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Hickory Ridge #2
An Honest Life
An Honest Life by Dana Corbit released on Nov 24, 2003 is available now for purchase.
250 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 18, 2001
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106 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 3, 2013
I almost liked this book but then it turned into a whirlwind romance (which I cannot stand). I liked Charity after she stopped acting like an idiot and I liked Rick. Didn't see the surprise with Charity's family coming. Was worth reading once.
September 14, 2018
I loved this book! My only disappointment was she didn't find her dad and sister earlier in the book, I wish they would have been more included in the storyline. All in all though, it was a great book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2020
This book was something else! It starts out with Charity acting like a “Karen” and going apeshit over some music. You would think that Rick would have stayed away from this crazy but nooooo he keeps trying to get with her. And don’t get me started on the psycho mother! For being a Christian, she sure is a judge mental old bat! Hated it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2008
Another good one....Christian based, that shows that even Christians have a hard rocky life sometimes
April 22, 2009
I got this book inadvertantly but read it because I needed a book. I think it was just what I needed. Not classic literature but a good romance.
January 23, 2017
Excellent book!! Loved it.
March 26, 2021
I received this book from a friend--I think after she read it, but I'm not sure. I did debate a bit on how to rate it. Most of the time I reserve ratings of 1-2 for books that I DNF or ones that I feel have serious flaws that prevent me from recommending it. 3 is my average rating for books I finish. 4-5 are reserved for books I really like, really feel are worthwhile, or would consider rereading. Since I did finish this book, it should rate a 3 but there are some issues I have with it (detailed below) that made me wonder if I should rate it lower. (It's rare that I rate a Love Inspired Book more than a 3, but it has happened.)
WARNING: REMAINDER OF ENTRY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS: READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION
Likes:
*Charity--after she mellowed out from her first meeting with Rick.
*Rick--seems like a Godly man even though he chooses not to attend a church.
*Charity's realization that her works aren't what saves her (in the Christian sense).
*That both Charity and Rick go through rough patches in their lives, showing that Christians don't get a free pass on the world's problems. They just know who to turn to for help and assurance. They know the One who won't let them down.
*Andrew and Bob, both pastors, both of whom also seem to have had rough patches in their family lives but who still walk the walk that they talk.
Dislikes:
*Charity's behavior early in the book. It came off as holier-than-thou. Also, her treatment of Andrew and Serena (hinted at in this book) wasn't entirely Christ-like either (though I do understand her disappointment when Andrew chose another woman over her).
*Charity's viewing Rick as a "project"--trying to get him to attend church or thinking God wants her to bring him into church attendance.
*The whirlwind romance--this is one of my common complaints for most romantic fiction (Christian or otherwise). The couple hasn't known each other for very long before they end up engaged and married. I do worry that readers may start thinking that real life will play out like the fictional stories the genre espouses and marry someone they don't know well because they think they're in love, only to find out later that there are warts to the person and then not want to work through the rough patches to keep the marriage intact.
*Laura--very deceitful, manipulative, and controlling.
*There is one scene in the book where it might have been easier to understand Charity's assumption if I'd been listening to the book rather than reading it and been able to hear the inflection the character gave to the statement. It's when Laura tells Charity about someday wishing a man she loved might die. I just took it as more of Laura's manipulation and controlling nature and that she was spouting off because Charity wasn't falling under the control as she had prior to this. UNTIL suddenly Charity is at the construction site claiming she thinks Laura killed him. Charity's reaction just didn't fit how I envisioned the scene had played out.
WARNING: REMAINDER OF ENTRY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS: READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION
Likes:
*Charity--after she mellowed out from her first meeting with Rick.
*Rick--seems like a Godly man even though he chooses not to attend a church.
*Charity's realization that her works aren't what saves her (in the Christian sense).
*That both Charity and Rick go through rough patches in their lives, showing that Christians don't get a free pass on the world's problems. They just know who to turn to for help and assurance. They know the One who won't let them down.
*Andrew and Bob, both pastors, both of whom also seem to have had rough patches in their family lives but who still walk the walk that they talk.
Dislikes:
*Charity's behavior early in the book. It came off as holier-than-thou. Also, her treatment of Andrew and Serena (hinted at in this book) wasn't entirely Christ-like either (though I do understand her disappointment when Andrew chose another woman over her).
*Charity's viewing Rick as a "project"--trying to get him to attend church or thinking God wants her to bring him into church attendance.
*The whirlwind romance--this is one of my common complaints for most romantic fiction (Christian or otherwise). The couple hasn't known each other for very long before they end up engaged and married. I do worry that readers may start thinking that real life will play out like the fictional stories the genre espouses and marry someone they don't know well because they think they're in love, only to find out later that there are warts to the person and then not want to work through the rough patches to keep the marriage intact.
*Laura--very deceitful, manipulative, and controlling.
*There is one scene in the book where it might have been easier to understand Charity's assumption if I'd been listening to the book rather than reading it and been able to hear the inflection the character gave to the statement. It's when Laura tells Charity about someday wishing a man she loved might die. I just took it as more of Laura's manipulation and controlling nature and that she was spouting off because Charity wasn't falling under the control as she had prior to this. UNTIL suddenly Charity is at the construction site claiming she thinks Laura killed him. Charity's reaction just didn't fit how I envisioned the scene had played out.
November 5, 2025
An Honest Life is filled with deceit, secrets that scared Charity and her view of God and life. Rick questioned God but stood by Charity when she was at her lowest. Theme of living an honest life instead of focusing only on oneself.
March 3, 2019
I loved this will try to find more in the series a great read
July 25, 2020
this had a strange ending. It explained why the mother was so mean but it did not really add to the story just didnt enjoy it. wont read it again and donr recommend it
February 27, 2021
I cannot believe how much I liked this book
December 2, 2021
Loved the twists and turns.
July 10, 2014
An Honest Life by Dana Corbit
I tried a number of times to put it down, yet couldn't. It was a page turner of sorts. I pegged the 'relationship' on the first page - yet, the twists and turns of the story were NOT what I expected.
From the book =
She'd been too busy comparing herself to the rest of the congregation, measuring their good deeds against hers, their infractions against her personal measuring stick. And she'd been too busy accusing "others" of sin to ever study her own heart.
I tried a number of times to put it down, yet couldn't. It was a page turner of sorts. I pegged the 'relationship' on the first page - yet, the twists and turns of the story were NOT what I expected.
From the book =
She'd been too busy comparing herself to the rest of the congregation, measuring their good deeds against hers, their infractions against her personal measuring stick. And she'd been too busy accusing "others" of sin to ever study her own heart.
February 3, 2009
Nice read for a rainy evening.
August 28, 2013
Outstanding. Riveting and real.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews