Life After by Katie Ganshert
WaterBrook & Multnomah April 2017
eGalley provided via NetGalley, thank you!

It could have been me.

Snow whirls around an elevated train platform in Chicago. A distracted woman boards the train, takes her seat, and moments later a fiery explosion rips through the frigid air, tearing the car apart in a horrific attack on the city’s transit system. One life is spared. Twenty-two are lost.
A year later, Autumn Manning can’t remember the day of the bombing and she is tormented by grief—by guilt. Twelve months of the question constantly echoing. Why? Why? Why? Searching for answers, she haunts the lives of the victims, unable to rest.

Paul Elliott lost his wife in the train bombing and wants to let the dead rest in peace, undisturbed and unable to cause more pain for his loved ones. He wants normalcy for his twelve-year-old daughter and young son, to see them move beyond the heartbreak. But when the Elliotts and Autumn are unexpectedly forced together, he fears she’ll bring more wreckage in her wake.

In Life After, Katie Ganshert’s most complex and unforgettable novel yet, the stirring prose and authentic characters pose questions of truth, goodness, and ultimate purpose in this emotionally resonant tale.

I was super stoked to get a chance to review this title on NetGalley after I got over my surprise that it was even still available on the site. It was actually released last year but as I was looking for the next book by Ganshert this is what popped up. So I took a look at the premise of WHY (the everlasting gobstopper of a question that always appears when tragedy strikes and we wonder if there is a God up there watching all this unfold) I could not pass up the opportunity to see if there was an answer to WHY.

It was a fantastic story with themes of sinners, deception, truth, survival, rebirth and of course tragedy. The story focuses on Autumn Manning struggling with survivor's guilt a year after the tragedy and her life becomes entwined with a family whose mother/wife was lost in the event. It's full of awkwardness as Autumn tries to understand her own emotions while struggling to seem normal in front of her family and the sudden acquaintance with Paul Elliott's family who is attempting to move on from losing the mother in their family. It turns out there are quite a few secrets to reveal before anyone can really move on, but relationships can blossom or wilt depending on how hard one wants to work at it.

The book was a could-not-put-down type of read and I am really sorry to let these characters go. The Mannings were a big extended family complete with little mewling kids and then there were co-workers and every single one of those characters just fit so well into their role in the novel that I could just gush on and on. The ones left behind - those who are trying to just live a normal life after losing a loved one- they all bore a strong role in the cathartic way the novel pulls you along as you can't help but to root for Autumn while one setback after another tries to thwart her slow recovery.

I was sad when I finished and I thought I was perturbed that the reason 'why' is never answered as far as who caused the train wreck that touched so many lives. But then I figured maybe that was the point. We never really know why. "Maybe it was time to let go of the why and remember the Who."

Read my other reviews of K. Ganshert titles here.


 I turned off commenting long ago on the blog but I welcome comments at the Facebook page here.

Book one of The Gifting Trilogy by K.E. Ganshert

If science is right, then I am crazy. And crazy is dangerous.

Tess Eckhart has always felt things nobody else can feel. Then the Ouija board incident happens at a high school party. Her complete freak out sends her family across the country--next to a nationally-renowned facility for the mentally ill. Worried Tess suffers from the same illness that tormented her grandmother, her parents insist she see a psychiatrist.

Tess is more concerned about fitting in at her new school, and hiding the fact that she's seeing a therapist at the Edward Brooks Facility. She's used to whispers and stares, but when it comes to Luka Williams, a reluctantly popular boy in her class, she's unused to a stare that intense. Then the headaches start, and the seemingly prophetic dreams that haunt her at night. As Tess tries to hide them, she becomes increasingly convinced that Luka knows something--that he might somehow be responsible.

But what if she's wrong? What if Luka Williams is the only thing separating her from a madness too terrifying to fathom?

Somewhere around November 15th I had decided I was going to read something that I wanted to read, something that didn't require a review kind of thing especially since I was coming up on a week long vacation. So I decided to pick up my Kindle Voyage and peruse my large collection. I came upon The Gifting by K.E. Ganshert, (a.k.a Katie Ganshert) and decided this was perfect, and I already had the whole trilogy. A really neat premise - something different when we are talking about supernatural things and how they fit into our reality. I completely loved the character build up of Tess, and the cutest boy in town, Luka along with their relationship. Taking a look back at the whole trilogy, it seems like so long ago when the two of them were sharing classes together in an affluent part of California.

