Return (Redemption Series)

I have read the entire Redemption series (5 books) and couldn't put it down! I am now on the second installment, the Firstborn series. This is a wonderful testament to American life focused around God.

This story is refreshing in this day and age. It keeps you interested not wanting to put the book down and it is a family story with good morals, love story without torrid love scenes, God involved throughout wether you believe or do not believe it has the materials that make family life and the world a better place to live in. I am following with book four.

As always, Karen Kingsbury brings the Baxter family into our home with all the trails of everyday living and through it all she shows how living for God and believing in Him can see us through the valleys.

I read my first Karen Kingsbury novel a couple months ago and since then, I've been on a mission to read my way through all of her books! My first book was Love Story: A Novel (The Baxter Family Book 1) and I fell in love with the entire Baxter family. After discovering the reading order, I've been working my way through the Redemption series and this book is the third book in that series.

Return is the story of Luke Baxter, John and Elizabeth's youngest child and only son. Luke has always embraced the same values as his family. He loves his family and is always there for them, he believes education is important and most important of all, he loves God and is very religious. After the tragic events of September 11th, Luke begins to question God's existence and abruptly turns away from all that he knows to be a part of the freethinking ideology. His new belief in these ideas causes a lot of hurt between Luke and his father and Luke decides he wants nothing to do with his family anymore. Besides the main story line of Luke, the rest of the Baxter children have their own troubles and they all turn to God and their family for help, guidance, and support.

I had read some other books after I read the second book in the Redemption series and I couldn't wait to get back into the series! I love the family dynamics, how they all are so close to each other, and how they all turn to God. Many of the characters regularly read their Bibles, pray, talk to God, and go to church and these are just the kinds of stories I love to read about. I also love how these stories are clean and, while there is some romance in them, everything is very subtle and there is no swearing.

I'm loving this series and will be starting the fourth book tonight! I've already recommended this series and Karen Kingsbury's other books to friends and recommend them to you as well. If you enjoy Christian fiction, I highly recommend this series.

Return is the third book in the Baxter series. I don't even know where to begin in this review. I absolutely loved this books!! I loved this one more than the first two books in this series and I really liked them too!!

Ashley is on the verge of getting everything she has wanted, a painting career, a good relationship with her son, Cole and being with the love of her life, Landon. Then one phone call from Paris changes all of that.

Luke feels like he lost everything when 9/11 happened. He lost his girlfriend, Reagan, he lost his faith and now is a freethinker. Only problem is Luke is miserable all the time. He has no happiness living with his new girlfriend. He doesn't even like her. He finds out she had an abortion and it turns out it wasn't even his baby. Will Luke wake up and realize what all he has lost and get his life back on track?

Reagan lost her Dad in 9/11 and gets surprised with things that have resulted from her and Luke and their night together on 9/10. Only problem is that Reagan is afraid of what Luke will think of her so after months of not talking to him, Reagan finally gets the courage to call him, only to find out that Luke is a completely different person and off living with another woman. How can she have any type of relationship with Luke if his values have changed.

Kari and Ryan are finally getting married!!!!

So much more happens in this book and you will have to read it to be able to get the emotions and feelings that are in this book. Tissues will be needed!! I am excited to move on to Rejoice!!

Because of a lapse in judgment right before 9-11, Luke loses his faith. When his fiancé didn’t take her father’s phone call because of Luke and he’s killed in the disaster, she goes to New York for the funeral filled with guilt and grief, and Luke doesn’t hear from her again. Where is God in all this? Perhaps he’s been taught a lie, and there is no God.

This book was harder to read, where the main character makes mistake after mistake. Even knowing that things will likely work themselves out in the end didn’t make it any easier. This one also switched between many more characters, making it more fragmented.

A Special Note: Redemption series is Christian Fiction. I am not Christian and I have not read the Bible. So, I am not in a position to agree or disagree with the religious side of the book and my review will be solely focus on this series as a work of fiction and my point of views on the characters/situations as a third person. I do not mean to criticize or applaud any of the religious views presented through the stories.

Luke Baxter is the ‘baby’ of the family. He has been in a relationship with Reagan and though they had decided not to ‘do the deed’ before their wedding night, they end up sleeping together. The next day is 9/11 and as the attack on the twin towers devastates the nation, things get personal for Luke and Reagan. Reagan having ignored her father’s call the previous night realizes that she had missed her chance at the ‘last conversation’ with her dad because the attack had claimed his life. She moves to spend some time with her mother and break her contact with Luke. Luke on the other hand not only loses his love, but unknown to him, Reagan gets pregnant from their night together. Now as Luke questions everything as he knew it, it is up to his family to have patience with him and hope that he would find his way back to them and to God. Ashley’s story continues in this book and reached new heights and lows making her too question a few things. Erin on the other hand has a secret that the family doesn’t know about.

Luke hadn’t really made a good first impression with his appearance in the last novel and I was hoping to see a better version of him in this book. But my, did he test my patience or what?! Well, I am glad he did because I realized one major thing about this series. The author has drawn up some major flawed characters… and that is kind of a good thing because that is what people are in real lives. We are all flawed and we often get on people’s nerves whether we realize it or not. All the characters in this series have some major flaws and that is exactly what makes them human and real. The ‘issues’ that are brought up are also issues that people really face outside the world of fiction. And though the way Ms.Karen resolves the issues and ties-up the loose ends in the plot isn’t something I always agree with, I am happy that she at least tries to address these things. The plot remains constant with each book and so does the author’s riveting story-telling.

Another couple of hours well spent in reading this third instalment. I will read the other two novels if I can get my hands on them. I will not be going out of my way to procure them, however.

Luke, the golden boy of the Baxter clan has drifted far from his family in the wake of the devastation of 9/11. But his family doesn't know the personal toll Luke is dealing with and Luke has no intentions of telling them. Turning his back on everything he's ever believed, his new beliefs have him living and experiencing things he never would've approved of just a few short months previous. But, his new life is shaken by the choices made by the woman he lives with, and by the secrets of the woman he truly loves. Knowing he has some big decisions to make, he finds himself struggling with what it is he truly believes, and where those beliefs will take him.

Ashley Baxter's future has nowhere to go but up. She's finally beginning to understand who she is, and what that means for her future. With her art career taking off, her love for her child growing deeper, and her teetering relationship with Landon becoming steadier, she really feels as if God has finally forgiven her for her past rebellions. When she receives devastating news, she questions once again if she will ever be finished paying for the sins in her past.

Each book in the Redemption Series, helps us understand more about the Baxter's and what their everyday struggles are. While this book did spotlight Luke and Ashley, we learned of the struggles in Brooke and Peter's marriage, and the joy coming full circle in Kari's life.

I felt RETURN wasn't as riveting as REDEMPTION and REMEMBER, but that might be because it showcased doubts, burdens, and heaviness, making the book harder to read. But none the less, I enjoyed it and finished it in just a few short days. I am off to read REJOICE, and after a peek into the first chapter, I find myself bracing for even deeper pain for the Baxter's.

The 3rd book of the series finds John and Elizabeth agonizing as they watch their son abandon everything he was taught and knows and his faith in general, and how hard throughout the ordeal that is for them. One can see the delicate line they walk on on not pushing Luke too far away, yet trying to be supportive of him.

Luke's not the first person to question God; I don't fault him that. But to go off the deep end because 9/11 happens, like he for the first time noticed bad things happen? Apparently he never learned about the Holocaust so that he knows bad things do happen. He continues his downward spiral, pushing his family away, living with his Freethinker girlfriend with her New Age "out-there" ideas. Blaming himself for not being perfect after falling to temptation is one thing, but making no effort to contact Reagan because they had sex and the next morning followed by her dad dying the next morning in the tower collapse? And Reagan, would she really not tell Luke she had his child because she thinks he might not see her as a good, moral person now or that he is living with a new girlfriend? Seems very simplistic that Luke suddenly realizes God is real after all because..."God has to be real. Thomas Luke was living proof."

Ashley starts selling paintings to a prestigious gallery in New York and continues working at the Sunrise Adult Care Center. Ashley and Landon have further troubles when she finds out she is HIV positive and although Landon still wants to be with her she keeps pushing him away, confusing poor little Cole who wants Landon to be his daddy. HIV or not, I think she owed it to that boy to stop yanking Landon in and out of his life. and marry Landon regardless!

Luke, who was unforgiving of his sister Ashley finds love and support from none other than she, and begins to accept that not everything in life is in black and white. And then he's there for Ashley as the only one besides Landon to know she's HIV positive.

At Kari and Ryan's wedding all of the Baxters are stunned to see Reagan with Thomas Luke, as Ashley was the only one who knew. Stay tuned for Rejoice when the Ashley/Landon saga continues. Now that Kari and Ryan are together, will Ashley and Landon finally be? What about Luke and Reagan?

Karen Kingsbury and Gary Smalley's book "Return" is the third book in their "Redemption" series. It not only tells the gripping story of the Baxter family in a simple,easy to read way,but it has an important message to teach about love and relationships. The theme of the series is that God saves his children and as the Hound of Heaven never lets them go. We are enthralled as we wonder whether or not prodigal son Luke will ever return to his faith and family,whether sister Ashley will ever get it together enough to marry boyfriend Landon,and whether or not Brooke's ailing daughter will recover thereby saving her troubled marriage.Kingsbury writes that we must return to our first love, Jesus Christ, before we can mend our broken relationships or improve the ones we have. We must return to love every day and then recapture what we first loved about our spouses,reiterating the philosophy that love is a decision that we have seen throughout the series. The solutions in the conclusion of the book are a bit simplistic,but it is obvious that Kingsbury knows the Lord well. All in all, you will enjoy the whole series if you need lessons on love and relationships, or if you just want a fast, easy,enjoyable read

Luke Baxter turns away from his family, his faith and Reagan his only love.
Reagan is about to have a baby, Luke’s baby. Only he does not know it.

