I'll Know You By Heart by Kimberly Job

From the back cover: "The day Stephanie Roberts met Jared Wakefield, she didn't realize they'd met before. Running from an abusive marriage and trying to safeguard her children, she turns to Jared for support, but he needs more from her than she might be capable of giving. With her abusive husband looming in her past, the difficulties they must overcome to be together seem insurmountable.

Is it possible for love to conquer all? I'll Know You By Heart is a timeless romance that explores the possibility that relationships span the entire realm of eternity. A story about abuse, hardship, and betrayal, it is ultimately a story about the healing power of everlasting true love."

I've been looking forward to reading this book since I first read the back cover. Once I got over the eerie coincidence of reading a book about a woman with my name, who is in an abusive marriage, and who has a sister with the same name as one of my sisters, I was drawn into the story. There were moments in the book when I cringed and wondered at some of the choices Stephanie made, but her thoughts as she works through her decisions, seem to acurately describe the emotions and struggles that women go through when they are abused for extensive periods of time.

The story had enough suspense to keep me flipping the pages and cheering for Stephanie and her children, and enough romance to balance out the tension. I half expected the book to be similar to other LDS books I've read where the abusive relationship is glossed over and the abused wife recovers too quickly from her experiences. Instead, Kimberly doesn't shy away from the pain and suffering of her main character. She writes the experiences in a realistic manner and doesn't sugar-coat them in any way.

This is Kimberly Job's first novel and I'll be eagerly watching for her next book. You can purchase I'll Know You By Heart here.