Book #2

I read The Gifting in less than four days, and moved on immediately to book two as I was totally hooked and there was some cliffhanging action going on. In The Awakening there is a lot of action and thrills as we enter into a completely new norm for the characters. The characters have gifts, but the 'other side' is trying very hard to eradicate the world of those people with gifts. The gifts we would normally see as psychosis are actually some really cool abilities that are tailored to fit together in a group attack against evil. More characters are introduced in the second installment which add to the intrigue and the suspense that is building before the ultimate finale: The Gathering.

The final installment

"Darkness is a tricky thing. Especially when it cloaks itself in light."
Luka isn’t dead. He’s not beyond saving. Tess knows because she saw him with her own eyes. After what she saw, she’s sure of one thing: If they don’t rescue him soon, Luka won’t be Luka anymore.
If only she could convince the other members of the hub. They’re not sure Tess saw what she claims she saw. And they’re preoccupied by the fact that their kind is being systematically eradicated. Answers lie in an ancient prophecy, one that revolves around a seventeen-year-old girl who never asked for any of this.
K.E. Ganshert’s final installment in The Gifting Series brings readers on an action-packed journey through loss, sacrifice, betrayal, and the impossible choice between what we want most and what we know is right.

The final installment really did a fantastic job of completely pulling off the whole entire supernatural/good side versus the evil/bad side. I loved the creativity and the imagination of the series, and I was sitting there with tears streaming down my face a couple of times. Such a fantastic job of writing and storytelling, I sincerely hope that Katie Ganshert does another series like this again. Five stars all around. Thank you to Katie for such a wonderful adventure I've had the last ten days with the trilogy. I really enjoyed reading for pleasure again, but I am really going to miss these special characters.

Go check out the first installment on Amazon, it is free for the taking!

A contemporary story of forgiveness and hope

Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert
WaterBrook Press (May 8, 2012)
Paperback 320 pages 978-0307730381
Contemporary Christian Romance
Review copy via publisher, and Blogging For Books

• Author's Site
• More Info
• Read Chapter One
• Author Bio

I had seen this book being gushed over on the blogs and review sites, and I also attended a chat with the author along with some of the other Christian fiction authors I would like to read, but I didn't love this one as much as I wanted to. Because the author, Katie Ganshert, is really a true sweetheart. That being said, I think I really need to stick with the historical Christian theme as opposed to the contemporary, because yet again I've found myself disliking the main protagonist, probably because of their modern ways and attitudes.

The storyline follows suit where Bethany disappoints others, mostly the handsome cowboy we'll call My Hero, and she does it over and over again. She is insistent upon ignoring her roots and despising the fact that -oh no- she used to live in a trailer. I remember thinking what if there was a young woman living in a trailer reading Wildflowers from Winter feeling a little slighted by Bethany right about now? Bethany's character needs to undergo severe attitude adjustments, and the novel slowly gets us towards that.

Bethany goes back home when friends and family members sincerely need her, and she does her best to accommodate them. However, Bethany has a lot of things on her mind such as the life she had to leave behind in order to go back to her hometown, and her mind isn't ready to accept the fact that maybe she should stay in her hometown. Her best friend Robin is a good reason to stay, although Bethany is resisting all clues that show her the path to happiness. A few plot twists keep us reading, and there is a big bang at the end of the novel that was really well done, and yes, had me crying.

Finally, Bethany finds a bit of peace with her lot and is able to make a decision on whether to stay or go off to some major architect firm. But it takes a bit of faith, some extra love, and even tragedy to get her to open her eyes and her heart. Because My Hero is Bethany's hero, and I'll share him.

The point of view on this story is a bit all over, sort of third person narration with a flashback mode of first person narration during Bethany's younger life. This in itself was a little unnerving, because I noticed it each time there was this shift. It just didn't seem to be necessary to go to first person at all. I know I am in the minority for not completely gushing about this one, but it was definitely good writing, and an interesting plot with the character development of Bethany. Katie Ganshert is already planning the sequel which will follow Robin's story, and I am sure that will be a big hit as well; especially because Robin was so much more likable. Katie Ganshert is a fresh new voice in the Christian Fiction market and I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about her work.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, and I have passed it on to another blogger for her enjoyment.