Offerings: A Love Story is a book I found surfing around Amazon one night. It had the "Look Inside" feature, so I read a few pages and it didn't turn me off as many self-published books do. I decided to give it a try. I'm not sorry I did. It is a Catholic faith-based novel about Jack, a 30 year old bachelor who proposes to a recent high school graduate who works in the diner in his farm town. The proposal came before the courtship, not after, because she was pregnant with another man's child, and that man (boy really) didn't want anything more to do with her or the baby. Offerings: A Love Story
is the story of how their relationship grows from one of convenience to one of love.It is a self-published novel, and like many self-published books, it could use a good editor. Including elements of the Catholic faith was important to the author, and since the characters are Catholic and preparing for marriage and the baptism of a baby, there are plenty of opportunities to work Catholicism into the plot naturally. However, I think Williams went overboard on at least a couple of occasions. There were some details revealed at the end of the book that I think could have been worked into a more effective opening for the book--as it was, Jack just didn't seem real in his decision to propose. It was understandable why she accepted, but not why he asked. By the time we learn, it really doesn't matter.
Still, for a self-published novel it isn't bad and if you are looking for a novel that shows Catholic characters acting Catholic, this is one. Grade: B-
