Mary Morrissey is living
the life of her dreams. She has a loving husband, Tom, two daughters,
and twin boys. But beneath the shiny veneer, Mary hasn't taken a calm
breath in ten years. She lives in a constant state of panic, afraid the
secret she's kept hidden for so long will be revealed, shattering her
perfect life. When addictively charismatic ex-boyfriend Landon James
reappears during his high-profile Senate campaign, Mary's fears become
even more real. A conditional Catholic, Mary bargains with God,
negotiates deals, and promises to be the best wife and mother ever . . .
if only He can get her out of this tight spot. What once seemed
unfathomable ? a deep, heartbreaking divide between Mary and Tom ? is
now their new normal. Can they find a way to rebuild their life
together? Is forgiveness possible? Acts of Contrition is a richly drawn
story of faith, family loyalty, and forgiveness, even in the face of
moral ambiguity, guilt, and broken trust.
I have to say this book took me on a
different journey than I expected. If you are looking for a romance with
sex then you won’t find it here. You will find a story of a family who
has to deal with real issues and a plot that will leave you thinking and accepting
that we all need to do some acts of contrition and seek redemption in
life. This is not a religious book, but there is a strong Catholic theme
throughout the book.
Mary is currently a mother of four,
married to a man she is deeply in love with and lives with a secret that she
knows could tear her family apart. Giving up her law career to be a stay
at home mom, she focuses her every minute of the day towards raising four God
fearing adults and being the loving wife that Tom deserves, but there is always
the motive in every action that is seeking redemption and forgiveness for her
past sins. She had love Landon for ten years, but he was never able to
commit and give that love back. He had his sights set on a political
career and family was not in his future. Giving up on him she met Tom and
became engaged, but Landon never left her heart.
Tom was a God fearing man who took
the role of protector and provider for his family seriously. Having a
father who was addicted to whiskey and a brother who followed in his father’s
footsteps, he also felt a sense of responsibility to them and his mother.
All he wanted in life was a wife who would love him and take care of their
children and he found that in Mary. What he had trouble with was accepting
that Mary still have some feelings for Landon and the jealousy that came with
it.
Landon grew up without a father for
most of his life. In his early years his father was there but always
reminded him that people come and goes, no one ever stays. As if he was
preparing Landon for his departure, Landon was left with a mother who was
mentally gone after being abandoned by his father. This stayed with him
his whole life and even though he did truly love Mary, he couldn’t commit to
her so he put his personal life aside for politics. Once he had achieved
his goals, he reached out to Mary and just needed that small connection, even
though he knew it was going to disrupt her life. When he was confronted
with the reality of their relationship he was forced to make a choice that
would haunt him forever.
This is not a story of a love
triangle, it is a story of a woman living with a choice she made years ago
knowing it could come back at any time and tear her world apart. She
loves Landon but she makes it clear she is IN love with her husband. We
watch her as the truth comes out and how she reacts to it, plus the author
gives us a chance to watch Tom come to terms with the truth and be faced with
the same choice she was faced with years ago.
I think the author did a wonderful
job with this plot in allowing us to not only see the side of each character
but pushing us to feel empathy towards them and giving us an understanding of
how deep this pain and confusion was for all of them. I was sucked in at
page one and finished rather quickly as I was so wrapped up in them I lost
total track of time. There isn’t the suspense and drama you find in books
these days but there is an intensity and raw emotion that won’t let go of you
till you have finished the journey with them.
I give this book five stars not only
for the writing style and character development, but the story itself left a
lasting impression on me. It broadens my way of thinking about others
actions and gave me the big picture of motives for why people do what they
do. We can’t be quick to judge in all situations, even the people
involved have to make choices without all of the facts. I really value
the message in this book and would recommend it to all readers.
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