy of this book. I am providing an honest review.
The basics:
After being charged with a DUI, Aiden is required to perform community service and complete several weeks of educational courses. To complete his community service requirement, Aiden assists his father John in constructing a homeless shelter in downtown Seattle. In his educational classes, Aiden meets a beautiful woman named Rachel. While at her house, he overhears her father torturing a man. To spare his life, Aiden strikes a deal: he will sell substances through his father’s shelter in exchange for his life. As Aiden becomes more intertwined with Rachel’s father and his business, John is the only one that can protect Aiden from himself.
My thoughts:
Before I begin, I would like to preface this review by saying that A Father’s Love is essentially an allegory for God and His Grace. I will also mention that I am not of Christian faith or background, so my perspective may be biased. Please take that into consideration.
With that in mind, I would give A Father’s Love a 2.5. I would give the plot and overall composition of this novel a 3.5, but the religious aspect became a little much for me at times. If you are religious, this book may rate much higher for you.
Overall, I felt the actual plot and composition of this novel was very interesting. There are very well done moments of suspense throughout A Father’s Love. K.J. Sanne opens the door for a larger conversation surrounding the ongoing treatment and our internal biases against the homeless population. There’s exploration into the trauma that surrounds the death of a parent.
However, I have a few major criticisms that take A Father’s Love from a strong 3.5 to a 2.5. First, I really did not genuinely enjoy any of the characters. Lucious was a beyond awful person, but he was surprisingly the character that I liked the most. Rachel felt very flat and surface level to me. It felt that she existed solely as a symbol to Aiden of independence. For such a pivotal part of the plot, I was disappointed she did not have her own desires (beyond her career aspirations to be a model), ideals, or values. Aiden, the narrator we follow, is immature and shallow. I understand he’s supposed to be flawed and sinful, but it was very difficult for me to have empathy or attachment for him. He is so frustratingly short-sighted in every situation— it truly felt like he did not learn anything by the end of the novel. Throughout the book, Aiden also commits multiple murders, arson, and serious property destruction. After doing all of these horrendous crimes (which his father forgives him for), he decides the best course of action is to trauma dump on a homeless woman that just received housing due to his father’s generosity. That scene genuinely ruined a lot of the redeeming qualities of the book for me, since it felt like Aidan did not learn anything from his experience.
In addition to my dislike of the characters, A Father’s Love was pretty heavy on religion for me personally. A theological background is not necessary to understand the concepts mentioned in the book, but the character John does frequently reference specific Bible verses, teachings, and Christian values. John’s motivations are also rooted almost entirely in Christianity. While there was a good dialogue about losing faith in the face of tragedy, I felt John’s dialogue surrounding God’s Grace, God’s guidance, and Christian values to be excessive at times. I understand God has Grace and forgiveness for all, but I felt like we were supposed to just brush over the fact that Aiden was responsible for the deaths of multiple people and for several other serious felonies.
Overall, the greatest weakness in A Father’s Love was Aidan’s lack of development. John and God may have forgiven him, but he still lacks accountability (serving a 180 day sentence after committing multiple murders does not equal accountability), emotional maturity, or any sort of major character development. I wish side characters like Rachel and Manuel had more depth, but they felt very one-dimensional to me.
I was greatly disappointed, as I loved the premise for the book and it felt very promising.
July 9, 2023
This book was suspenseful, exciting, and had me on the edge of my seat. The main character was likable and I was rooting for him to find his way. The connections made between the love John has for his son and the love God has for us flows throughout the book but isn’t pushy or off-putting for main stream readers. It’s hard to believe that this is K.J.’s debut novel. I look forward to reading more of his work soon!
August 7, 2026
Redemption
What a very good read! I enjoyed the Prodigal Son type of story that was woven into the homeless/drug problem of Seattle. Growing up in this area, this really struck close to the heart. The author does a splendid job at building up the main Father/Son characters and develops them very well. I highly recommend this book from KJ Sanne, can’t wait to read more from him!
What a very good read! I enjoyed the Prodigal Son type of story that was woven into the homeless/drug problem of Seattle. Growing up in this area, this really struck close to the heart. The author does a splendid job at building up the main Father/Son characters and develops them very well. I highly recommend this book from KJ Sanne, can’t wait to read more from him!
August 31, 2023
great story
Absolutely loved it. I love how the author worked it in to talk about God’s love and mercy without it being overbearing
Absolutely loved it. I love how the author worked it in to talk about God’s love and mercy without it being overbearing
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews