I almost didn’t choose to read Justice. I loved the evocative mid-twentieth century feeling portrayed by the cover—the retro streetlight, the 1950s hairdo and plain black dress, but I didn’t want to have to deal with how 1950s small-town America would deal with an unplanned pregnancy as the result of a rape.
Imagine my surprise when I realised the story is set in the present day, complete with wifi and mobile phones. That’s not bad. I prefer contemporary romance, and I figured that would put a more understanding spin on Brooklyn as she “wrestles with questions about what her pregnancy means”.
But we didn’t see Brooklyn wrestle about the hard things: how to recover from rape, what her pregnancy means, or how to keep following the God who allowed all this. The challenges of her personal journey were glossed over to the point of almost being ignored. Sure, they would have been hard scenes to read and even harder to write, but I think Justice missed an opportunity to speak to Christian survivors of sexual assault (including #ChurchToo).
I guess the old saying is true: don’t judge a book by the cover.
This isn’t a novel set in 1950’s small-town America, and the female on the cover isn’t the main character. Sure, her background and actions provide the motivation, but this is not Brooklyn’s story (although she is a great example of forgiveness, and the power of God to heal).
Instead, we focus on Jake and his search for justice.
But he’s not looking for justice for Brooklyn. He owns a coffee shop and has inadvertently started a war with the bookshop owner across the road. Now Jake wants justice for what the bookshop owner has done. Priorities, please?
This really annoyed me until Brooklyn called him out on it and I realised the novel wasn’t about her at all. It was about Jake. I’m not sure if I’d have read Justice if I’d had realised it was a contemporary romance about a man whose inappropriate quest for justice (aka revenge) leads him away from all he holds dear.
I wasn’t sure what to think about Justice.
It was definitely Jake’s story, and that made it hard. I found myself liking Jake less and less as the novel progressed. The Jake of the early chapters was a strong Christian, encouraging those around him with lines like:
But Jake’s need for revenge for Brooklyn and for the unknown troublemakers attacking his business gave me the impression of a small god, a god who needed Jake’s help to make things go right. Of course, Jake learns God is God, a big God who doesn’t need Jake’s help. But the business subplot detracted from the novel I was expecting—a novel about God’s everlasting love, His healing hand in times of personal difficulty.
Justice fails as a romance novel.
Why? Because Jake and Brooklyn’s relationship wasn’t the central focus. Nor is it a great example of women’s fiction, because it glosses over Brooklyn’s issues to focus on Jake and his #FirstWorldProblems. Some readers will be thankful Brooklyn’s rape and recovery are glossed over, while others will be frustrated by the lost opportunity to minister to women who have been through similar troubles.
Justice also didn’t work as a suspense novel, at least not for me. I felt Jake jumped to conclusions regarding the identity of the evildoer, and it seemed a little too convenient when he ended up being right. My issue was that the evildoer’s motives seemed weak. They were later explained, but I wasn’t convinced.
Having said that, Justice did work on many levels.
The characterisation was convincing, as evidenced by my dislike of Jake. The Christian elements were particularly strong—Justice is definitely Christian fiction, a strong examination of some of the big dichotomies of faith: justice vs. mercy, and faith vs. works.
It’s a novel about Christians who mess up, but who are forgiven and redeemed. It’s also a novel of miracles—one of the few I’ve read where the miracles were believable (I’ve blogged about the use of miracles in Christian fiction: click here to check out that post and let me know what you think!)
Overall, Justice was a solid first novel which may appeal to readers looking for something a little outside the Christian romance/women’s fiction norm. Just don’t expect a romance.
Thanks to White Rose Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
About Emily Conrad
Emily Conrad writes Christian fiction. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two 60+ pound rescue dogs. Some of her favorite things (other than Jesus and writing, of course) are coffee, walks, and road trips to the mountains.
Find Emily Conrad online at:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
About Justice
Jake thought he was meant to marry Brooklyn, but now she’s pregnant, and he had nothing to do with it. As Brooklyn wrestles with questions about what her pregnancy means and how it will affect her relationship with Jake, she can’t bring herself to tell him the truth.
To make matters worse, if the man who owns the bookstore across from Jake’s coffee shop, has anything to do with it, the baby will ruin them both.
Can Jake and Brooklyn overcome the obstacles thrown in their path, and finally find the truth in God’s love and in each other?
You can find Justice online at:
Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.
From medical secretary to court reporter to property manager to owner of a special events decorating company, Carol’s resume reads as if she doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. But one thing that has remained constant through the years is her love for writing. She currently pens fun and fast-paced inspirational romance and romantic suspense stories. Her books have been nominated for a RITA® award and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. Carol lives in sunshiny Central Florida with her husband, who is her own real-life hero, and writes her stories under the shade of the huge oaks in her yard. Besides writing, she works alongside her music minister husband singing and playing the piano. She enjoys sailing, hiking, camping—almost anything outdoors. Her two grown daughters and grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all that nurturing into taking care of a fat and sassy black cat and a highly spoiled dachshund.
Melody Carlson has written more than 200 books (with sales around 6.5 million) for teens, women and children. That’s a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a “storyteller.” Her novels range from serious issues like schizophrenia (Finding Alice) to lighter topics like house-flipping (A Mile in My Flip-Flops) but most of the inspiration behind her fiction comes right out of real life. Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, TrueColors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year.
An icy road. A car crash.
Dr. Kelly Irving knew her husband, attorney Jack Harbaugh, was acting strangely, but figured they’d get through it. When she backed out of her garage that morning, she thought her car hit a bump. Instead, its progress was stopped by the body of a man her husband recently represented. Not only that, the dead man had been shot by her husband’s gun. The police who investigated made it clear that Jack was a primary suspect.
Regina Jennings is the winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award, a two-time Golden Quill finalist and a finalist for the Oklahoma Book of the Year Award. A graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University with a degree in English and a minor in history, Regina has worked at the Mustang News and at First Baptist Church of Mustang, along with time at the Oklahoma National Stockyards and various livestock shows. She lives outside of Oklahoma City with her husband and four children when not traveling the world.
Hattie Walker dreams of becoming a painter, while her parents want her to settle down. As a compromise, they give her two months to head to Denver and place her works in an exhibition or give up the dream forever. Her journey is derailed when a gunman attacks her stagecoach, leaving her to be rescued by a group of Arapaho . . . but she’s too terrified to recognize them as friendly.
