As usual, The Rebel Christian is always on the hunt for good Christian fiction, so I was very pleased to get started on this sweet romance by Jeanine Lunsford. Let me go ahead and put this out there before I get into the meat of my review.

I am not the best person to review romance, haha. I’ve really tried to enjoy it because I’m a woman, so I have to enjoy it, right? RIGHT?

No, seriously. I stopped forcing myself to suffer through romance a long time ago, cringing from page to page as some dumb girl swooned over a guy who wasn’t even worth his weight in crayons. BUT I did like this book. Yes, With Unbreakable Love had those romantic moments of undying love and all that smooshy nonsense, but it wasn’t bad at all!

I really connected with Carina and found her charming and sweet. She is probably one of the few characters I’ve ever totally disagreed with but completely connected with at the same time. I am the opposite of Carina; she is such a lady—gentle, blushing, kind, and always, always going on about someone’s strong arms wrapped around her. When I was young, my mom yelled at me for playing with a dead bird I found in the yard—yeah … total opposites *chuckles*

The story opens with Carina worrying over her wedding vows which will either draw you in or send you running for the hills. Personally, I was ready to close the book and throw together some 3-star review about how good this book could have been, but I was determined to give it a fair try. It’s really funny because I’d just given my mother a heart attack when I told her I wasn’t interested in wedding vows and had no plans to write or exchange them at my own ceremony—she is still angry about that, even as I type up this review. So, when I read about Carina and all her woes over something I personally saw as no big deal, I was instantly prepared to hate this girl and hate this book.

Thank God for open minds!

Please don’t take this review too seriously; I am not a fan of romance so I always give romance authors a hard time but I am being completely honest when I say I am very glad I set my personal biases aside and gave this book a real chance. The story was honest, sweet, and pretty emotional. For a book about an event that is supposed to be the most exciting and important day of your life, it was filled with many setbacks, troubles, and even sadness.

The message was to hold on to your faith—at least that’s what I saw. Seeing Carina gain more and more courage as she went from worrying herself half to death and daydreaming about being hugged and held all the time—like seriously, she needs a teddy bear or something, her loneliness was nearly palpable—to the woman who refused to be overcome by the emotional circumstances that certainly would have caused many others to crumble was very satisfying.

This was not a steamy romance, but it was certainly emotional and thrilling. I think this side of romance works really well for Christian stories and might even spark my interest in the genre. I was happy that Carina was meek but not weak. And I was happy that Lunsford took the time to show us that life isn’t all about a sweeping romance—sometimes real-life hits you hard and it doesn’t always wait until after you say I do. How will you solve problems with your future husband while he’s still your fiancé? We have been trained to think and believe that all the problems in the world politely wait for us to get married and enjoy a lavish honeymoon before they come knocking. Sometimes your relationship is tested well before then and sometimes you aren’t prepared.

Also … I thought it was kind of cool that Carina’s self-doubt stemmed from her former self. I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but it was SO refreshing to read a book where the woman worries if she is worthy of her godly partner and not the other way around. One of the reasons I stopped enjoying romance, especially Christian romance, is because I was sick and tired of a precious, innocent, Christian girl falling for a terrible jerk who’s been around the block twelve thousand times. Seriously… Christian romance authors of the world, please stop writing that same horrible story over and over.

Lunsford really hit home with Carina’s background and character development. She brought so much tension and realism to the story that really kept me turning pages. It also demonstrated that sometimes we are our own problem in the relationship—not everything is your partner’s fault. As Christians, we need to take a step back and stop wondering if our partner is good enough for us. Let’s take a moment to reflect on ourselves and our own behavior and make sure we are ready to be a good husband/wife for our partner.

Obviously, there is a lot to learn and think about from this book and I don’t have time to put it all here in this review. I know I complained and joked about romance but, believe me, there is much to love and enjoy about this story—especially if you are already a fan of romance. I would recommend this book to Christian YA and adult readers, those who enjoy contemporary fiction and stories about love will certainly appreciate this most.

*The Rebel Christian received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*