My Thoughts
I don’t know if I’ve shed so many tears over a book. There were many places that I had to stop and wipe my eyes. Reconciliation is in the heart of man, it’s in my heart. Life throws things at you and it threw a lot at the Baxter family. They’re no different than anyone else. People make bad choices and those decisions have consequences. We’ve all been there.
I look forward to the final book in the Redemption series, Rejoice.

Return is the 3rd book in Karen Kingsbury's Redemtion series. This book is mainly focused on Luke, the Baxter's only son, straying from God after some traumatic events, including 9/11. He rejected his Faith, his family, and the girl he loved. Instead he turned to a life leading to destruction, and he messed with a false religion--freethinking. "Freethinking meant he could avoid his family if he wanted to. According to freethinking, whatever thought he went with was the right one." "Luke's life was strange and dark and empty and alone." This book is a heart-wrenching story of a family's love and devotion to one another through thick and thin. It makes you feel like you are living life right alongside the Baxter family. Karen Kingsbury does an amazing job of getting the reader involved in the book--you won't be able to set it down!

This is the third book in Karen Kingsbury's redemption series. Although Ashley is my favorite Baxter, Luke runs a close second. His genuine defiance of a young man choosing his own path (that differs from his parents) is true to life. And as he struggles and grows through the choices he made, he transformed before my very eyes. I like that a lot of this book centers around 9/11 (for those of us who remember it know exactly where we were when this happened) and that Luke will always have that moment branded in his mind as well, along with the consequences of it. I love that his book shows the aspect of how parents feel when their children don't make the choices they'd like them to.

Excellent Book! This book keeps your interest as it continues the story of the Baxter Children and their struggles. It is well written, moves quickly, and really makes you think about how the decisions you make affect yourselves as well as others. Looking forward to reading books 4 & 5!

This series just keeps getting better and better. Shows how a family can go through trials and periods of doubt but still return to God. Great characters - such a pleasure getting to know them better and better.

Absolutely amazing! My favourite thing about Kingsbury's writing is the stark realities that she writes about. It makes very interesting reading. Along with heart warming romance, there are scenes of extreme suspense and unexpected happenings around every corner!
Loooooved it!

The women in my small group at church introduced me to this wonderful series. I have read all 3 of the books and am anxious to read the next. Following the lives of the Baxter family through their trials, heartaches, and happiness helps illustrate the powerful message of the necessity of putting God first in our lives...
I have laughed, smiled and cried in each of these books and can't wait to do it again with the next!

Message translates to real life and actually teaches life lessons. I loved the whole Redemption series.
I think Kingsberry is a great writer because I can't guess what is coming next. Don't like a "read" when I figure it all out before it happens.

This book was another book of Karen Kingsbury's that was difficult to put down. This book focused on returning to God, to the people you loved, kind of liked the prodigal son. This book also talked about forgiveness and how sometimes, we do end up suffering the consequences of our actions. But yet, no matter what we do, the book points out that God loves us and wants us to return to Him.

Have you ever felt like something was missing? And that though it wasn't the feeling where you feel empty because you are far away from God you still felt lonely??? Well that was me, but this book, reminded me of all the promises God has made in His Word, it filled my heart with so much joy, and that must be why i feel so much lighter today. I must say, I cried a whole lot thru every book, but I was given so much hope in this book. I know that God will do what's always best for me...

Upon reading the first book Redemption, I knew I had to read the whole series. I for one will be most sad when I read the last book.

This one didn't grab me like REMEMBER, but perhaps it's because that was the first I read in the series. Some of the events here seemed repeated a bit much and maybe a little over the top, but I read on to see what happened to everyone. Ms. Kingsbury and Mr. Smalley are a great team and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

It seems to me that this book was overstuffed with one disaster after another. I was looking for a good Christian book to read at night before going to sleep, I didn't want something was full of all kinds of world problems from 9-11 to HIV. The book was a gift. Knowing that I read many Amish Christian authors my sister thought I would enjoy this. I didn't. Maybe I have just read too many other Christian authors and this one was too different for me. In my opinion the Smalley Relationship Center should have done their own book if they needed this much drama in a Christian book. BJ

This series deals with real life issues faced by one family. It doesn't gloss over them as may be the tendency in some "Christian" books. They face hardships and many times do not deal with them in the "ideal" way. This book demonstrates how God can work through all the events in our "less than perfect lives," as demonstrated through the Baxter family. I highly recommend this series, and can hardly wait for the next book to be written. Karen Kingsbury and Gary Smalley (authors) make it natural for the reader to identify with the characters on the pages of this book, and discover God's faithfulness even when things go awry.