Wow. This is an AMAZING book. It is not neat and tidy but real.

The ending was conflicting for me. It didn’t really end the way I wanted it to, yet it did end the way I wanted it to. If you read it you will understand what I mean.

The relationship between the two sisters reminded me a lot of my relationship with my sister, not so much now but in the past so I could relate to the feelings Zara had.

I can’t imagine dealing with an addition like this, the need to have it and feeling like you will die without the drug. But the author does a wonderful job of making the reader feel the conflict.

She also did a great job bringing Jesus into the book without being preachy. So many “Christian” books leave him out or the characters don’t even go to church but these characters did, or had the real life situation of struggling to get to church and dealing with kids when you get there.

If you haven’t read a book by Christina I highly recommend this one.

A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Bethany House for the free book.
After reading Nelson's book last year and this one now, I am learning that she likes to tackle tough topics, and I am here for it. One of the main character's in this book is suffering from a heroin addiction. This is a tough topic to write about and get right. Nelson wrote Eve and showed how addiction affects thought processes. She wrote Tiff to show the grace and dignity that all people suffering from addiction deserve. This book is tough. Zara and Eve are twins. Zara gets a letter asking her to foster Eve's kids - and she knew nothing about them. Tiff wants to help those on the streets because of personal events in her life - which is how she gets connected with Eve. I liked how the issues weren't glazed over. The author dug deep into all of the character's thoughts and feelings. She showed how marriages change, children are affected by trauma, and the work that is involved with the foster system. I appreciated how she ended the story. Not everything was wrapped up neatly, though I wasn't a fan of Tiff's ending because it did seem easy and there wasn't enough time for a follow through. This book really shows the ministry of Jesus, and I hope others can read and understand more about the disease that addiction is.

When Eve loses custody of her two young children, Zara and her husband step in to help as foster parents. The story is well written and very sad, dealing with issues of abuse and drug dependency. Tiffany lost her kids to addiction and now works to help other mothers in her situation. I love that the author kept it real and it really relates to real life. Great book!

This was well written, but too sad. I can appreciate a sad book if it inspires me. This book just left me sad. I will try another book by this author, I don't need fluffy feel-good stories but this was too depressing.

This was a great book. I enjoyed the faith based narrative woven through the story. The character development was excellent.

"The Way It Should Be" tells the story of two families affected by addiction.
Twins Eve and Zara have lost touch. But when Eve's boyfriend beats her up, her two children need foster care. Zara and her new husband Chad agree to care for the children. Will Eve be able to regain custody of her children? Will Zara be able to release her dream for a family of her own?
Meanwhile, Tiff mourns the loss of her daughter to addiction. She looks for ways to help homeless men and women, which is how she meets Eve. Can Tiff help or even save Eve without losing her marriage?
Author Christina Suzann Nelson does a decent job of telling the truth about addiction and foster care. As she notes, it's a hard subject to handle in fiction. And I appreciate that the ending is realistic and not tied in a neat bow. There are triggers in this book, though, that readers should be aware of, such as domestic abuse, addiction, and infertility.

Christina Suzann Nelson has written a powerful, emotionally engaging story full of compelling characters. She did a great job of telling the story from the perspectives of three different women. The variety of viewpoints and the range of emotions all of the characters felt gave the story authenticity. The book doesn’t shy away from the gritty parts of life, but tackles topics like addiction, domestic violence, and foster care with honesty and grace.

While the book does deal with serious issues, there are still light-hearted moments throughout. Ultimately it is a story of hope, healing, and forgiveness, as each woman experiences transformation in her own unique way. While you might see yourself more in one than the others, Eve, Zara, and Tiff are all characters we can relate to in some way. All of the loose ends were not tied up with a bow at the end, and I thought that made the ending realistic and true to the story. This story tugged at my heartstrings and made me think - it will stick with me for a long time! I definitely recommended this book, especially for fans of Beth Vogt, Amanda Cox, and Rachel Linden.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Newlyweds Zara and Chad Mahoney have big plans - ones that are set aside when Zara's niece and nephew (her estranged twin sister Eve's kids) are in need of emergency foster care. Desperate to be a mother, but terrified of her genetic risks, Zara agrees to take in the kids and hopes it will ultimately be a path to healing some of her broken places.

