Forgiven (Baxter Family Drama―Firstborn Series)

Forgiven is the second book in the Firstborn series of The Baxter books.

Danye Matthews can not get Katy Hart out of his mind. She went back to Bloomington, IN and Danye has moved on with his life with Kelly Parker. Kelly has moved in with him and they are getting ready to start filming Dream On. The first scenes being filmed are to take place in Bloomington, IN. Danye decides to arrive in Bloomington a few days before the paparazzi shows up so he can get a few days with Katy quietly. They both come to realize that they are in love with each other but that they can't be together. It will never work b/c Katy has CKT and Danye is a movie star with the paparazzi always on his tail. Danye has been looking into Kabbalah and Katy is worried about him. She gets the impression that Kabbalah is like a cult. She thinks God brought Danye into her life so that she can get him away from Kabbalah. So Katy prints out info on Kabbalah and gets Danye a Bible and gives it to him the last time he sees her. She also tells him that he needs to read the letter from his birth mom so he can stop running from his past.

A deadly car accident has taken away two young lives from the CKT family. One, a little boy that can't wait to get on stage when he is old enough. The other, a beautiful, young girl destined for amazing things. There is heartache and anger all wrapped up into one. The older kids at CKT want the young man responsible for the crash to be put away for a long, long time. Katy must help these kids to move on and get past the anger to forgiveness. What amazing things that Katy has done with these kids will bring tears to your eyes!!!

Ashley Baxter is pregnant!!!! While looking through her parents' house, she found her Mom and Dad's letters by mistake. John Baxter was very upset when he found her reading them. He had made a promise to the girls that he would print some of them out and make a scrapbook of them for all the kids. Ashley walks into her parents' room looking for chapstick and sees a envelope that is made out to "Firstborn" and Ashley assumes it is for Brooke so she takes the envelope to give to her. Weeks go by before Ashley remembers she has the envelope in her purse. She pulls it out and it has stains on it so she wants to put it into another envelope for Brooke. While she has the letter out, she reads it. Devastated, Ashley finds out that she has an older brother that her parents gave up for adoption before Brooke was born. They were unmarried and Elizabeth's parents forced her to go away and give the baby up for adoption. Ashley confronts her father and said that all the siblings need to know even if they can't find him. John agreed and said that he will tell everyone at spring break, even if he doesn't find him by then.

I have read the Redemption series and now working my way through the Firstborn series. These books are amazing!! I have enjoyed all the Baxter books so far and feel like I have become a part of their family. I looked forward to reading the remaining Baxter books in the weeks to come.

Love In a Distant Land: Rachel Marie Series Book OneThis is a well-crafted love story within the Christian genre, and definitely one of the best. There are solid gospel elements, but they are expressed with nice and appealing conviction . . . and thankfully without so much of the heavy-handed clunkiness that too often infects such books and films. The two lead characters are well fleshed out and sympathetic figures; Dayne’s fascination with Kabbalah is also done well. I especially liked the twin settings: a neighborhood children’s theater and a Hollywood motif. Both are described knowledgeably and with, I presume, a good degree of accuracy. I would definitely go ahead and read the other four books in this finely tuned dramatic series of books.

FORGIVEN, the second book in the Firstborn series definitely had the Karen Kingsbury spark I remember from books gone by.

Dayne Matthews, Hollywood heartthrob finds himself in a no win situation. His feelings for Katy Hart, a director of Christian children's theater, go beyond infatuation. But he knows with the playboy label he's been given by the press, to allow his connection to Katy to surface, would only ruin her reputation. It is because of his love for her, that he has no choice but to keep his distance. And, it is for that same reason that he has not revealed himself to his birth family. Though he has watched the Baxter's from a distance, and even stumbled into a chance meeting with one of his sister's, to open their lives up to the scrutiny of the tabloids would be the worst thing he could do. So, though he knows he is in reach of everything he's ever wanted-love and family-he knows the price others will pay is too great and so he continues to go on as the world sees him, Dayne Matthews, box offices superstar.

Katy Hart cannot ignore her feelings for Dayne. Though she has tried and tried, knowing the lifestyle he leads is diametrically opposed to her Christian faith, she can't help herself. She knows she loves him, and allows chance, even risky meetings with him while he is in Bloomington filming the movie she was supposed to star in with him. Even though her love for him is deep and genuine, her love of God is deeper. So, she prays for Dayne and tries to show him the way to real truth.

I finished FORGIVEN in one day. This is the writing of Karen Kingsbury I have enjoyed throughout the years. Though FAME seemed to drag a little, FORGIVEN moved along at a fast pace. Page after page I wanted nothing more than for Dayne to throw in the towel on his Hollywood existence and seek out a life in Bloomington with the people he truly cares for. Of course, with three more books left in the series, I knew that wasn't going to happen. So, I am off to read FOUND, and can only hope the title tells it all.

This was the most boring Christian fiction book I have attempted read in a long time. As one of the reviewers stated, the story just went on and on and never went anywhere. I was left with the feeling that the author was dragging out the story to get to the next in the series. After getting a third of the way through the book I just couldn't take it anymore and just skimmed to the end.

I don't buy the notion as stated by many that liked the book that you should start at the beginning of the series to really enjoy it. No, I have started a number of series books and did not start at the beginning. The books were able to stand alone and kept my attention and interest enough to want to go back to read the series from the beginning. This was a poor read and perhaps only for true Kingsbury fans.

Popular and famous Hollywood action star Dayne Matthews has it all but deep down he feels empty inside. Katy Hart who refused a part in a movie with him after she was attacked by a stalker made him feel alive but she and Dayne live in two different worlds and a true Christian would never becomes involved with a man like him. Dayne is looking forward to seeing Katy in Bloomington where part of the film will be shot.

Dayne knows that his biological family the Baxters live there but he won't reveal himself to them because he doesn't want to bring the ugliness of his world home to them. Katy who is the director of the Christian Kids' Theater (C KT), is dealing with the aftermath of two young children in the CKT having lost their lives to a drunken driver. The older teens want revenge but Katy tries to teach them that it is not their place to pass judgment. She also has to deal with the deep feelings she has for Dayne, knowing that nothing could ever come of them while he tries to find meaning in his life. Thanks to her, he is on the road to finding himself.

This beautiful Christian inspirational novel has life lessons that reach out beyond religion. Dayne might have no choice in his decision not to introduce himself to the Baxters because his father has decided to search for him. The love the two protagonists feel for one another is beautiful although both believe for different reasons that they can't be together. Katy's nurturing abilities to every one she knows combined with her faith makes her a strong person who helps others through the tragedy. Karen Kingsbury has written a wonderful novel that makes readers feel hope.

Harriet Klausner

I thought I would tire of reading about the Baxters. Not so! Karen Kingsbury makes them come alive! I cried when they cried. Yes, there is sadness in the book just as there is in life but this book teaches us how to overcome the difficulties life throws at us. If you have not yet read about the Baxter Family, start at the first series of books and make your way through. They are very enjoyable reading.

This journey with the Baxter clan has some interesting twists and turns. Just when you think things are working out, something new pops up. I love the Christian based life lessons taught by Karen in her books. Can't wait to see how this series unfolds!

I thought I would tire of reading about the Baxters. Not so! Karen Kingsbury makes them come alive! I cried when they cried. Yes, there is sadness in the book just as there is in life but this book teaches us how to overcome the difficulties life throws at us. If you have not yet read about the Baxter Family, start at the first series of books and make your way through. They are very enjoyable reading.

This journey with the Baxter clan has some interesting twists and turns. Just when you think things are working out, something new pops up. I love the Christian based life lessons taught by Karen in her books. Can't wait to see how this series unfolds!

I am enjoying the story of Dayne Matthews and Katy Hart but why spread the story over four books when it could have easily been tied in in one? I have just finished book 2 and it's going to be until the end of October 2006 when book 4 is released. It will be that long before I learn the outcome of the relationship. Oh, I know that true love will truimph and that they will end up together but why must we wait so long. Looking forward to book 3 when hopefully the Baxters will meet thier long lost family member.

Cracking the Parenting Code: 6 Clues to Solving the Mystery of Meeting Your Child's Needs

How does she do it? As an author, I am amazed that she can deliver these incredible books as if she were a post man. OK, so I love Karen's heart and how it comes through in this book.

But hey, what's new? When I grow up I want to write just like Karen!
Cracking the Parenting Code: 6 Clues to Solving the Mystery of Meeting Your Child's Needs

I have most of Karen Kingsbury novels in my library and I love each and everyone of them. She writes from the heart This First Born series is one of the best I have ever read. Don't miss any of Kingsbury stories

Two people recommended Karen Kingsbury to me as an author. So I checked "Forgiven" out of the library.

I found it hard to finish. I ended up skimming through the last half. The dialogue was uninspiring to say the least: "Hey, how are ya?" "Hey, you doing okay?" "think I'll go hang out with so-and so", etc.

There seemed to be too many characters: the only difference in most of them is that some were "Baxters" and some weren't. I couldn't feel sympathy for any of them because they weren't developed by the author. She calls Katy "beautiful" but doesn't really describe her. Peculiarities, mannerisms and personality traits of any of these people are not really fleshed out to enable the reader to connect. The same applies to the physical settings in which the story takes place. There is no description of the church where the children practice, or the countryside (except a nature trail when it rained) or anything else that would add a realistic "recognition" dimension to the story. Rather, the author depends on up to date technology,(her characters spend a lot of time flipping open their cell phones, clicking their computer mice, etc.) current buzzwords, movies, plays (like mentioning the musical "Wicked") and world situations to give her story "authenticity".

Katy spent an inordinate amount of time practicing her little play with the children - to the point of yawning repetition.. ( And by the way, I wondered why she felt so "called of God" to do plays like "Annie". Harmless little piece of course, but what's so spiritual about it?)

Then, in the end, the "movie star" goes back to his Hollywood world, even after his life-changing "commitment", and Katy continues her "sacred calling" of directing her little theatre.

I've read too many "Christian" novels like this: with colorless characters, plodding dialogue and contrived situations that are supposed to bring a lump to the reader's throat.

This is just another one of them.

Karen is one of my favorite authors. FORGIVEN hadn't even arrived and my daughters were begging to read it before I did. I appreciate Karen's ability to write about real life situations interwoven with Biblical truth and hope. Her stories are filled with twists and turns that keep you guessing. I read all her books quickly (can't put them down for too long) and haven't been disappointed yet!