These are two impulse Kindle buys I just read.  Since You’ve Been Gone is about a young woman whose fiancé is killed on her wedding day, on a road leading away from the church with a “baby” gift in his car.  Olivia deals with her grief by investigating where Wyatt was going on their wedding day.

The entire investigation piece did not make much sense to me at all.  I don’t want to discuss details and have spoilers, just let’s say that Olivia and others were much more of a hinderance in getting to the truth of the matter than a help.  Anyone with an ounce of common sense could have straightened this whole mess out much sooner.

My other issue with the book and this might be my own fault, I didn’t realize this was Christian fiction.  I don’t generally read Christian fiction, but I have read a few that I have enjoyed.  This was so heavy-handed with the preachiness that I really found it distracting from the story.   Not a book that worked for me.

Lift and Separate is the story of Marcy and Harvey the owners of Bountiful, a lingerie company.  They have been married for 33 years and have 3 grown children.  Harvey decides to leave Marcy for a younger woman.  The book follows Marcy as she struggles through the separation.    Themes explored in the book include infidelity, divorce,  loss of a parent, caregiving, and second acts in life.   Marcy is a great character, who evolves as the book progresses.  Candy, Jon and Dana round out the cast as great supporting characters providing interesting subplots and humor.  This is a quick read with humor and compassion.