For the Love of Joy

A Coastal Hearts Novel

By: Janet W. Ferguson

Narrated by: Paul Curtis

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Is he married or isn’t he?

Years ago, a Dear John letter and then an IED explosion overseas rocked Davis Donnelly’s world and left him unclear about his marital status. He’d signed divorce papers, but broken mentally and physically, he’d never bothered to find out if his marriage actually ended. Now that he’s about to start a new position as an outreach minister, it’s time to settle things once and for all. At the moment he tracks down his wife - or former wife? - she takes a tumble while chasing a little boy. Her son. And that’s when life flips upside down. 

Joy Jennings Donnelly made her share of mistakes. But one thing she never considered a mistake was her child, and she’ll do anything to protect him. Even keep his paternity a secret. 

When she’s suddenly injured with not a soul to help her or her son, Joy is forced to rely on the man who has the most reasons to hate her.

©2020 Janet W. Ferguson (P)2021 Janet W. Ferguson

Enjoyed Listening to this Story!

What a pleasure it was to listen to this beautiful story as an audio book! I read this book at the very end of last year and can now say that I loved it just as much on audio as I did in print. The narrator did a good job of reading the story and doing different voices for the various characters. I had such a fun time catching up with Davis and Joy, as well as Rivers and Cooper from a previous book. Even if you haven’t read the other books in the series, you should be able to pick up this audio book and enjoy it on its own.

The story itself deals with forgiveness and the grace that God offers to people for a fresh start. I loved seeing the type of man Davis was. Even though Joy hurt him terribly years earlier and was unfaithful, he cares for her and begins to fall in love with her again. He even loves her child. What a beautiful story!

Enjoyable!

This was a sweet, enjoyable book! I really enjoyed it and enjoyed the authors writing. The narration was also good! Would recommend it!

Loved the narrator and this wonderful story

Davis Donnelly is a new creation. After turning his life over to Christ, he overcame an alcohol addiction and has been growing in his faith. With a desire to enter the ministry, Davis is seeking to wrap up all loose ends from his former life. There's just one left–his marriage. While he was in the military he'd received a Dear John letter along with divorce papers. He'd signed them, but he'd never gotten a copy of the finalized paperwork. After tracking down Joy's address, he arrives at her apartment just in time to witness Joy stepping in a hole and breaking her ankle. A trip to the ER gives them time to reconnect.

Joy can't believe that Davis has shown up now. Her life is barely holding together, what with her escape artist of a toddler complicating every aspect of her life. Working, going to school, and solo parenting don't leave her time for anything else. Including maintaining friendships.

When Davis realizes that Joy's broken ankle is going to sideline her for several weeks and she has no help for herself ofr young Hank, he impulsively declares he'll take care of them until she's back on her feet.

As Joy's recovery unfolds, she can't believe the Davis she sees in front of her. He's a completely different man. Kind, patient, and good with Hank. If he'd been like this when they first married, she never would have asked for a divorce. What has made the difference in this man? And what about his friends who keep showing up and helping beyond anything she could imagine? What is with these people?

I really loved this story. The string of crazy mishaps kept me laughing, the faith content was top notch, and the romance was sweet and proper. Everything about this book made me want to continue digging into Janet W. Ferguson's back list to catch up on what I've missed!

Forgiveness

Such a sweet book! And filled with so much! Hankie steals the show on this one! The main characters think they’re divorced, but the paperwork was never completed. This is Davis’ story. We met him in a previous book in this series. Lots of things happen to show them what path they need to take. Joy was unfaithful and had Hank. The story between the three is beautiful. No matter what, forgiveness is key for both of them, whether they stay together or not. I listened to this book on audio. The narrator took a bit to get used to him, but he grew on me. The content gets all the stars! Another deep, sweet story from St. Simons Island! I received a copy of this book from the author. All views stated are my own.

Wonderful story of redemption and healing

I really enjoyed listening to this story with well-written characters and their fun, quirky dialogue. This story covers some serious topics, but it’s also full of humor. I found myself smiling throughout the entire story—there are so many fun, humorous phrases I’ve never heard before. This is a wonderful second chance story. This is my first book by Janet Ferguson, and I’m excited to listen to others. I enjoyed Paul Curtis’s narration.

Faith, Love, Redemption

Faith, Redemption and Forgiveness! Janet W. Ferguson, did not disappoint. It had me at the first page, to the very last and I did not want the story to end! Davis, is a man that was fighting his battles of self hurt and guilt! Joy, has emotional battles of her own, along with the struggles of being a single Mom and working hard to take care of her son. A beautiful story of love, faith, forgiveness and redemptions, that will have you hooked from beginning to end.

Sweet story but too many colloquialisms

The story was ok, but half of the content was repeated colloquialisms and idiomatic expressions... not just a few! I got to be grating, and a matter of WILL to finish the book.

I could've listened to it in one sitting

I've been wanting to read this story ever since the author share a sneak peek of this book, so when the opportunity came up to review this audiobook, I jumped at the chance. And the story didn't disappoint! I loved getting to know both Davis and Joy (and their Southern sayings ;) ). I loved how imperfect they both are, how they both have a past with each other (there's the whole "are they still married?" thing) but also on their own, and how they both have to work through all of it. Thankfully for them, there have been some major changes since then, and especially for Davis with his coming to know Christ, thus laying the solid foundation for this second chance romance. Of course, I also loved the community that surrounds him, as well as the fun addition that was Hank. Fans of the series will love getting to see "updates" of past characters, but this story stands on its own just as well (as was my experience).

As for the narrator, I think he did a great job bringing all the characters to life, but it still took me a bit to get used to Joy's voice, so I'd recommend potential listeners to listen to the sample. However, my main "issue" was with Hank's voice, since it seemed to me he sounded older than a 2yo, but that could just be my POV. Still, I think he did great performing all the different voices (loved River and Cooper's) and nuances (from scared and nervous all the way to excited and hopeful).

Overall, this is a wonderful story that I could've listened to in one sitting were it not for #life, from an author that has quickly become one of my favorites. ~4.75 stars

refreshing

it was a breathtakingly refreshing story of the struggles of lives mistrust and reconciliation and restoration