I don't know that I can say this novel is "enjoyable" because it's mainly about two women coming to terms with the acute stage of their grief at losing their husbands. Yet at the same time, while I felt sympathy for both of them, I also had a hard time feeling fully absorbed in their pain. I kept feeling like I ought to like it really well but not quite being able to lose myself in the story.

I think the romance was the hardest part for me. The odds of two grieving women finding someone to love on the same trip was a bit of a stretch and I think making the book longer and giving more of the "recovering" scenes (once they came to the point of facing and really accepting their grief) would have made the romance more believable for me.

My favorite thing about the book was the gorgeous descriptions of the scenery and the flower shop scenes...those were so sweet. And then the grief scene over the waterfall...I'll be thinking of that one for awhile.

Content: the scene where the two women promote "charitable gambling" at a party was difficult for me to get through and I mostly skimmed. Might be triggering for recovering gambling addicts.

Thanks to the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

This was a beautifully written story on loss, grief, hope, and finding one’s self. I didn’t want to put it down. I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love Harrel's way of writing. Her storylines and plots are unique and the settings are captivating. I loved the New Zealand setting and found myself looking up places she mentioned so I could better picture everything.
The themes of grief and the different ways we work through it resonates throughout the story, and it is very meaningful because it's definitely apparent that the trajectory is different for everyone--Angela, Eva, and even their mother-in-law and Angela's children all work through their pain in different ways. Another theme deals with discovering your dreams and learning how to adjust your dreams and plans to fit the person you are now. I really loved that part for Angela, it would have been too pat for her to decide at this point in her life that she wanted to go back and fulfill the dreams of her youth. The journey that she goes through to come to terms with her lost dreams and moving ahead really connected with me and will with other readers as well. Eva comes from a different place than I do, but her own transformation is also meaningful. Both of these overarching themes are placed within the context of the women running the ultra marathon, and the training and actual race help them to come to terms with their past, present, and future.
There is a subtle spiritual thread about trusting God and learning to rely on Him. There is also a light amount of romance, but it isn't the true focus of the tale, which is more about the healing of the women and them getting to the place of moving on after losing their husbands.

I admit that what pursued me throughout this story was the grief journey. What is it about experiencing such a significant life situation such as losing a loved one that draws us to the stories which speak about such? Is it not wanting to know we’re alone? Is it the hope that often infuses them? Is it just the connection, of knowing someone else clearly gets it? Whatever the reasons (probably it’s a lot of all of them, right? :), I was totally down for reading this one. And Ms. Harrel did not disappoint me!

Grief is such a personal, crazy, upside down, twisty, hopeful, and piercing sort of journey to experience. It truly is one of those things that one must experience in order to “get it”. Well, Ms. Harrel clearly gets it. Her story is absolutely full of all the chaoticness that grief brings a person. Yet its hope grounds these characters and this story, the hope that entwines every single chapter, that dances along all the heartbreak and confusion, that wondrous Hope which never gives up! That hope kept me turning the pages during paragraphs when Angela or Eva frustrated me. I confess that there were several moments in the first half of the book that I didn’t really like them. They were both so caught up in their un-processed grief that I struggled to connect with them. But that’s also what worked! Because real life, real people, we’re like that. Losing a loved one is HARD, and you don’t just “get over it”, nor is it pretty because we humans can behave pretty harshly to each other sometimes, especially when we’re hurting. So even while I was frustrated, I trusted Ms. Harrel to take both of them (as well as me! :) into beautiful new places if I only had the patience. And I was rewarded!

Both Angela and Eva have a lot of growing to do over the course of their journey. And I rather enjoyed watching them grow weaker in order to realize the strength that was already hovering within them, waiting to be noticed. This story is about more than just them. Angela’s children, both of the gentlemen that wreak havoc on said women’s emotions, and of course Sherry (I LOVED Sherry and her words of wisdom at just the right moments!), all the secondary characters took on life around our two main ladies and brought so many different dynamics into play. Certainly they were proof that our personal grieving affects all those in close proximity to us, especially those we love.