Tiff Bradley's drug addicted daughter is long gone and presumed dead. She is committed that if there is anything she can do to help another family avoid the same devastating loss, she will do it - even at great personal risk. When she meets Eve on one of her "ministry" nights out on the streets, Tiff sees something she can't ignore and becomes involved far deeper than seems wise. But is that level of commitment and consistency what Eve really needs to break free for good this time?

This was such a challenging story to read - but very good, and so worth it. The author uses Eve's journal entries to give a peek into her struggles and thought process, and it is both effective and enlightening. The journey they all make as a family, along with the unexpected ending, was satisfying and also left me wanting more. I truly enjoyed this book!

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

From the very first word of The Way It Should Be by Christina Suzanna Nelson, I was completely hooked!! I could barely put the book down to go to bed the first night, and eagerly picked it up the second night to finish it! WOW!

Christina took a situation (no spoilers) that so many people face in real life and showed us the best and some of the worst of it! I love that she doesn’t try to sugarcoat the situation in the book and she writes very real emotions into the pages. She also doesn’t only write about the ugly but also about the redemption and the process that it takes to bring a person out of that despair (but she also shows how easy it could be for the person to fall back into that despair).

This book truly will take you on an emotional roller coaster and you will truly feel that you are living the lives of the characters right along with them.

I am very hopeful that there will be a sequel to this, maybe even a series!

This was a heart wrenching book to read, but so well done and necessary in my opinion. The subjects are hard and heart wrenching in their own. Abuse, Drug Addiction, Foster Care, Abandonment. The author did a fantastic job of telling this story. I was filled with empathy for the characters in this story. I learned something also. I can highly recommend this book. It’s informative and relevant to today. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All views stated here are my own.

This is a book that hooks you in from the first page and keeps the momentum more or less constant right till the end.

The story tells us of twins Eve and Zara, who though having shared a common womb, have nothing in common in their adulthood as their ways have long diverged. Zara has uprooted herself from her struggling background with sheer grit and determination and has recently married Chad. She now looks forward to settling with her new husband in their new farm where she can work on her organic products business.

Eve, on the other hand, has not been able to get rid of childhood emotional struggles. She is an inveterate drug abuser, in spite of having two young children, and lives with her on-off boyfriend though he keeps abusing her physically.

Once when the abuse goes out of hand and Eve finds herself in hospital, a good Samaritan -- Tiff Bradley, who is dealing with personal issues of her own -- steps in to help. Zara finds herself forced to accept guardianship of the young children of her long lost twin. Will she able to manage these unexpected duties? Will Eve be able to win the battle against her addiction to drugs? Will Tiff be able to make her peace with her past though her actions of the present? Read the book to find out.

As a women's fiction, this book checks all the requirements. It has family and friends, emotions and struggles, separations and reunions. You will stay invested in each of the three main ladies throughout their varying journeys. Eve with her struggles of drug usage and trying to be a good mother, Zara with her struggles of trying to be a family to children she's never met before while managing her business and new marriage, Tiff trying to make good for earlier parenting mistakes by going all out to help the needy though her marriage seems to be bearing the repercussions of her charity... The way these three arcs are intertwined makes the book an engrossing read.

I particularly enjoyed how the author details out the struggles of foster parents. It was an inspiring eye-opener to see the requirements of the DHS to ensure child safety.

