Rebound

The Ball’s in Her Court #2

by Heather Justesen

Lily's life is perfect--a perfect lie. With a successful husband, a gorgeous home, and a growing family, Lily Drake has it all. But when the FBI shows up, she realizes her husband is not the man she thought he was. Meanwhile, Lily's friend Curtis is about to be drafted by the NBA, but he suddenly feels pulled to find his birth family, and no one is prepared for what he'll discover. With so many obstacles in their way, Lily and Curtis must learn to rely on each other if they're ever going to find peace and learn to love again. In this heartwarming family drama, Heather Justesen, author of The Ball's in Her Court, weaves a stirring story of hope. Reunite with your favorite characters and discover how determination, love, and faith can overcome even the toughest trials.

Genres: Lds Fiction, Lds

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2010

About the author

Heather Justesen is an award-winning and up-and-coming author for the women's romance market.

Reviews

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heather's a genius. Seriously. And she writes the sweetest kissing scenes. :)

I read The Ball's in Her Court last December on my way from Alaska after visiting family. I'm sure it looked kind of funny to the other people on the plane to see me with my nose in a book and tears streaming down my face. Fortunately, Rebound only made me cry once. But I loved it just as much.

Lily's life really is perfect, until it all comes down around her ears. My heart broke for her as everything she thought she knew about her life turned out to be a lie. And then she has to pull herself together and move one, which not only takes an exceptional amount of character (no pun intended), It also takes amazing strength. Readers will love Lily--she's so human. So real.

I also really love the basketball themes that are throughout both of Heather's books. I am not a sports fan of any kind--never have been--but Heather really writes as though she knows what she's talking about. In fact, I finally learned what "ninth in the draft" actually means.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heather is a sublime storyteller! Rebound had me drawn in from the start. I was thrilled to revisit characters from The Ball's in Her Court and see how their lives were going. Lily is such a great character filled with hope and strength. I loved the way she and Curtis were there for each other. This story was about second chances, not giving up, and being brave enough to give your heart away. (and did I mention kisses that could melt you?) I loved the secondary characters story lines as well and Curtis' quest for finding his birth family. Great read.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d rate it 3.5 stars. Easy, quick read.

[Sheila (sheilasbookreviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Review of "Rebound" By Heather Justesen


"Rebound" by Heather Justesen is the second novel by this great new author. Her first book, "The Ball's In Her Court" came out last year.

Let me first say that I was very impressed with this second book by Heather. I felt that her first book was very well written, but this second book even topped her first. Once again, though, there is a clean romance hidden away in this story, but it is not the central focus of the whole book. Heather knows how to weave so much more into her novels. You will find struggles, heartache, suspense, laughter and much self-growth and awareness from her characters. Of course you will also find even more kisses that make your toes tingle, without being smutty.

The main character, Lily, is amazing! To face what she does, husband in jail, losing her home, seven months pregnant, chasing an active two year old and having to find a job...my heart went out to this character. I am grateful that Heather makes Lily struggle a lot, because this makes the story realistic. There are no quick fixes to Lily's problems or a fast & easy highway to a new romance. We, as readers, take this ride with Lily, as she learns to move forward, gather strength and instill confidence in herself again. As someone who has gone through divorce and had/still am trying to pick up the pieces of my life, I could relate to the feelings and doubts that Lily had about her future. I can't thank Heather enough for making this character and her life situation so real. I also loved that Lily is a teacher!! Lily's teaching moments were also portrayed realistically. I sat and giggled and groaned as I read about her teaching days. Heather has got to have teacher friends to have nailed this so spot on!!

I also enjoyed revisiting the characters from "The Ball's In Her Court", Denise, Rich and Denise's siblings. One of her siblings, Curtis, is the love interest for Lily in this second book. I would love to have a Curtis around like him that babysits, helps with car problems and he even changed baby Sophie's diapers. I also like how Curtis was portrayed as kind, patient, loving and persistent. You did such a nice job on this character Heather.

There were moments when I had to grit my teeth and not scream out loud. Lily's ex-husband and her ex in-laws are just down right nasty people!!! Bleech! (Is that really a word?) In certain situations, when confronted with their mean and vindictive ways, I don't think I would have been as patient and as calm as Lily was. This again is another example of great writing from Heather, in that I was yelling at Lily what I thought she really should have said to these creepy snobs. Thank goodness my children are used to me talking to the characters of the books I am reading. {I did hear in the background one night while reading..."Mommy's crazy"}

"Rebound" needs to be on your summer reading list. I read it quickly because the story moved fast and there were no dull moments for me.

[Tristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily Drake is the mother of a toddler, is pregnant with her second child, and lives in a beautiful home with her successful husband. She's never had to worry about finances, and can pretty much buy whatever she wants. She's not a big spender, but if the yen were to hit, she knows the money is there. With financial security and a darling family, she has everything.

But then one day, nearly everything is stripped away.