Oh, I could go on, there are so many thoughts about grieving and loving and life after that are spinning through my mind! But I think I ought to let you discover this gem of a story for yourself. It’s not an easy journey to make, grief never is. But the end result? Is a beautiful tapestry of wonder, delight, and HOPE. So I think you should totally find a copy real soon for yourself. :)

**I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this journey of faith with two grieving widows, Eva & Angela. Although married to brothers, they handle everything in life differently-even their grief.
I loved watching the transformation of both characters and how they changed with their journey, coming to a place of peace and joy.
It was a heavy story as it does deal with grief, but it was done in a gentle way that soothes the soul and makes you feel things deeply, along with the characters. There are moments of humor and lightness to break up the gloom.
I loved that both characters reach their ah-ha moments and know exactly what they want and what they need to do to pursue their dreams. They are relatable, making mistakes and struggling with very human emotions as they muddled through their sorrow. But the takeaway is the reminder that life is a journey and even with sorrow we can trust God with our future and allow him to give us peace and joy. It was a cleansing story and timely reminder to not take life and people for granted.
I was given this copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are completely my own.

This was about family, running and romance. Which are some of my favorites things. I really didn’t like Angela very much, but she grew on me. And I hate it when people can’t make up their minds but over all the story was sound. Some parts of the story felt underdeveloped but I would definitely read another book by this author.
I did enjoyed the whole idea of racing in their husbands place and loved that it was in New Zealand.
This was a NETGALLEY gift from the publisher and all opinions are my own.

I enjoyed following Angela and Eva on their marathon journey and emotional journey working through their grief of losing their husbands (that’s not a spoiler, you know that by reading the description and the book starts after that event). I did struggling with both Angela and Eva a little bit; Angela was a bit dramatic at times and Eva seemed a bit lost in her own spoiled, rich world. So I had more than a few moments of frustration with both characters, but they grew on their journeys and it was worth it to stick it out. Sherry, their mother-in-law was an inspirational loving woman that I really loved. I really loved when they went to New Zealand and being able to “travel” there and experience the warm weather as I read. All in all, I did like the book and characters and liked how they weren’t perfect. The insights on grief and life were really good. The author did a good job at tackling some tough subjects and kept them from being to hard and depressing without minimizing the grief.

I adored Lindsay Harrel’s newest release, The Joy of Falling. It is by far my favorite I have read by her to date. It is so very good. The characters, Eva and Angela, are realistic that made me feel as though I was part of the story. It was great watching how they grew throughout the book. They went through so much and they deserved to learn so much about themselves and the life lessons we should all learn out. I loved the story of overcoming grief, having faith and continuing hope.

I am giving The Joy of Falling a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy a clean and inspiring read. It is most definitely not one to miss. I can not wait to find out what the next release by Lindsay Harrel will be about in the future. I look forward to it.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lindsay Harrel for the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for my first opinion!
Eva and Angela have never been close as sister-in-laws, but the deaths of their husbands may change that. Fifteen months after their loss, Eva gets a phone call from New Zealand. Before their deaths, the husbands had planned to run a marathon across New Zealand with their best friend Marc. Eva sees this as an opportunity to heal and move past her grief while honoring her husband, but Angela doesn't feel the same. While Eva feels uninspired and unsure what step to take next after her husband's death, Angela is angry. Left alone to take care of their kids while barely making ends meet had pushed Angela to her breaking point.
Eva convinces Angela to fly her family to New Zealand four months before the race to get away from their pasts and hopefully step into their new futures. There they have to relearn what it means to be a mother, wife and friend. Grief is unfortunately something that everyone has experienced and can relate to. I found myself understanding both women. Being angry and bitter is such a natural response to lose and I loved seeing Angela’s story evolve.

Young widows Eva and Angela are both struggling with the weight of grief a year after their husbands, who were brothers, passed away in an accident. These two women could not be more different. Eva is artistic and impetuous, but she feels like her creativity died with her husband. Angela struggles with raising three children on her own and feeling like every dream she's ever had has crashed and burned, so it is easier to completely turn off her emotions than deal with them.

