ALL IN
by
L.K. Simonds
Genre: Gritty Realistic / Christian Fiction
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
Date of Publication: August 27, 2019
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
Date of Publication: August 27, 2019
Number of Pages: 282
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A woman’s empty pursuit of happiness leads to a crisis before finding redemption in the Lord in this challenging and gritty Christian novel.
Twenty-nine-year-old novelist and blackjack dealer Cami Taylor seems to have it all—but just underneath her confident exterior and newfound celebrity is a young woman in trouble. Cami’s boyfriend, Joel, wants to get married, buy a house on Long Island, and raise a family—a life that’s a million miles from Cami’s idea of happiness. Her therapist suggests compromise and trust, but Cami would rather bolt like a deer.
Breaking things off with Joel, Cami launches herself on a new quest for happiness. But her pursuit of pleasure only takes her further from herself—and toward a harrowing new reality unlike anything she’s faced before. What follows for Cami is a fight to the death that can only be waged with God’s love.
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L.K. SIMONDS PRESENTS CAMI TAYLOR:
HALL WAYS REVIEW: It
is a rare occasion when I know much about a book before I read it. With All
In, I knew there was some controversy over the book being categorized as
Christian fiction – gritty, realistic, Christian fiction. Who wouldn’t
be interested in exploring that? With my interest piqued, I read the book
description and just like the book’s title, I was all in.
“Manhattan lays out a daily
smorgasbord of humanity. Old and young, rich and poor, bourgeois and Bolshevik…all
together, they form a single living organism, a New York amoeba, shaping itself
to the sidewalk container, shrinking from the overflowing wastebaskets and ubiquitous
vendors.”
The strength of All In
is in the vivid descriptions of people and places. Author L.K. Simonds writes
with panache; her use of figurative language and carefully selected word
choices (she bussed his cheek) ensnare and hold captive the reader. Truly, Simonds’s
sentences are some of the most well-written I’ve read in some time. The writing
is cerebral, and sentences are heavy with meaning, each giving readers more
insight into main character Cami’s mind and heart. But much is also said
between the lines, and while the story is a page-turner, there is much to be
gained by mindful reading.
“Jackie wasn’t just a
dealer. She was a gambler too. Always laying it all on the line, hoping for the
big payoff.”
The cover image of All In,
which also piqued my interest, is highly representative of Cami’s life, but it’s
nuanced. Sure, there is an obvious connection: Cami took a job as a blackjack
dealer in a casino in order to research and accurately write Jackie, the main
character of her bestselling book. But it goes much deeper than that. In
writing Jackie, Leona Camille Lingo becomes author Cami Taylor – who lives
vicariously through her character, Jackie.
Sound complicated? It is. Gambling is an apt metaphor for Cami Taylor’s
life.
Readers need to be aware
that All In is not a book about a struggling Christian finding God: Cami
is not a believer. She is self-aware, pragmatic even, about her lack of faith and self-destructive
behavior and doesn’t worry about her soul. Does she sin? Well, yeah. She is
human, and humans, whether they call themselves Christian or not, are sinners. Readers
know Cami’s is a redemption story, and despite the divine intervention of
having Kate dropped into Cami’s life, it takes the whole book to get there (seriously
- to the final twenty pages). Truly, the book’s structure itself reflects the
never-too-late religious narrative.
Regardless of one’s personal
beliefs, I recommend readers be open-minded and remember that we all worship
differently. Admittedly, the Pentecostal way in which Cami finally accepts
Jesus Christ as her savior is outside my comfort zone. And while I believe in
Jesus’ power to heal, I struggled to suspend my disbelief with how Cami’s
conversion ultimately unfolded, and I think this could have been written a little differently to not alienate some readers.
For me, it took effort to step
back here and not let the ending negate from the experience of reading the
book. But step-back I did, and I am left
with a book that I would easily recommend to others who can be non-judgmental about
belief systems other than their own. The writing is stunning, the story is enthralling,
and All In is a powerful, realistic story that gloriously builds to one
life-changing, lifesaving, defining moment.
Thank you to the author and
Lone Star Book Blog Tours for providing me a print copy in exchange for my
honest opinion – the only kind I give.
L. K. Simonds is a Fort Worth local. She has worked as a waitress, KFC hostess, telephone marketer, assembly-line worker, nanny, hospital lab technician, and air traffic controller. She's an instrument-rated pilot and an alumna of Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas. All In is her first novel.
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
ONE WINNERAutographed, library-bound copy of All In
+ $50 Visa gift card
JANUARY 14-24, 2020
(US ONLY)
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Thank you for such a generous review, Kristine! I'm thrilled you enjoyed Cami's story.
ReplyDeleteIt's excellent all around. Can't stop thinking about it and imagining the new Cami.
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