Twisted Faith

Faith, Book 2

By: Victoria Schwimley

Narrated by: Conner Goff, Kelley Mack

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Abby Stein is young, smart, and obedient. But even obedient girls can make a mistake once in a while.

While most girls learn a lesson and move on, Abby isn't allowed to do that. When a poor choice at a party leaves Abby pregnant and alone, her overly religious parents and church community will make her life so miserable that she's forced to consider suicide as her only way out. With nowhere else to turn, Abby makes a desperate call from the parking lot of New Hope Christian Church. Pastor David Owens leads a fledgling congregation at New Hope Christian Church and answers the call. As the suspense increases, so does the little group of congregants working together in a race to save her life. Can they get through to Abby and show her God's true love before it's too late?

Twisted Faith is the second book in the Faith series.

©2014 Victoria Schwimley (P)2018 Victoria Schwimley

Wow!! Just Wow!!

I am not usually a fan of Christian books. I couldn't stop listening to this book. I wanted to hurt the parents and just hug the main character!! I really felt for her! This book will grab a hold of your heart!

Heartbreaking Story, Excellent Narration

This story hit close to home for me as I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian community. It shines a light into the darkness of the realities of living in many of these abusive, cult-like homes.

The narrators were incredible, bringing the already well-written story to life.

The only issues I encountered were a few repetitive portions of text and some stiff language (for a teenage character anyway) that briefly jostled me out of the story.

I received this audiobook for free as a review copy. :)

rookie reviewer

Great narration, made me feel like I was present during the phone conversation. Really enjoyed listening to this intriguing story unfold.

Loved it

I highly recommend this book! It grabbed my attention from the first chapter and I had to keep listening until the end!! I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and/or author and/or narrator in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing

This book is a amazing! The narrators are well read, the author is well informed on the topic, and the story shows the life some young mothers go through! I couldn't stop listening! Can wait for another book to come out!

Vivid and stirring

I was horrified, but it was worth it! Victoria really knows how to make an emotional impact. The characters in this book are (unfortunately) believable to the point that I wanted to physically hurt some of them! You see, I was listening while nursing my 5 week old baby and so the story of a young mother without proper support clashing with some twisted views just got under my skin! I am so unbelievably lucky to have loving people in my life helping me through motherhood (even though I'm not as young as Abby).

For me, this is a story of how some people use the Bible to excuse their horrible behaviour, but also a story of help being offered to a young girl from sometimes the most unlikely places. I also loved how Victoria gave us a nice side-story about pastor David's parishioners. The very believable descriptions of the not-so-pretty practices and behaviours in this book actually remind me of crime shows like Criminal Minds. Hi-five to the narrators, who did a splendid job. Kelley gives Abby's view lots of emotional depth and Conner's voice is soothing.

You don't have to be of any particular faith to read this book, but do read it. This kind of thing might happen in your neighbourhood too, and you may be someone's lifeline.

I would like to thank the author for providing me this audiobook at no cost in exchange for my unbiased review.

TwistedFaith book 2

I liked the pastor and the interaction with the girl. Thank you for writing it

Spare the rod

Sixteen-year old Abigail Stein’s parents belong to an extreme fundamentalist Christian sect that embraces corporal punishment, extreme spiritual cleansing and, of course, chastity.

When Abigail becomes pregnant, her parents subject her to all of the above, and brow-beat her into agreeing to allow them to adopt her baby and raise it as their own. Abigail, in despair, decides to flee with the infant and is considering killing the baby and herself in order to escape a life that has no hope and no freedom.

The book begins with Abigail’s tortured telephone call to Pastor David Owens, outside of whose church she has parked. Schwimley deftly alternates between the Pastor’s and Abigail’s points of view as she gradually lifts the veil on the teen’s tragic story.

When does physical and emotional cruelty trump freedom of religion? And, when does self-preservation take precedence over the commandment to “Honor thy father and thy mother?” These are some of the questions posed by Author Victoria Schwimley in Twisted Faith. This is a thought-provoking novel, which offers the reader a glimpse into what can happen when the practice of a faith - whether Christian or otherwise - is taken to an extreme.

I enjoyed the nuanced and professional performance of narrators Conner Goff and Kelley Mack, who handed off smoothly to each other as the point of view shifted between David and Abigail.

Moving story with a great message!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Torn between the lead and the pastor on the phone. Both showed great courage, strength of character, and were human to the point that I could easily identify with their emotions.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Each time she suffered abuse at the hands of her misguided parents, my heart broke. I've known people in similar circumstances, and people with similarly misguided beliefs, and the amount of damage they do is heartbreaking. This really got to me.

Any additional comments?

Amazing story that I would highly recommend to all adults and older teens, parents should screen for younger teens as the content may be a bit too much "reality" for their age. ***This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.***

Definitely Twisted!

Any additional comments?

I have been given a copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was just as good as read as the first book in the series.

Abby is a character that I was instantly drawn to, and her struggle is one that many teenagers, mothers and those who are struggling can relate to. I definitely felt for her.

I particularly liked that it was portrayed from both the Pastor's and Abby's perspective, and I wish that they had been more frequent as Abby's perspective turns into quite long soliloquies. Because of this, I found the last quarter of the book, after Abby has taken Grace home and is struggling with living with her parents and their interactions with Grace, quite boring. It was slow and for the most part, it felt like I was just waiting for something to happen to explain why she ends up in the car park at the beginning of the novel.

Aside from that part, the writing was really good. All the characters were written well, and the only one that I really struggled to understand was Gabby, Abby's sister. At times she wanted to help Abby and at times she didn't and I really struggled to understand her motivation. Throughout the novel, I kept hoping for redemption for Abby's mother because I'm a sucker for mother-daughter friendships, and Abby keeps mentioning little parts that show that she's not completely under the thumb of her husband. Abby's father was just incredibly frustrating. They were all characterised well.

I absolutely loved the narration. Conner Goff and Kelley Mack were spectacular narrators, and they personified the characters so well. Kelley Mack was especially good because Abby becomes quite hysterical during parts of the novel and that emotion came through in her narration.

Great and intense book

This is a crazy and intense story. It isn't for everyone and contains scenes that may be a trigger for some. It held my attention from the very first minute. I liked this book better than the first book. I thought the characters were believable and my heart has never broken more over a fictional character than it was for Abby. Her pain and struggle were very palpable . Her parents were atrocious and awful. They are the type that make all people of faith look bad. I would highly recommend this book and author to others. The narrators did a wonderful job of bringing the characters and story to life. Their voices were pleasant and easy to listen to. I would definitely listen to another book read by either of them.