One day Eva receives a phone call that changes everything. Their husbands had signed up to run a 7-day ultramarathon in New Zealand, and the date of the final payment for the adventure is only days away. An idea sprouts in Eva's mind. Is it possible for the sisters-in-law to run in honor of their husbands? She manages to convince Angela to agree, even though they only have six months to train for the 155-mile race.

Angela hates training and hates the fact that it takes her away from her children even more. When Eva proposes an outlandish solution, it sets their whole family on a life-changing adventure.

I had anticipated that this book would be emotional, but I didn't expect to be glued to the pages and for the emotional journey to be so inspiring. This is more than a story about two women dealing with grief. It's about learning to live when life has tried to cripple you. This book felt like it could be transformational in the hands of the right reader.

"Life is about dreaming, even if those dreams never come to fruition. God is the planter of dreams, and in His timing, He will make those dreams grow. But we have to keep watering them, keep hoping, even when life throws things at us we don't expect."

As the sisters-in-law deal with training, childrearing, accidents, and even the flicker of hope that life could be better and brighter beyond the ultramarathon, you'll come to feel the pulse of their hearts. Their stumbles will cause your gut to clench and their determination will make you want to carry on yourself. This book made me stay up too late, brought me to tears, and will live in my heart for a long time. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could.

"Progress is not measured by feet and inches, but by how much closer we come to understanding ourselves. And God."

"Is it possible to allow all the pain and the beauty of life to inspire you? To allow God to inspire you—not just to create, but to live?"

I received my copy of the book from the publisher. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Reflections From My Bookshelves
REFLECTIONS FROM MY BOOKSHELVES
The Joy of Falling by Lindsay Harrel
The Joy of Falling by Lindsay Harrel
Eva and Angela must learn to live again. One step at a time.

It has been fifteen months since Eva and Angela lost their thrill-seeking husbands in a scuba diving accident. Both women are trying to navigate their way through the grief, but neither one is making much progress. Angela is barely making ends meet, angry at her husband for leaving her to raise three children on her own. Meanwhile, Eva is stuck, unable to move forward after losing the love of her life and her source of inspiration.

But then Eva gets a life-changing phone call. Before Brent and Wes died, they had signed up for a race of a lifetime—an ultra-marathon in beautiful New Zealand. Eva begs Angela to run the race with her in their husbands’ place, and Angela finally agrees, hoping to finally understand her husband’s choices.

Training is exhausting, and the race is even more demanding. Their journey grows more complicated by the presence of two men—Marc is Brent’s best friend who is running the race with Eva and Angela, and Simon King is a writer who is covering their inspiring story. With every step, Eva and Angela must ask themselves questions that they haven’t had the courage to ask before. As the women literally put one foot in front of the other, they wonder: Is it possible to find their way forward in hope?

Purchase your copy here
Amazon: The Joy of Falling
My Review
What a wonderful story! I hadn’t heard about the Ultra marathon before and found it fascinating. New Zealand too sounded amazing. Both Eva and Angela were fun to get to know. Each one was so different and yet similar in a way. The description sounded beautiful. The relationship between Eva and Angela is complicated. It reminded me a lot of real life relationships.It was so honest and refreshing to read a book where the characters deal with the same things you might deal with in real life. Grief is strange in that its different for everyone. No way is better then the other. I like how this story captured that truth. It was a story that had multiple depths to it. Grief, friendship, siblings, forgiveness, faith and hope were weaved throughout the story. I think the reader can learn right along side the characters these valuable truths.

