Book Review: I'll Know You by Heart by Kimberly Job

After seventeen years of living in an abusive marriage, Stephanie's reality is distorted. She doesn't know if she is worth anything more than what she's received. She used to have dreams of marrying someone wonderful and being treated like a queen, but she's been worn down to the point to where she wonders if this is all she's good for.

But her children are another story. She knows how precious they are, and when her husband, Mark, turns on their oldest son, she finds the strength to pack up and leave. She can do it for her childrens' sake, if not for her own. Taking everything they can fit into a few suitcases, they flee to Stephanie's mother's house, the first step in seeking a new life away from Mark.

Meanwhile, Jared has been living a lie. Everyone thinks his marriage to Cheryl is perfect, but he knows the truth - she's taken up drinking and partying all night, leaving him and their little daughter alone. When she's killed in a drunk driving accident, everyone assumes she was the victim, but no - she was the drunk driver. Although wanting to sheild his daughter, Katie, from the harsh reality of Cheryl's addiction, he knows he can't save her from the pain of growing up without a mother.

When Jared and Stephanie meet, they are each running from their past. But in each other, they find the strength to move forward and create a new reality, one that is based on truth and love, rather than pain and anger.

This incredible new romantic suspense by first-time author Kimberly Job is anything but ordinary. The conflict is bitingly real, showing realistically how an abused woman thinks and feels. The romance is tender, demonstrating the two characters' ability to open their hearts again and become vulnerable, and that their past situations haven't hardened them to the possibility of future happiness.

If you enjoy a story that shows the realities of life, and yet also the ability to rise above it, you'll want to read "I'll Know You by Heart."