The last novel I read from Kerry Anne King emotionally drained me. Thankfully, this was a lighter read.
After her husband's sudden death, Liz comes to terms with how controlled her world really was - emotionally, financially and physically.
Against the opinions of her daughter, and amidst judgement of a tight knit church, she strikes out on her own. An impromptu theatre audition gives Liz a new support community, along with a new outlook on life and love. She struggles and stumbles (and encounters a few comically embarrassing moments), but will not let herself fail.
Engaging and hopeful, this is a story of how one woman fought to get her individuality back and won.
*Thank you Lake Union Publishing, Kerry Anne King and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was really well written. It started a bit dark but once I got past the first chapter I loved how Liz, the main character started to start taking charge in her life and making decisions based on what SHE wanted to do. Felt empowered by her strength and was happy with the ending.

This is a well written emotional read. It grabs you on the first page and doesn't let go. The author has a way with words that draws you into the story and when you're not reading the book, you're thinking about it. This is a 5 star read all the way through! I highly recommend it. Thank you Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Oh my! What a wonderful book.
I raced through this book and absolutely loved it.
Elizabeth is married to Pastor Thomas who dies very early on in the story. As Elizabeth moves forward with her life it soon becomes clear that what initially appears to have been a strictly religious man who was concerned and protective over his family was actually a very emotionally controlling and coercive person who carefully cultivated a very toxic relationship.
It was wonderful to watch Liz gradually find herself again, find new friends and start to have the self esteem to speak up for herself.
The characters were an excellent cast, some likeable and others not so much but all believable and each brought something to the story.
The book was very well written and moved along at a good pace, keeping me invested and cheering Liz on.
This was the first book I have read by Kerry Anne King but it certainly won’t be the last. I rated this 5⭐️ and highly recommend it to everyone.

This is the first book from Kelly Anne King that I’ve read and it won’t be the last.

When Elizabeth’s husband dies suddenly of a heart attack, she realises that she has sleepwalked her way into a life that he very carefully created and controlled for her. No longer restrained by his rules, this is a lovely story of self discovery as Elizabeth, or rather Liz, learns about who she is by saying yes to new experiences.... even if that gets her in to a little hot water!

The characters are wonderfully thought out and grow naturally as the plot progresses. At times they are a little over exaggerated admittedly but overall they work well together, allowing for different aspects of Liz’ newly found personality to shine through. Each character seems to represent a part of her past or potential future in some way shape or form.

The plot isn’t something ‘new’ but the characters help to make this a warm and at times an emotional read that you don’t want to put down. The ending did feel a little rushed but only slightly.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it when it’s released later in the year!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5 from me

This was a completely moving and brilliant book and one I won't soon forget. Following the sudden loss of her husband, Liz embarks on a journey of rediscovering her life and learns so much about herself along the way. This is a novel of learning to love and respect yourself, no matter what age you are.

My emotions were all over the place with this one. There were moments where I found myself hoping that Liz would be able to finally stand up for herself and that Abigail would see all the potential in her own life then I would revert the opposite way.

This was a frustrating, emotionally gripping but uplifting read that I will recommend to friends who are fans of this genre.

Loved this book. Could relate to her judgmental religious background. Just fun, easy to read, summer reading. I will look for more books from this author.

While I wouldn't categorize this as a must read, this story is a feel good happy after the fact that will get you through the weekend.

This book immediately hooks you in. Its such a wonder story of finding yourself without having to worry about what those closest to you might think or say.

Elizabeth (Liz) is the wife of Thomas who is a pastor. Liz what she would like to be called feels hemmed in. Her husband constantly undermines her. One day he dies of a heart attack. Liz learns how to move on and become her true self. She has a few bumps along the way and a romance. I enjoyed this story very much. The author did a wonderful job with descriptions and personalities of the other characters in the story. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the E-ARC, This is my own opinion.

Wow, I really loved this romance. This is the kind of story that hangs with you. Kudos to the author!! And thank you to #NetGalley for letting me read it.

I thought this was okay, I felt a little uninterested and not connected with the characters. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy!

This was my first book by this author and I was very pleased. The story of family, life choices, and finding one's true self was portrayed with heart and sincerity. Overall, I thought it was a very good read.

After a busy week, A Borrowed Life, an easy, lighthearted read, helped ease me into vacation mode. I could read a little while eating breakfast, take a break to go for a run, and pick up where I left off without missing a beat. The likeable main character discovers who she is and grows as the predictable but entertaining story unfolds. The plot and conflicts were engaging, not immersive. I did not find myself staying up late to read; however, I did look forward to reading and relaxing with Kerry Anne King’s A Borrowed Life.

A very moving story of Liz,. the repressed, quiet, pastor's wife. Her husband passes away and Liz slowly finds herself, her voice, her freedom and her happiness. I love the author's writing style and I enjoyed following along as Liz finds herself. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advance copy,

A Borrowed Life is a completely moving and brilliant book from Kerry Anne King. Following the sudden loss of her husband, Liz embarks on a journey of rediscovering her life.