I recommend this book to my family and friends.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Absolutely beautiful! This is my second read by author Lindsay Harrel and I enjoyed this one more than the last. Don’t get me wrong, this story is an emotional roller-coaster. You will need a box of tissues close by before you begin reading, but it’s also a breath-taking story of healing and finding the joy in life amid sorrow and tragedy. At first it seemed predictable, but towards the end it made a couple of unexpected changes that added a depth and realness to the story. This story reminded me of the story of Ruth from the Bible. These two widows, also sisters-in-law, are facing their grief very differently. One is depressed and unable to find joy (or color) in life. The other is angry and working hard to survive but not really living. Each will have to go through a personal journey to find love again. I appreciated how the author did not make this journey unrealistically easy. The characters must work for it and face bumps and setbacks along the way.
You will love the physical journey as they race 155 miles across the island of New Zealand. I was disappointed that the race itself took up only a small portion of the novel. The set-up and preparation stage dominated the book. One of the characters became pregnant in college, and after choosing to keep the baby instead of abortion, married the baby’s father. This plays a major part in that character’s emotional struggles. The phrase “knocked up” is used. There is also mention of thinking about a person in bed but is generic and not too sexual. Nothing more than chaste kissing ever takes place, on or off the page.
The love interest for each widow seemed one-sided and too perfect, as if they only existed to aid the women. I would have loved to see what went on inside their heads as well, especially the one with survivor’s guilt. This book may be triggering for those dealing with loss, but it could also bring healing for those ready to move forward.
The Joy of Falling is a clean read with a beautiful spiritual message. I recommend this book for anyone who loves emotional dramas, seeking healing after loss, or enjoys underdog sports stories.

Wow! What a range of emotions Eva and Angela dealt with! This book did a great job tackling the subject of all the emotions of losing a loved one. I just wanted to hug Eva and Angela as they dealt with all that came when they lost their husbands. I was cheering for them at the end of the book as they both reached for dreams they never thought they would accomplish. Such a touching story on how we each have different interpretations and ways we deal with life.

Thanks to The First Editions for suggesting this book & #netgalley for supplying the book. I really enjoyed this book. It is a book about grief and how two amazingly different women conquered it. The two women are sister's-in-law who both lost their husbands (brothers) in a scuba accident. Angela has children but Eva does not. The brothers & their friend Marc were to run this ultra-marathon in New Zealand. Eva convinced Angela & Marc to run the race together in honor of their deceased husbands. Through their journey of training, moving to New Zealand with kids and mother-in-law, to get the lay of the land, they found themselves again and learned that they could love others without losing the love they had for their husbands. This is a spiritual book. Both women put their faith in God to help them through their struggles. I would definitely recommend this book.

I knew going into this one that it would be heavier, with the basic synopsis being that two women whose husbands passed away are dealing with the ramifications of being without the men and how to move forward. Eva feels that she has lost her inspiration and will to live without her husband, and Angela feels that her husband disregarded his responsibilities as her partner and her children's father - and the only thing tying the two women together is the fact that their husbands were brothers. After discovering their husbands still have a place in an ultra marathon in New Zealand, Eva convinces a reluctant Angela to join in the marathon (along with Eva's husband's best friend).

This one dealt with a lot, a lot, a lot, of grief - but also a lot of joyous moments. It speaks a lot to faith and how people can lean into that during their toughest moments, which were special moments in the book. I found it hard to relate to both sisters at various points during the book, but especially Eva. She seemed to have more trouble than seemed reasonable understanding why her sister-in-law was struggling so much with suddenly being a single mother....?

The romances that came from the story (both 18 months out from their husbands' passing) were both believable and sweet, and I enjoyed watching them develop for both women. There are also strong relationships between the women and their mother-in-law, as well as with Angela and her teenage daughter (the other two children are not well developed enough to even bring up, in my opinion).

A good portion of the book takes place in New Zealand, which I LOVED. The descriptions of the area they were in were so beautiful, and really gave me a "WANT TO GO THERE" feeling.

Overall, I would recommend this title if someone found the synopsis intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, & HarperCollins Christian Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

This is a really a beautiful story and I love how it isn’t all tied up nice and tidy at the end, however, it does have a satisfying ending.

These two women, Ella and Angela, have their own ways of dealing with the deaths of their husbands. I liked Ella better but honesty I think I am the most like Angela, which could be why I didn’t really like her. Her reactions to things was like holding up a mirror to myself, not pretty 🙂

Lindsay painted a beautiful picture of New Zealand. It was very cool exploring that part of the world through this book and the adventures of Ella and Angela.