As a Christian fiction too, this book works nicely. Though a Christian, I'm not a big fan of this genre because many books in this genre simply quote biblical phrases to make a point or they sound fatalistic by having trite remarks such as "God will take care of everything" or "God is watching you" and so on. Both approaches don't click with me. I'm a firm believer in "God helps those who help themselves", no matter which God one prays to. This book follows the same approach. While the characters seem to put their faith in God, all of them don't just rely on prayers or hope. They focus on deeds rather than words and use their beliefs to make a difference in society by helping those in need. I loved this aspect of putting religion in practice and wish all Christian fiction books would follow this approach.

All in all, “The Way It Should Be” is a very powerful and emotional story. The writing is very compelling. Though a couple of characters are too good to be realistic, the way it depicts the struggles of addiction and foster families makes it worth a read.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bethany Publishing House, for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A 4.5 from me.

Trigger warnings: Domestic abuse, drug abuse, child trauma

Another powerful journey into difficult topics, but ones addressed deftly by the author. Addiction, homelessness,,grief as well as a foster care journey----this book is heartwarming as it is hopeful. Characters that are multifaceted and affecting, with messages of redemption and second chances.
Do not miss this book! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I was an early reader. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were real and I was drawn into the story immediately. It does deal with a difficult subject (addiction) and it's affects from multiple points of view. It is also a story of family, love, redemption, and growth.

Zara and Eve Brookes haven’t seen each other in years, and for all of those years, Zara has felt the guilt of having abandoned her twin. And the pain of abandonment. But with a new name, courtesy of her husband Chad Mahoney, and a new farm, Zara feels ready to put the past behind her and create a home.

Eve and her two children, Charlotte and Sammy, live with Eve’s abusive boyfriend. Eve never knows if he’ll show up in time to pay the rent, or if she’ll have to resort to alternative methods of paying the rent…and feeding her habit.

A habit that has chipped away at her sanity, her self-worth, and her very soul. When she meets Tiff Bradley, her life takes an unexpected turn.

Ever since hearing of her daughter’s murder, Tiff Bradley has struggled to make sense of where she and her husband Bruce went wrong. Why did their daughter, Lindsay, turn to heroin? What was so bad about their affluent life that could cause their precious girl to turn her back on those who loved her?

Night after night Tiff drives the streets of Canyon Ridge in her old Toyota, longing to bring hope to those in need. Longing to do for some lost soul what she wishes someone had done for their Lindsay. Her need to serve puts her marriage in jeopardy, but how can she pretend life is whole when it feels so broken.

When the state takes Charlotte and Sammy away from Eve, they call newlyweds Zara and Chad to step in as temporary foster parents.

Three women, three stories of grief and longing intertwined into a beautiful mosaic of hope.

Why I Loved this Book

As a parent, one of the most difficult things to understand is why our children make the decisions they do. I could spend endless hours reviewing the highlights of my children’s lives, wondering where I went wrong or where I could have done better.

The author paints a beautiful, authentic picture of how different people cope with grief, abandonment, challenges, and stress. In doing so, she highlights and reality of addiction, recovery, and the stark realities of the foster care system in the United States.

While not a light weekend read, it is a book every parent should read. We can’t make decisions for our adult children. We can make a choice to make a difference in their world, and the world at large, though. This is a book of hope despite the circumstances.

An amazing book showing the courage of family, the effects of drugs and street living. It reminded me that each little act of kindness makes a huge difference. Also the importance of following God's calling even in grief.

I was hooked from the first line. "The most beautiful things are those that survive a storm and find their glory in the restoration." This heartbreaking and heartwarming story has themes of addiction and foster parenting woven throughout. Author Christina Suzann Nelson has a way of getting to the heart of the matter without sugar-coating it, yet with compassion and grace. Estranged twin sisters are brought into contact again with all the honest feelings addiction in families bring up. This story gave me a greater appreciation for what an addict can go through, and all who help them from volunteers to case managers, to people willing to hire former addicts to help them get their lives back on track, and to those who love them and their children along the way. And the children of addicts! "How did a child with such a tiny body carry around so much painful baggage?" "Addiction didn't come with an easy path. But hope still existed." The sister Zara who escaped a painful childhood truly has a prince of a husband. They are newlyweds, and together they explore foster parenting with a niece and nephew they didn't know existed. Zara has anxiety when her past comes crashing into her present, she and her sister Eve (in varying degrees) learn to lean on newfound faith.

