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Leap of Faith: Second Chance at the Dream

Shannon Winslow,

Christopher Rosenbaum (Foreword)

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Aug 01, 2022 Sheila Majczan rated it it was amazing

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars. This Kindle story was a gift. I have already read the second in the series and posted a review on that. Although this author has written many variations of JA's books, this story is not a JAFF. I have read all of this author's stories not counting the anthologies.

As the title tells us, there is a second chance for the main character. So with Sci-fi, some magic and some time traveling we have a very interesting story which also has some Bible verses and religious 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars. This Kindle story was a gift. I have already read the second in the series and posted a review on that. Although this author has written many variations of JA's books, this story is not a JAFF. I have read all of this author's stories not counting the anthologies.

As the title tells us, there is a second chance for the main character. So with Sci-fi, some magic and some time traveling we have a very interesting story which also has some Bible verses and religious references. The story was not "preachy" IMHO.

Ben Lewis is on his death bed. His career in professional baseball never gained much ground. He does have a wife, Abby, with whom he is deeply in love and who supports him completely.

Ben is swept away to the Crossroad Center where he meets Cora and Poindexter who have the power to make changes in the lives of various people who are at the point of dying or wanting to die or planning to die. There are others there and we read a little of their life stories. All are given views of their lives, given counseling as to possible choices, including where they might reenter their lives and begin again. There is even the choice of continuing on into the "afterlife", which some do choose.

A very important stipulation, however, is that they cannot use any of the information they have gained at the Crossroads to make changes in other people's lives nor can they share any of the information. This point is very important and it comes back to haunt Ben. However...well here I cannot say as it would be a spoiler. Ben searches for answers as whiffs of memories unsettle him.

Ben chooses to go back before his Crohn's Disease entered his life and is guaranteed that it will not reoccur. However, this is also before he met and then married his wife. Ironically Ben does have some vital interaction with the man who is courting the woman who became his wife in his first "go-round".

There are many characters in this story. Some are relatives, some acquaintances and one, in particular, is a classmate who is also a baseball player and jealous of any success Ben has. He, too, will have a affect on Ben's second chance.

I highly recommend this story. It kept my attention. Of particular interest is a section at the end in which the man Shannon Winslow consulted about the baseball terms, etc., gives us a short story of his life in baseball.

I have visited in Seattle while my daughter lived there and had lunch with Shannon during one visit. I found her descriptions in this story of the weather there very interesting and reflecting exactly what my daughter had described to us. ...more

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Mar 24, 2017 Anji rated it really liked it

Shelves: e-book, paperback, non-austenesque-2017

LEAP OF FAITH - Crossroads Book 1

What would you do with a second chance at life? Would you go back to an earlier point in your old life or would you choose something totally different? Or would you "go on", if you decide you've had enough of this life completely? Ben Lewis appears to "wake up" at the Crossroads Centre, run by two somewhat mysterious people named Cora and Poindexter. A health problem had already put an end to Ben's possibly stellar career as a major league baseball player and is LEAP OF FAITH - Crossroads Book 1

What would you do with a second chance at life? Would you go back to an earlier point in your old life or would you choose something totally different? Or would you "go on", if you decide you've had enough of this life completely? Ben Lewis appears to "wake up" at the Crossroads Centre, run by two somewhat mysterious people named Cora and Poindexter. A health problem had already put an end to Ben's possibly stellar career as a major league baseball player and is the ultimate cause of his untimely end. At Crossroads, he's given the aforementioned choice.

If he goes back to his old life, at what point would he return - another choice. He has the opportunity to return at a point before his health problems start, and for them never to crop up, so he gets a second chance at making it big in baseball. Just one major problem, he won't have met the love of his life, Abby, by then. This is the choice Ben makes, trusting that he and Abby are always meant to be together. But there are rules, strictly laid down by Crossroads and just as strictly enforced, as he finds out to his cost.

I came to this series via my reading of Jane Austen fan fiction (JAFF), of which Ms. Winslow is an accomplished writer. Indeed, the second book in this series definitely falls into that genre. The only connection this book has to JAFF is that Hope O'Neill, the heroine from Leap of Hope, appears here as a minor character in the Crossroads scenes. This book's major theme, after the second chances one, is baseball, rather than Regency England. Just about as different a topic as you could imagine but it works really well. I'm a Brit, and my knowledge of baseball is almost entirely gathered from the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams, so this was a totally new field for me. I'd heard of the minor and major leagues but had no idea of their significance until now and it was fascinating to read about how the system works. Some of the more technical terms are still a bit of a mystery but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of this book. Baseball, in the end, is only the background to the story.

Does Ben make it in baseball? Does he find Abby and, more importantly, do they become a couple again? There are obstacles, major ones too, but you'll have to read the book to find out. I really hope Ms. Winslow goes on to write more in this series as I'd love to know what happens to some of the other people we meet at Crossroads, and I'd love her to tell Cora's and Poindexter's story too.

For my JAFF friends, I'd definitely recommend this book too, if you've already read Leap of Hope. For everyone else, if you enjoy this then go on and read Leap of Hope. You might find a whole new genre to enjoy! ...more

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Mar 07, 2017 Dung marked it as to-read

Shelves: austen-tbr

Aug 20, 2018 Nicole Clarkston marked it as to-read

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