This book definitely made me think of Ruth, in the sense that Sherry, the men’s mother, lost her husband and her two sons. But that really is as far as the comparison goes. Both Ella and Angela, have a strong relationship with Sherry and neither leave her. I appreciated Sherry’s role in the book. She brought Jesus into the picture and her complete reliance on Him and reminded her daughter-in-laws of this many times.


A copy this book was given to me by the Celebrate Lit Team. All opinions are my own.

This is a faith-based journey of two sisters-in-law through their grief and re-discovery of joy following the loss of their husbands (who were brothers).

Eva and Angela embark on a 155-mile charity race in New Zealand which their husbands had planned to compete in. Along the way they each work through their own memories, emotions and self-examinations as they begin their healing journeys.

While I think the story could have been tightened up (i.e. shortened) and that Eva and Angela seemed to be rehashing issues that I thought had been resolved (frustrating/annoying at turns), overall I liked seeing how each one, coming at grief from different perspectives, were able to ultimately move forward in their own ways through their faith.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #ThomasNelson for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

I feel like I just took a trip to New Zealand, ran a 150 mile race and came back – Whew, I’m exhausted!!

I’ve never read any of Lindsay Harrel’s books, but I remembered meeting her at CFRR (Christian Fiction Readers Retreat) in 2019, so I decided to give this book a chance… and I am SO glad that I did! Her writing style is different than most of the authors I’ve read previously and the way she wrote the book gives you the story from the perspective of Angela and her sister-in-law, Eva. This was especially interesting because the two main characters couldn’t have been more different in, their attitudes, their personality and in the way they each handled their grief. Having been single my entire adult life (as of right now), I can’t imagine the thought of losing your husband/significant other, but it was amazing to see the character’s grow and each learn to handle their grief differently. I also totally understand why they would be afraid of falling in love again, given what happened to their husbands but, in the words of Angela and Eva’s Mother-in-law Sherry, “New love is difficult for a number or reasons, but there’s nothing but beauty in it”. I also loved the message of hope and faith in a creator God, who gives us color and who should be our inspiration. This was intertwined so perfectly within the story, that you can’t help but want to praise the Lord for his amazing creation.

The author also describes New Zealand in such a way, that I could picture the beautiful snow-capped mountains and hear the lapsing of the water in Wanaka lake. The only thing that I found disappointing was the end of the race. I LOVED the perseverance that Angela, Marc and Eva showed to run/walk/jog in this Ultra Marathon, but having participated in a race before (which was only 4 miles, not 150), I was hoping for more details about the end of the race. Like did they go home and celebrate, did the three of them collapse on a coach, order pizza and not get up for a week? But unfortunately, I’ll never know, because in the book, time fast foward's to when they are already home.

Other than that, I really enjoyed reading this book and am going to have to go order “The Secrets of Paper and Ink” because I’ve heard so much about that one (and if this one was good as it was… I can’t wait to read her previous book!) Overall, because of the end of the story, I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars ****.

Special thanks to Lindsay Harrel, and Celebrate Lit for letting me read and review this book – all opinions are my own.

Two women bound together by shared grief each dealing with it in their own way. This book deals with this and more. I loved Eva and Angela's journey and the message carried along the story. Though they were both dealing with grief, the handled it differently showing us how people react to experiences different. When the opportunity comes to run the marathon as a way to understand their late husbands better and what they loved, it's not easy, it hard and painful training for what they haven't done before but they do so and they grow in the process.
This book was beautiful and real. Learning about their struggles especially at a second chance at love, their dealings with grief. It was a wonderful story and one I definitely was excited to read.

This book is one of the best books I have read in the past year! It is such a beautiful story of healing. Eva and Angela have both lost their husbands in an adventure accident, and it is over a year past and both have struggled to heal and move on from this event. These two are sisters-in-law, but haven't ever been that close and are both living very different lives and dealing with different struggles day to day. When they find out that their husbands were signed up to do an ultra marathon, of course their responses to this are different, but in the end they both decide, for their own reasons, to run in their husbands' places. As the reader, I was along for this journey of training, but more importantly healing and learning more about themselves, as well as the healing and opening of their hearts once more. I loved this book, it was very well-written and so many inspiring moments that had mean in tears and feeling so happy for the characters.