Beyond Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury

# of book read so far this year: 14

Title:Beyond Tuesday Morning

Author: Karen Kingsbury

Year Published: 2005

Rating (1-5): 5

Date Finished: 2/26/08

Genre: Christian Fiction

# of pages: Inspirational

Number in Series: 2

Where did the book come from: library

Why I read it: I read the first book in the series and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to read the sequel. I originally found this series when I was looking at the author's website and the plot caught my attention.

Blurb (story line): It is now 3 years since 9/11 happened and Jamie Bryan is trying to get over her grief. She still misses her husband terribly. She has become good friends with Aaron, Bryan's boss, but doesn't want the relationship to go any further than friendship. She Volunteers at the memorial for 9/11 victims, which is right across the street from where the Twin Towers Were.

My personal thoughts and comments: Eric Michaels has gotten back to work, although now he works out of his home so he can spend more time with the family. He and his wife, Laura seemed really happy, and toward the end of the book, Laura announces she's pregnant and thinks it's a girl. Eric's brother Clay has had to distance himself from Laura, and now wants someone to spend his life with. After killing a suspect, he is promoted to Detective and goes to New York for training with his buddy Joe. The reason why they go to New York as opposed to somewhere else is so Joe can find his ex-wife, who's husband died on 9/11. He was also a firefighter and was in the towers. So, one of the first things they do in New York is go to Ground Zero. When they are riding the ferry to Manhattan, Jamie is on that same ferry, on her way to volunteer when she is assaulted. Clay and Joe come to her rescue and arrest the two guys. Later, they are talking and the ferry is so loud that Jamie doesn't catch that Clay's last name is Michaels ......which would've made her realize that he could be related to Eric Michaels.....and clay doesn't think anything of it either. They realize that they are headed to the same place, and Jamie offers to give them a tour around. Oddly enough Michael only looks at half the buiding, and doesn't see Jake's picture....THE PICTURE OF THE GUY WHO LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE HIS BROTHER...Jamie is aware of the fact that he might be seeing Clay, but she wasn't quite ready for him to see his picture yet. It isn't until later when they find out who each of them really is. Eric is actually the first one who realizes it, but his wife assures him that it's impossible. As time goes by, sparks continue to fly between Clay and Jamie, and Jamie and Sierra even go to Los Angeles to spend Thanksgiving with Clay and his family----Eric, Laura, and their son. Everyone is nervous beforehand and things are awkward at first, but they all end up having a great time. Soon after Jamie and Sierra return to New York, Clay surprises Jamie by showing up at her house and asks her to marry him. Jamie and Sierra end up moving to Los Angeles and they get married the following summer. Through all of this, Jamie really struggles with what to do about her feelings for Clay, and also her memories of Jake. In reading Jake's bible, she realizes that he wants her to "choose life" meaning move on, and be happy. It takes her a long time to come to this conclusion and find peace with that conclusion.

My personal thoughts and comments: I think I liked this book better than the first book. The only thing I didn't like is how/when Jamie told Sierra the truth about what happened to Jake...I would've just told Sierra the truth in the beginning and it seems like it would've made things a lot easier later. I also felt bad for Aaron and felt like she was leading him on at times. I also knew, when Clay mentioned going to New York, that he was going to run into Jamie somehow. I find it hard to believe that they never talked about the past or Clay's brother until they actually made the discovery. I was glad Jamie realized she should move on and marry Clay. I think it did her some good to get away from New York and all the memories, especially volunteering at the memorial. Sometimes I think that made her feel worse.