Book Review - Hidden Under Her Heart

Good morning everyone. I was sent a book to read and review entitled "Hidden Under Her Heart" by Rachael Ayala. First, let me say that it is a really good book. I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading others of this author. In review, I must say that I felt this book to be a bit long. It seemed that the content could have been expressed in much less pages. Though it may seem like an oxymoron, I think it is well written. The story centers around two major characters Maryanne and Lucas and their struggles with individual issues surrounding love, commitment, abortion and God.

I will not delve into the plot of the story, you really should read this for yourself, however, I can tell you that from my perspective, this book gives a really good look at how people really are.

It shows how and why most people feel the way they do about God and religion today.  I see this Maryanne's rape and the ensuing issues that surround this event and its connection to the church.  They simply try to protect the pastor's son.  (Yes, you must read to get the details).  When the average person takes a look at the church and the people within it, most often they see hypocrites and wonder, "why should I believe anything these people say?"  or "Really, this is Christianity, I want no part of it."  Seeing how Maryanne was treated by this church and not in so many words but by the attorney they hired to defend them, who was a person in Maryanne's past, it comes across clearly that the church is closing ranks and doing exactly the opposite of what Christians are supposed to do.

From the beginning, Maryanne believes she is worthless and undeserving. By the end of the book, she has same opinion of herself but is willing to turn to God for the sake of her child and tells him that she is bad and does not deserve His forgiveness, her prayer is really about her child.  This in and of itself this is the type of prayer of forgiveness that God hears loud and clear and responds to with love and grace.  Maryanne's prayer is not only the beginning for her to feel peace with her child and her circumstance, but it is beginning of her relationship with God and through that, God cleans up (for lack of better term) her life and her relationship with Lucas.

I think this is a good read for those who know they are not deserving but can see through this writing that it is a simple request that is heard and responded to by God when done with sincerity.  Though the book gives a bit too much information for my taste when it comes to the sexual innuendos and the descriptions of what happened to Maryanne, it is interesting and I enjoyed reading it.

I do recommend this to any adult who enjoys reading and is looking for a clear cut indication of the fact that God forgives our sins, however, I do not recommend this as a read for teenagers under the age of 16.  I simply don't think that younger adults have the cognizant ability to differentiate between fact and fiction in this type of story.

Get the book, read it and enjoy and you will see the title comes from Maryanne's pregnancy where her baby's preferred position is 'under her heart'.

Thanks for taking a look at my review.

Hidden Under Her Heart

Be blessed,
Mimi


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.