I highly recommend The Way It Should Be!

Thank you to the author, publisher, & Net Galley for allowing me to read an early copy. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely LOVED ThIS BOOK!!! It's told from the different perspectives of each of the main characters - women that you can easily fall in love with and have true empathy for. It covers several hot topics - drug addiction, loss of a child, dysfunctional upbringing, loss of a sibling, foster care, terminal illness - holy moly - thats A LOT to pack into one book!! So much so, that I wish there were a sequel - I really need to know what happened after "the end". Great book - new to me author - I've already reserved all of her other books from the library based on this one alone!! VERY strongly recommend - great Christian fiction <3 Thanks to Netgalley for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful, gut-wrenching book, but it's everything I've come to expect from this author. She has a way of getting to the heart of some complicated issues and dealing with them with utter grace.

Themes of addiction and foster parenting are woven throughout the story, and as life is much more complicated than we want to imagine, the ending is hopeful, yet not tied up with a nice bow. I ached for Zara as she learned to be an "instant" parent to her niece and nephew, and I was alternately angry with and compassionate for Eve as she attempted to get her life back on track. After reading this book I understand more clearly that recovery from addiction needs to come from within, a person cannot want to heal for someone else or it will never be enough. Even though Eve deeply desires to be reunited with her children, the motivation for her recovery had to be about her, not about them. That's a difficult thing for someone (like me) who has never dealt with addiction to reconcile.

There is a subtle yet pervasive faith message throughout the book, as the characters learn to rely on God for strength instead of themselves. I wonder if there will be a spin-off book, because there's a definite cliffhanger moment towards the end. Overall, another beautiful book by Christina Suzann Nelson.

I kept telling myself one more page, then I could put the book down, but I could not. I was hooked. The author has the readers emotional invested early on as she brilliantly weaves a tale that taking readers through lots of twists and turns, with several possible crazy paths the story could have ended with some happy, some tragic which would leave the reader an emotional wreck. I found myself glued to the page, tearing through the novel, because I had to know more.

The author masterfully tells this story through three POV’s allowing the reader to experience the story in a well-rounded way, having them to walk through addiction and how it affects family members, friends and the addict themselves. It is heartbreaking in so many ways.

I liked how the author effectively gives a peek at the inner struggle of Eve, the addict fighting for her life and that of her children. These characters and their situations pull at your heart strings as we read Eve’s diary and get a peek into her soul. Eve’s family life is in crisis. Charlotte 5 and her brother Sammy a toddler. Eve’s Diary, May 20th …” Maybe she had come through the beating with her life, but heroin was still in the fight!”– I know the worst is yet to come, but my children need me. I’m trying to focus on my kids. Already my body is screaming as if my muscles are wrenching…My bones. I want relief, but I’ve tried that before and nearly died from the cure. An addict with a methadone allergy is pathetic. I can die from the help or die from the withdrawal. Either way, I’m not sure I’m going to make it….And my kids. I have to make it…for them.”

Then there’s Eve’s twin sister Zara who lost track of her sister years ago. Zara and Chad are newlyweds excited about their life together. She did not know her sister Eve was an addict and had two small children Charlotte and Sammy, until they receive a call from foster care. I liked how the author includes well timed humor through this couple adventure into foster care. Zara and Chad want to help. Things are happening fast. Zara says to Chad …”I keep wondering what they’ll go over in that weekend class, and if it’s really a good idea to give us two young children without that information first.”…”We can’t even housebreak a puppy.”

Chad says to Zara, “We’ll figure it out. People have children all the time. They can’t all be experts before they start.”

