Fractured Vessels by Gina Renee Freitag Review

Hello Friends :)

How have you all been doing lately?

Life seems to have been tough for so many people lately (myself included), and sometimes it's hard to stay joyful amidst everything happening in our world.

Two of my favorite ways to stay motivated and peaceful are to spend time studying God's Word, and spend time with Him in concentrated prayer.

One other thing I do that I find really helps is choosing to read only Christian Fiction and/or clean fiction reads. There's so many amazing Christian and clean authors out there, and I think it's more important than ever to be mindful about what type of medias we're allowing ourselves to consume.

If you'd ever like some recommendations for these genres, let me know as I have so many I'd be willing to share, like for instance, the author I'm about to share with you all today.

Last year I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing Painted Vessels by the lovely Gina Renee Freitag. You can find that review here.  

She had reached out to me on Instagram asking if I'd be interested in reading and reviewing her debut novel, and I wasn't really sure what to expect. I definitely wasn't prepared for such an amazing, heart wrenching story and I truly felt that it gave my faith a much needed boost and had me downright ugly crying in certain moments of the story.

So to put it mildly, I was over the moon that she decided to turn it into a series, and a couple of days I ago, I got the amazing opportunity to read and review the upcoming second book in the series.

Today I'm excited to share with you all my review of book two in the Vessels series.

Fractured Vessels by Gina Renee Freitag:

 

Source: Complimentary Copy Provided by the Author

Publisher: Indie

Publication Date: April 7th, 2021

Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction

Series: Vessels

Synopsis:

Eli Gardner’s story continues in the second book of the Vessels Series.

From the moment Jake Foster arrives at the Children’s Garden Home, Eli begins to wrestle with questions about his own past. Hoping to find Jake’s father as well as a few answers for himself, he travels to the bustling city of Longport. Meanwhile, Jake is more interested in keeping his promise to Lena, another victim abducted by the King’s Men gang.

Joe Walker embarks on a desperate search to find his son. No longer caring about his own life, he plans to exact his revenge on Victor King, the gang leader responsible for his son’s abduction. But when he comes face to face with Rudy’s strong beliefs, he is forced to take a closer look at his own crisis of faith.

Marie and her young daughter seek refuge with Victor King, only to find themselves prisoners, forced to live under his cruel tyranny.

These three stories, stretching over different timelines yet woven together by unexpected connections, explore the vivid underbelly of late 19th century city life and what it takes to hold onto faith in the midst of cruelty and trauma.

The subject matter in this book deals with child trafficking and abuse.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first picked up Painted Vessels last year. I thought I'd probably enjoy it, but I definitely wasn't expecting it to end up being one of the best books I read the entire year. It struck a chord deep within me, left my heart completely broken in the best of ways, and had me continuously thinking about it long after I finished it.

So to say I was ecstatic when I heard that the author had decided to turn it into a series is a massive understatement, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this much anticipated read. Fractured Vessels ended up being everything I possibly could have hoped for and more, and I could barely bring myself to put it down once I started it.

I've always had an issue when authors choose to tell a story from a bunch of different character POV's, as I find more often than not it turns confusing and ridiculously hard to follow. Gina Renee Freitag is amazingly talented and manages to tell her stories from quite a few different character POV's, at several different time periods while still giving each and every character their own unique voice, and never leaving the reader confused as to who is currently telling the story. I have never read another author who has been able to accomplish this as flawlessly as this amazing lady does, and to me that speaks bunches of her talent as a storyteller.

The second book in the series is definitely a bit more violent and gritty than the first book was, but I think personally it's necessary to the story, and it never bothered me enough to want to put it down or anything. I'd simply prepare yourself that this book doesn't sugar coat anything that these character's have been through, and your heart is going to end up breaking over and over again for them.

While I loved getting more of Eli and Ada's story, I also appreciated having new characters introduced that really gave the story an extra depth and dimension. I personally wasn't prepared for the explosive ending, and I'm still reeling a few days later after finishing it.

I can't possibly recommend this beautiful book enough, and I highly suggest picking up both of the books in the Vessels series, as I can guarantee you won't be disappointed. I'm already excited to get to read the third book, whenever it ends up releasing, as I can't wait to see how Gina Renee Freitag is going to tie everything together.

Final Rating: 5/5.

I truly adored this story, and I love how this author isn't afraid to keep the faith element at the front and center of each of her books.

Thanks so much to Gina Renee Freitag for allowing me to advance read and review this!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks so much for reading guys! I hope you have a great rest of your day, and that you see the Lord work in amazing ways in your life.

God Bless :)