Leaving

Leaving by Karen Kingsbury

Summary from Goodreads
The Bailey Flanigan series begins with Bailey leaving Bloomington for the adventure of a lifetime. She has won an audition for the ensemble of a Broadway musical in New York City. She's determined to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but is she really ready to leave family and friends for the loneliness of the city? And what of Cody? His disappearance has her worried about their future and praying that their love can survive.

In order to be closer to his mother in jail, Cody takes a coaching job in a small community outside Indianapolis. New friends, distance, and circumstances expose cracks in his relationship with Bailey Flanigan.

Love, loneliness, big opportunities, and even bigger decisions highlight the first book in the new Bailey Flanigan series that features members of the popular Baxter family and finally completes the Bailey Flanigan/Cody Coleman story.


My Thoughts

Karen Kingsbury books are guilty pleasures for me. My mother and mother-in-law both kept recommending her books to me so I finally relented and gave one a try. That's all it took. I was hooked! In her new series, we are reacquainted with many familiar characters from her past Baxter series books. I must say I was a bit giddy when I saw that this series would bring us back to Baily Flanigan and Cody Coleman, two of my favorite characters. Baily Flanigan has a big audition in New York but if she gets the role, will she be able to leave her family and Bloomington behind? In the meantime, Cody Coleman is offered a position coaching and teaching at a small high school outside Indianapolis. Will this be what he needs to move on in his life and forget about Bailey? Many of the Baxter clan are involved in the story as well which is all about leaving and changes as one grows. As always, Karen's books are very inspirational and this one is no different. Her books always leave me feeling uplifted and I appreciate that her books are wholesome reads. I am glad Karen decided to bring back some of our favorite characters and look forward to the next installment in this series. I was able to read this book straight through. There was no way I could put it down until I got to the end!

I received this book for my honest opinion through the Amazon Vine Program