Then there is the story from a ministry viewpoint showing the messy yet loving side of things. I liked the character Tiff Bradley and how she does her part in helping the women no one wants to talk to and/or look at. She feels by helping Eve she is getting a glimpse into her daughters’ addiction. By helping Eve, she is helping her, and her family heal from the loss of her daughter, Lindsay.

The author isn’t afraid to say the hard things through her characters like Tiff Bradley who says this to her husband Bruce, “Listen, life isn’t safe. I used to do all the safe things, and I missed what was really happening in the world.”

Her husband Bruce replies, “Lindsay is gone. I thought you just needed to do this so you could accept that, but it keeps going, and I don’t understand. Do we need to lose you too?”

The author says, “I hope you walk away from this book with the realization that addiction does not define a person. I hope that when you see someone battling drug dependency, you will stop and pray for healing. There are miraculous stories of men and women who’ve turned their lives around. I count it as an honor to know a few of those people.”

This is a book that will open your eyes, pull at your heart and have you look at things with fresh eyes. This book would make for a great book club pick. There is so much to discuss. This is a must read. If I could give the author five stars or more I would.

The Way It Should Be tells a powerful story about family, addiction, and motherhood from the perspectives of three different women.

Newly married Zara Mahoney and her husband, Chad, are settling into their new lives in a fixer-upper farm house when Zara learns she's a carrier of a genetic disease that would kill any son she passed it down to. Meanwhile, Zara's estranged identical-twin sister, Eve, is battling addiction and has just had her two children placed in foster care. These children happen to be a niece and a nephew Zara didn't even know she had, so when Zara receives a letter from DHS asking her to take over temporary custody of them, it's needless to say she's shocked. Then there's Tiff. After Tiff lost her daughter, who was an addict, she begins her own ministry of helping women who are in similar situations that her daughter was in. Tiff quickly becomes a friend and mentor to Eve and dedicates herself to doing whatever she can to help Eve get back on her feet so she can regain custody of her children.

I'll start with the positives, because there are a lot of them. A lot of Christian fiction writers make the mistake of thinking they can make up for a weak plot line and uninteresting characters with plenty of talk about Christ. Then, readers are too scared to give the book a bad review, because it seems like they're giving the word of Christ a bad review. In The Way It Should Be, Nelson doesn't compromise any of these three components.

The plot is both moving and compelling. At the center of the story are incredibly sensitive topics, such as foster care, abusive relationships, and addiction. Nelson handles all of these topics with respect and finesse while avoiding any simplification of the real-world struggles that go along with all of these things. As real as the subject matter is, it would be lost without developing flawed, relatable characters to carry us through the story. All three women have their own unique motivations and struggles. Nelson not only fully explores each of these, but she also pays attention to the interconnecting issues brought on by each woman's individual journey. All three women are working their way through what it means to be a mother and how faith fits into their journey.

I loved the way each woman's faith was portrayed. Nobody is perfect and with that statement comes a reminder that nobody is perfect in their faith either. It's easy to want to blame someone or something for our problems or even feel like we can't handle the roadblocks in our life. At one point or another, each of the women doubts something or someone in their lives, but they each have someone around to help remind them about God's word.

Even though this book has a lot going for it, the main gripe I had was how Eve's perspective would often clang with everything else. Eve's perspective is told by journal entries for most of the book which further contrasts her experiences and situations with Zara's and Tiff's. I understand what Nelson was trying to do with this and it was good to get inside of Eve's head every once in a while, but sometimes it ended up being a random paragraph in the middle of a chapter that has nothing to do with what was going on at that time. It was almost as if I was reading a really good book, but someone decided to paste in some random entries from their journal. I'm not sure how this could have been handled differently, but it wasn't for me.

Overall, The Way It Should Be is worth the read. If you're looking for something to binge read this weekend, you might want to give this one a try.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for the promise of an honest review. All opinions expressed on the work in this review are my own.