One afternoon as Lily returns home, she pulls up in her driveway to find her property surrounded by strange cars. She is informed that her husband has been stealing identities and running up huge debts in other people's names to finance their lavish lifestyle, and everything will be taken as part of the investigation. Lily is given a deadline by which she must leave her house and most of her belongings. This doesn't really matter to her - she never really was into the whole Richie Rich thing - but what breaks her heart is the fact that her husband is a crook, and a crook who has used her, left her, and said he never loved her.

Now on her own, Lily must find a way to support her son, her child on the way, and figure out how to piece her life together from the scraps left behind. She's not ready to think about trying the romance game again, but when Curtis comes along, she realizes that maybe love - real love - is just what she needs to glue all those scraps together.

I enjoy Heather Justesen's writing style. She doesn't rely on the old cliches to put her meaning across - instead, she uses words that are unique to her own voice, and this sets her apart from other authors we see. She is deeply interested in adoption and what happens to families when the adopted member seeks out their biological parents, and this theme continues through in Rebound. With as many adoptive families as we currently have in our society, I think that exploring this timely issue in fiction is a great way to help those adoptive families know they are not alone and to find tools that might help them keep their families strong, even though they are being tested.

Hats off to Heather for another job well done.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the continuations of characters from the "balls in her court." When denise finds her biological family. Now it is Curtis Werner's turn to want to find his biological father along with his twin Cliff and just in time because he (Alex) is on his death bed. He accepts the twins and admits to his past indiscretion to his other son, Grayson who is only accepting in that it is his father's wish. The twins get a short time to learn about their biological father before he passes. Grayson making it very clear he doesn't want to keep in contact.
Lily gets the surprise of her life when FBI agents are in her house. She has her two year old son, Stephen and is 7 months pregnant. Her husband is accused of identity fraud and she is under investigation also because of the credit cards in her name. She is cleared of all involvement and knowledge, but her husband doesn't need her anymore and asks for a divorce. Her in-laws try to get custody of the children even though they have never show interest before. She has Sophie two months early because of the stress and the bills keep piling up. She learns to roll with the punches and with the help of her sister, Shelly she moves to Logan from Highland because everything is confiscated for paying off her husbands debts and starts teaching and working at a gardening center. Curtis helps in where he can while going to college and playing his last year on the basketball team before the NFL draft. As time goes by both their guards go down, the divorce is finalized and he gets drafted to play in Denver. he asks her to marry him and she declines because of the negative publicity, but later comes to understand that their love will get them through.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for review and blog tour after meeting the author at Authorpalooza at Barnes and Noble. Hands down, Rebound is one of the best books I have read in along time. Heather Justesen creates a mix of harsh reality with slow paced romance that will entrance you.

Lily, the main character, is pulled from her life as a stay at home mom with one young child and one on the way by the poor choices of her husband. Everything changes overnight as dreams turn into disappointment. She has no choice but to pick up and start over, yet does so with courage and faith.
Rebound left me wanting to be a better person, and believing that when life throws you struggles, add some hard work and hope and things will bounce back. Woven through out the story are themes on love, trust, adoption, honesty, stamina, and acceptance.

Here's an excerpt as a little teaser from the author... "John tuned out the babbling of other Realtors that poured through his office door and focused on his computer screen. If things went well that evening, he would have to buy himself a celebratory present. The Baccarat Tornado Vase on the screen before him was exquisite, and worth every bit of the nearly $3,200 price. It’s a pity I’ll have to tell Lily I picked it up at a yard sale or something. She’s far too straight laced. Naiveté works for her, however. In this case, it will work for me, too. He whistled as he bookmarked the page for later..."
Rebound is at the top of my recommended reading list from this year. I gave it 5 stars. To learn more about the author and read her blog, go to http://heatherjustesen.blogspot.com/

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*SPOILER ALERT* This is a romantic story line that sucks you right in. It was hard to believe that her ex-husband could be so uncaring. It was also hard to believe that a college student would fall for her. I enjoyed the story line of the basketball brothers finding their dad.

Apparently I read this book twice (Jan 2018 & above): the story is about a pregnant woman whose husband goes to prison for identity theft. She has her baby without him. She proceeds to put her life together and pay off debts and get a job. She gets a small apartment, works in a nursery, and then gets a job as a teacher. A college basketball player (family friend) is interested in her and they date and eventually get married.

Side story: Basketball player and his brother are looking for their father. They find him in Southern California and go out to see him. They find out he is dying and they meet their step brother, who is not excited to meet them. Their existence means that his dad was unfaithful to his mom. The dad tells stories of his war days and peacefully passes away. The brothers are able to go to his funeral.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me want to interview, complete a background check, and insist upon a ten year courtship before any of my girls can get married. Or even go on their first dates. I won't actually follow through on that, but I did truly want to give it try after reading Rebound. I have not read the prequel to this novel, so I was at times confused on the backstory, but this a basically a story about losing everything to a calloused, overly ambitious man whom the main character happened to be married to, and learning how to put the pieces of your life back together while making a bit of room for love again, with a much more happy result the second time around. I kept thinking about how realistic a lot of the situations seemed. I wanted to throttle the first husband, and especially the in-laws, but the new love interest and the relationship with the sister are quite nice. Good rainy afternoon kind of read.