It was frustrating, gripping, uplifting and funny all rolled into one and definitely a book I'll recommend to friends!

Fleeing from a chaotic.home life, Liz thinks that life with her husband Thomas will give her the structure she needs. But, as a pastor's wife, Elizabeth finds herself constrained and repressed. When Thomas passes away after two decades of marriage, Elizabeth has the chance to reclaim her freedom. What comes next is a tumultuous but liberating exploration of love and chosen family.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Beautifully written, painfully honest. Another wonderful book written by Kerry Anne King. It kept me engaged from start to finish. I look forward to reading more books by King.

Really enjoyed this book. Steady paced, great characters, I was absorbed throughout. Will be reading more King books in the future!

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: I was very happy to read and review A Borrowed Life by Kerry Anne King, which will be published by Lake Union Publishing this fall. The gorgeous cover drew me in, but the topics are what really intrigued me.

We meet our protagonist, Elizabeth Lightsey, as she quietly prepares for another routine day of being the pastor's wife. Married to an incredibly strict husband who sees every woman's role in life as being submissive and the "helper" for her husband, she hides her trashy romance novels and her journals where she writes her innermost thoughts...and then burns them once they're full to destroy the evidence.

Elizabeth was once just Liz, trapped with neglectful parents - one an alcoholic, one an enabler - and unsure of her own future. She works on sowing her wild oats until she meets Thomas, whose dashing good looks and church-focused charisma sweep her off her feet. They marry quickly when Thomas tells her he is being offered a church to lead and needs "a good wife," and Liz soon learns that his definition of a good wife is a very narrow, subservient, controlled one. She stays to raise their daughter, and spends the next two-plus decades learning how to control her emotions and keep her true feelings to herself.

When Thomas drops dead in the middle of Elizabeth's knitting circle, she is horrified and shocked - and, also, unexpectedly, free. Thomas is no longer there to criticize the cleanliness of the floors, or her friendship with her "godless" neighbor Val, or to refuse to allow her to bring pickles into the house. And when Elizabeth needs support, is it the gossipy, judgmental church ladies who come to her rescue? Surprise: it's Val, her tattooed, smoking, cursing friend, who takes care of Elizabeth when she needs it most.

Elizabeth slowly begins to find herself again - Liz has always been inside, she realizes, but she wasn't allowed to be free under Thomas's iron fist. Much to her tightly-controlled daughter Abigail's chagrin, she finds herself auditioning for a role in a local play and accepting when the lead is offered to her. Even as Liz begins to slowly open up to her own wants and desires, she must face alienating her own daughter - whom she begins to realize she raised, along with Thomas, to be afraid of her own true self and to tamp down her desires for those of her future husband. (Why be a surgeon when you're just going to be the woman of the house some day, Thomas said? Nursing school is fine until you find a suitable man.)

Liz's life changes at warp speed as she begins to reconsider her home, her belongings, and her purpose in life...and as she begins to feel very real, and very foreign, sparks of attraction to her leading man in the play. Thomas's chastising voice never quite leaves her thoughts as she makes one reckless yet freeing decision after another, but when one of her biggest moments of passion backfires, how will she ever be able to find and stay the right course? Will she and her daughter be able to make amends and find a truly loving and open relationship? And what on earth does Liz REALLY want for her own future?

This was my first book by King, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Her writing style and topics remind me of some of my favorite women's fiction authors, like Kristan Higgins, Katherine Center, and Colleen Hoover (particularly her recent book Regretting You). Liz is an incredibly well-written character; we know her background, and why Thomas would have seemed like an appealing option, even as he began to control every aspect of her life. "And it was easier, safer, to let him make all of the decisions. To tell me who to be and how to be that person. To let him dictate how to raise our daughter, how to spend my time." (Chapter 31)

Liz's path to emotional maturity will ring so incredibly true to women who have had to make sacrifices in their lives - for their parents, their partners, their children. Her joys and struggles with her newfound freedom lead her to realize that choices aren't necessarily right or wrong, damned or blessed - they are just vehicles that get us to the next moment of our lives and determine what new avenues open up. She takes the time to make decisions just for her, refusing to cater to anyone else's timeline, and that is incredibly refreshing in what could be considered a modern romance novel. Just because the swoon-worthy, flawed, sexy love interest proposes to you doesn't mean you have to accept...especially when you're just beginning to put together the many confusing puzzle pieces of your own life.

I am giving this book a rare 5 stars (for me), because I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the depth of the characters and the relationships within. No character was a shallow, one-dimensional stereotype; there was redemption and disaster for everyone alike, just like in real life. This books celebrates how messy circumstances and troubled relationships can still be beautiful, and life may take different turns that put us in better places than we could ever have previously imagined, even after unspeakable tragedy.