The Sweet By and By

Recently, as part of the Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger program http://brb.thomasnelson.com/, I read The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans. It is a fictional story about Jade, a young woman who is weeks away from getting married. She owns a small business and is engaged to marry a successful lawyer who is from a prominent Southern family. Seemingly, her life should be perfect. But right away, it’s evident that Jade has things in her past that are far from perfect. Jade has people and events that she has kept hidden, which are affecting her present happiness. The story delves into Jade’s past through a series of flashbacks and ties them in to what is happening on the days and weeks leading up to her wedding. Apart from a short epilogue, the story ends on Jade’s wedding day, where resolution finally occurs.

This was a good and fairly easy read. I thought it started out rather slowly and it took me awhile to become interested in it, but by the time I reached the halfway point, I was more interested in seeing how it all turned out. The story was based in the present, but continuously flashed back to various years in the past in order to explain the conflict occurring in the present. Secrets were revealed slowly and really supported the plotline in a realistic way, as well as keeping the story from being predictable and boring. Characters were well-developed and the reader can get a sense of most characters, including the secondary ones. The only thing I found slightly unrealistic was the seemingly quick and easy way that most characters (apart from the main character, Jade) forgave others. For instance, Jade repeatedly confessed parts of her past that she’d kept hidden from her fiancé and he hardly seemed to blink. There was no real conflict between them as a result of her lies and secrets. It just seems like it would have been more realistic if this aspect had been explored more and the forgiveness had taken longer to occur. Jade eventually came to have a relationship with the Lord, and various characters shared the importance of knowing Him, but there was not an overt spiritual emphasis in the book. The overall main theme that definitely stuck out to me throughout this book was ‘forgiveness’. Not only do you see the harm that comes from holding onto the past and not forgiving others, but also the pain that comes from not forgiving oneself, and from not seeking and accepting God’s forgiveness.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction with a spiritual element and/or for someone having problems with the issue of forgiveness in their own life.