[RaShelle Workman · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, this isn't the type of book I would normally pick up and read. I'm usually drawn to fantasy or dystopia, certainly not a fictional romance with religious themes. There are just too many other choices out there. =D Secondly, I was nervous about doing a book review. Eeek, what if it was awful? Needless to say, I was worried. I didn't have any reason to be. From the beginning I was engaged. The characters were easy to connect with. I found myself laughing, enraged, happy, mystified and even crying. The ending was predicable, but I was still rooting for it. The big relief was that while the book is considered LDS fiction, I didn't feel, in any way as though I was being force fed a religious view. A great read.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very slow and at times confusing. The promise of a really good story fell a little short. The chracters were well developed and I like how the story was told from different people although there was a few random inserts from characters that didn't really matter. It was a sweet story about starting over but it isn't a must read.

***UPDATE***
So I just found out that there is a book before this one that probably explains all the relationships a whole lot better. "The Balls In her court" Probably should start with that one and maybe this one would be better. lol

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the two central characters in this tale. Lilly and Curtis are both people you can have some empathy with. I also liked the relationship between Lilly and her sister Shelley. That was a nice addition to the story line.

This LDS romance novel had some serious themes woven into it that you don't normally run across in this genre. Not sure how I feel about the focus on Curtis's biological family. I think Lilly's issues from her husband's betrayal would have been enough to keep this story afloat and arrive at the same ending.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heather is an amazing writer. She pulled together a tight plot line in this novel that kept the pages turning and for me, that’s hard to find with a lot of romances. I liked the character development that we see throughout and all that Lily has to overcome. I recommend that you read The Ball’s in Her Court first so that you can be that much more involved in the background characters of Rebound. Great job Heather!

[Kristyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent story even if you know what's going to happen the whole time. The ending was disappointing-where was the epilogue? Made Lily's sister seem like a jerk too. Well, most of the supporting characters in this were jerks.

Read it if you've read the first one and want to find out more about those characters.

All three books I've read by this author are stressful. I don't read for stress, I read to escape it, so I won't be reading any more of her work.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about getting hit between the eyes at the very start of the story. Lily "taking the bull by the horns" made me really like her, and root for her as she puts her life back together. Characters in the book make the best friends and support system. It doesn't hurt that Curtis is tall dark and handsome--and falls completely in love with our beautiful divorcee. I think we recognize the "happy ending" from the beginning, but like any great story, it won't be easy to get there.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect book to just sitback, read, and enjoy. The characters all seemed very real and easy to identify with.
Lily is totally stunned and blown away when her husband is arrested for fraud. How could she have been so deceived? Enter Curtis, and it doesn't take long for her to realize all that she had been missing in her marriage--but should she allow herself to nuture this relationship?

Although there were no surprises in the book, it was fun to read.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. Decent read, although I feel like I'm not a huge fan of LDS fiction. I didn't read the prequel to this book, so maybe that's why I was confused a couple of times. The beginning pulled me in quickly, but it turned into a slow-moving love story, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. A story about learning to live and love again.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, but I felt so bad for the main character throughout it. She really struggles, but always seems to land on her feet. I just wanted to smack her in-laws, though! If you read it, you'll see what I mean. This was a book that I kept wanting to read to find out what would happen next.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed something easy and romantic and this fit the bill. There were character connections that made it a little confusing but then I discovered she has written a previous book that I probably should have read before this one that would have explained things better. She left enough open endings, I am assuming she will be writing more around these characters. I would read more from her.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most LDS fiction this book is completely predictable. From the summary it was easy to guess how the story would go - but I still enjoyed it. Heather is a promising new author who writes a great story.

http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot....

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roommate to heroine in The Ball's in her Court. Lily's husband is arrested by the FBI and he files for divorce because she is "boring". She is left with a toddler and one on the way. Like the first book, it has a side story about adoption. Enjoyed it but predictable and simplistic.

[Tiffany Hatch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good, easy-read, which I enjoyed. Because I hadn't read the first one, I think I missed out on some of the character development, but it kept me turning pages, which is great. If I could, I would really give this a 3 1/2 star.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

this deserves 3 1/2 stars, I think. It was well written, although somewhat obvious about where it was headed. The characters were believable and interesting, but I sometimes got lost in the step-siblings, and birth vs. adopted family, and how they inter-connected.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why doesn't something say this is book 2 (the first book being The Ball's in Her Court)? This was not quite so overwhelming for me as book 1. Nice story. Liked the characters. I worries that I would max out reading these back-to-back but had no problem.

[Nichole Giles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! Both heart warming and heart wrenching at the same time. Justesen is a master storyteller.

[Breanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was well written, but I have to say it stressed me out a bit. The character was going through so much and I'm already so stressed that I didn't enjoy this book as much.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into the book at the beginning. I wasn't sure I liked the writing style but I grew used to it and ended up liking the book and story.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Pretty predictable LDS fiction, but a fun story nonetheless. I liked revisiting several characters from the first book.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two and a half stars. Thought the plot elements were a bit unrealistic.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. Another author to watch for.