May 14, 2013 by Howard Books
Paperback, 320 Page
Inspy-Contemporary
Review Copy/Litfuse Tour
Warnings: Mild sensuality, death, depression
4/5 Stars

After growing up as an only child, Amanda Lisandra wants a big family. But since she and her soldier husband can’t afford to have more children right away, Mandy decides to earn money as a gestational carrier for a childless couple. She loves being pregnant, and while carrying the child she dreams of having her own son and maybe another daughter…Just when the nearly perfect pregnancy is about to conclude, unexpected tragedy enters Mandy’s world and leaves her reeling. Devastated by grief, she surrenders the child she was carrying and struggles to regain her emotional equilibrium. Two years later she studies a photograph of the baby she bore and wonders if the unthinkable has happened—could she have inadvertently given away her own biological child? Over the next few months Mandy struggles to decide between the desires of her grief-stricken heart and what’s best for the little boy she has never known.

Thoughts

I can't really say much outside of what the synopsis shares, but what I can say is Wow! A great word to sum up Angela Hunt's The Offering. I was riveted to this book and paralyzed to my seat the entire time getting lost in the drama and heartbreak of Amanda's world. I adored the relationship she had with her husband and his family and grieved with her during the hard parts even when I knew they were coming.

The Offering was an emotional roller coaster of a book, the writing was fantastic, the story-line amazing. While I wish the marketing had left some mystery in its gripping plotline, as the synopsis gives away over half the plot, it was in the end an amazing read. There are very few Inspy novels that make impressions on me as of late and Hunts realistic, moving and authentic portrayal of the military, marriage, grief and relationships was a breath of fresh air.

4/5 Stars- Inspy Fiction
Thanks to Howard Books and Litfuse for Review Copy

With over four million copies of her books sold worldwide, Angela Hunt is the bestselling author of more than one hundred books, including “The Nativity Story.” Hunt is one of the most sought-after collaborators in the publishing industry. Her nonfiction book “Don’t Bet Against Me,” written with Deanna Favre, spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Angela’s novel “The Note” (with sales of over 141,000) was filmed as the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movie for 2007 and proved to be the highest rated television movie in the channel’s history.

Angela’s novels have won or been nominated for several prestigious industry awards, including the RITA, the Christy Award, the ECPA Christian Book Award, and the Holt Medallion. She often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers’ conferences, and she served as the keynote speaker at the 2008 American Christian Fiction Writers’ national conference. She and her husband make their home in Florida with mastiffs. In 2001, one of her dogs was featured on Live with Regis and Kelly as the second-largest dog in America.